From Antalya, we drive a little north to the Köprülü Canyon National Park. It’s still raining cats and dogs for several hours a day, so our planned hike through the canyon unfortunately falls through. But perhaps we needed to be slowed down by nature for a change, because we spend a quiet day here in the park on a large, tree-lined meadow right by the river. Apollo also loves jumping through the large puddles that form after each downpour and over the stones along the riverbank. And we have a very interesting encounter with a very young goatherd (according to him, he was 16, but he looked more like 12 and in Turkey you are only allowed to work from 15…). The boy lead his herd of (incredibly large) goats across the meadow, up and down the mountain slopes and to the river on both days we spend here. He really doesn’t seem to have much and thanks us for the food and sweets we share with him with a bottle of freshly milked goat’s milk. A truly beautiful and touching encounter.
But we soon move on and leave the rather touristy coast behind us with the aim of seeing a little more of the heartland. Our first destination is the ancient city of Sagalassos. The city was once the center of the Pisidian region and later also the capital of the Roman province of the same name. Emperor Hadrian, among others, allowed the city, which was founded long before the time of Alexander the Great, to flourish once again before an earthquake in the 5th century destroyed large parts of its substance. The city’s remoteness in the mountains near the Burdur Gölü allowed it to remain in good condition to this day, as it was not suitable as a quarry for the next settlements many kilometers away. A visit to the archaeological museum in the nearby town of Burdur rounds off a very exciting excursion, even if the presentation of the finds in the museum really doesn’t do justice to their significance, uniqueness and quality.
It’s a bit sad to see how little Sagalassos is visited, especially when you compare it to sites with similar cultural significance such as Ephesus. In the end, this is probably only due to the somewhat inaccessible location (it’s a 2.5-hour drive from Antalya) and the fact that there aren’t enough instagrammable selfie spots. Bitter, but at least this is also reflected in the lower entrance fee and the very low visitor frequency (which is great for pictures!).
In the evening, we drive further north-east to Eğirdir Gölü, where we camp with a view of the lake. And at the end of the day, the sun even makes an appearance again and surprises us with a rainbow over the lake!