GEYIKBAYIRI & TREBENNA

Geyikbayiri

Cig yuzunden iptal olan planlar sonrasi hem duygusal hem de fiziksel olarak cokmus bir sekilde Istanbul’a erken donmek zorunda kalmak kolay olmadi. Dunyanin en yuksek daglarina  alismis gozlerim, tenim, butun duyularim Istanbul’u cok yadirgadi. Algilarimin zorlandigi bir yere alismayak calismak baya can sikiciydi. Sanki baska bir gezegene yanlislikla dusmusum gibiydi. Neyse ki dostlarim ve ailem beni yanliz birakmadi. Ama aklimda Istanbul’dan kacmaktan baska birsey pek yoktu desem de yalan olmaz. O yuzden arkadaslarim Tafa, Efecan ve Tunc ile bulusmak ve birlikte tirmanmak icin Geyikbayiri’na gitmeye karar verdim. Ne de guzel yapmisim.

Amerika’da son yillarda abonesi oldugum bir dolu tirmanis dergisinde surekli fotograflarini gordugum, ama Turkiye seyahatlerim hep yaz aylarinda oldugundan bir turlu mevsiminde yakalayamadigim ve bu yuzden hala gidememis oldugum icin cok hayiflandigim bir yerdi benim icin Geyikbayiri. Everest tirmanisimin iptalinden sonra Mayis ayi bosalmisti, onumde  Geyikbayiri sezonunun bitmesine kadar 2 hafta vardi ve bu firsati kacirmak istemedim.

Bana bu muhtesem yerin ne kadar iyi geldigini anlatamam… Hem yasadiklarimi cok iyi anlayan dostlarla beraber olmak, hem de Geyikbayirinin sahane rotalarinda tirmanma sansini en sonunda yakalayabilmis olmak sahaneydi gercekten.  Tobias ve Duygu’nun islettikleri kamp alanini da (JoSiTo) ne kadar ovsem azdir. Cok iyi bir is yapmislar, yapiyorlar. 

Biliyorsunuz ben surekli kosan ve kosmaktan cok zevk alan da bir sporcuyum.  Yasadigim sehir olan San Francisco’da en sevdigim sey is sonrasi ya da haftasonlari okyanus kenarindaki tepelerde ucsuz bucaksiz gibi gorunen patikalarda kosabilmek. Geyikbayirinda erken uyandigim bir sabah da, kamp yerinin dibinden gecen Likya yolu’nda kosmaya karar verdim. Isaretleri takip ederek ormanin icinde ilerlemeye basladim, muhtesem kokular, ve kus ve bocek sesleri arasinda. Sonra bir acikliga vardigimda karsima simdiye kadar kazisi yapilmamis antik kent Trebanna’nin kalintilari cikti… 

Amerika’nin cesitli yerlerinde ve doga parklarinda katildigim ultramaraton yarislari ve macera yarislari sayesinde bir dolu doga harikasi ile karsilasma sansim oldu, oluyor. Karsima sahane tepeler, kayalar, ucurumlar, selaleler vs gibi doga guzelliklerinin cikmasina alisigim ama antik bir sehir!!!!! Dunyanin kac yerinde boyle birsey olabilir bir dusunun!!!… Icim icime sigmadi desem… Adi da kendi gibi guzeller guzeli… Trebenna…. Amerika’ya dondugumde o sabahi anlattigimda arkadaslarimin algilarinin nasil sastigini gormeliydiniz… 

Geyikbayiri ve Trebenna – en sonunda tanistik, koklastik. Bana ne kadar da iyi geldiniz.

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After Everest season was over unexpectedly, I had to come back to Istanbul earlier than planned and I was emotionally and physically exhausted. All my sensors that got used to the highest mountains of the world around me couldn’t made sense of Istanbul all at once. It was as if I was thrown onto another planet by accident.  I was glad to have my friends and family around me but still I wasn’t ready for this crazy city. I felt like I had to get out and that’s when I decided to go to rock climbing in Geyikbayiri with my dear friends Tafa, Efecan, and Tunc, which turned out to be a great decision.

I had been reading about Geyikbayiri and looking at its pictures for some time now in almost all the climbing magazines I have been subscribed to in the US. Since I am able to come to Turkey mostly during summer months, I was always late for the climbing season there and honestly this was pissing me off.  Finally, I was in Turkey in May and this was a chance not to be missed.

I can’t tell you how this place made me feel better. It was great to be with friends who understood what I went through and to climb with them on some magnificent routes. The camp site Tobias and Duygu run was super comfortable (JoSiTo) – those guys are doing a great job there.

As you may know, running too is one of my passions as an athlete. I love going to the endless trails on the hills around San Francisco by the Pacific Ocean and run for hours in a row right after work or on weekends.  One of my mornings in Geyikbayiri, I decided to check out the Lycia trail that passes near the campsite. I got on the trail running surrounded my fantastic smells and voices of the forest. When I came to an opening that led to a fire road, I saw the ruins of an ancient Lycian city, Trebenna…

I always go and see different parts of CA and the US for ultrarunning, adventure racing, rock climbing, etc. I am used to and always super excited to see a natural beauty around a corner like a waterfall, a hill, a cliff, etc… But this was an ancient city… no excavations has been done… It is sitting there on the hill in the forest on the trail… Trebenna… There are not many places in the world one can experience this… I touched its walls, breathed its air before I made my way back down.

Geyikbayiri… Trebanna… You made me feel better – thank you.

Trebenna