Egirdir

I had read about Egirdir situated beside a lake that was supposed to be beautiful and relaxing so I decided to spend three nights there.

The route is not strictly the one I took that bypassed Antalya but it gives you an idea of Egidir's location.

The bus ride was quite pleasant. The company was Kamil Koc and their buses are full size and quite comfortable. An attendant comes around and offers free drinks and snacks.

What looked like fish farms in the dam lake.

Closer to Isparta, the scenery became quite mountainous.

At Isparta I changed to a dolmus that took me to Egirdir. Curiously the place where the dolmus left from was a mile or so from the the otogar (bus station), but the locals helped me out. 

There is an causeway that sticks out into the lake to a small island called Yesilada and I had booked a room at the Choo Choo hotel. With a name like that and my love of trains, it was obvious where I would stay. Since I had spent a long time on the bus, I walked out there and received a good welcome.

It was too cold to eat here in the evening across the road from the pension so I ate in their enclosed restaurant.

The restaurant where I ate all my meals. There was not much else open on the island and the food was good. The internet signal for the hotel was strongest here as well.

The next morning I started to explore by walking around the island.

Egirdir has quite a number of these old ruined buildings. They are heritage protected but nobody has the money to fix them up.

The various restaurants were gearing up for the start of the tourist season in May.

A more modern part of Egridir to the west of the downtown area.

To protect the old ruined houses from even more damage, some had been covered in sheet metal.

With snow on the mountains that surround the lake, it was still a bit chilly.

I walked back on the causeway back into the main part of town. Halfway along was a small park.

The ruined fortress that has foundations from 400 BC.

The fish you buy in Egridir will have to be fresh since it comes from the lake.

Back streets. The locals seemed to be a bit surprised to see a tourist wandering around but there was no problem.

Many of the fruit shops in Turkey do not display prices, particularly those in tourist towns. One price for the locals and another for the tourists.

It was a lovely morning to stroll around. The leaves were starting to appear after the long cold winter.

There is a commando base near Egridir. Actually there are quite a lot of military bases spread across Turkey. I reckon that it would be a difficult country to invade since so much of the country is very mountainous.

I toddled back to the island for a well deserved afternoon nap.

After lunch I wandered around the island again and investigated the back streets.

Not all the buildings are old.

Quiet graveyard with the usual pine trees.

Later that afternoon, a strong southerly breeze started that made the water in the lake quite rough. It also made going outside distinctly unpleasant. 

At breakfast and dinner, I met a couple from Munich who were travelling around in a Lada which is a basic Russian made four wheel drive. Later in their trip, the husband was going to continue into Iran and then drive up into the former Russian territories of Armenia and Georgia. The wife was flying home. He chose the Lada because he reckoned repair stations in the former Soviet Union would know how to fix it.

I met them again in Capadoccia.

For my second full day in Egridir, I just took the day off and did nothing. No photos were taken.

Then I boarded another bus for Capadoccia. I could have stopped at the famous religious city of Konya, but it is a big city and I prefer the smaller towns.

View of the island from the bus as it proceeded up a mountainside as it circled the lake. By the way, I can recommend the Choo Choo. The digs are fine, the food at the restaurant is good and the owner is very friendly and helpful.

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