Turkey or Morocco

[Miguel Arboleda]

I was contemplating going to Nepal this year (and still haven't given up on it), but because of all the dissuading over the monsoon, I'm reconsidering. I may still go to the Himalayan area, but to Ladakh instead, where the monsoon isn't as bad. However, I recently talked to someone who had traveled in Turkey and is going to Morocco this year and now want to find out more about them. In particular I have my eye on the Lycian Way in Turkey, a long-distance trail that might be exactly what I'm looking for. Has anyone walked this or had experience hiking in Turkey (or Morocco)? Any recommended long-distance walks in the area? I'm okay and have experience with heat, so that wouldn't deter me. Logistics are more what I'm worried about… how to get there, the amount of time a trail would need, whether camping is allowed, etc.

[. .]

Hi Miguel,

I cannot offer any beta on Morocco, but Turkey is a familiar place. My backcountry ventures were in the mountainous East and I have plans to return again. Overall impression of the country was wonderful, although military checkpoints and cooking fuel were minor challenges in the Anatolian region. On the more extensively populated West (Europeanized) end of the country, there are some gear supply places for supplies. Kerosene was the only fuel that we could obtain in the East. PM me for more info, if you'd like, or email me at my handle name at mac dot com.

Turkish Air and Anadalou are truly world-class airlines and a good way to get from one end of the country to the other. People were friendly, in general and some especially hospitable; the military folk were also rather courteous, albeit serious. Geo-politically, things are a bit interesting over there right now.

The ancient cultural back-drop of much of the country makes for a history-packed narrative to a trip therein. Bring books (think biblical) and study in advance for a truly enriched experience. Turkey has the oldest cuneiform tablets known to man – the photo under my name is an ancient sampling, of which the interpretation and archaeological finding of record was published by the National Geographic Society in '94.

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I stumbled across this site recently:

http://www.trekkinginturkey.com

The top of the page reads:
"Turkey has two long distance trekking routes: The Lycian Way –opened in 1999, and The St Paul Trail –opened in 2004."

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