Eğirdir

Queen of the Lake District Population: 17,500

Market day: Thursday

In October the countryside around Eğirdir in the Turkish Lake District bursts into colour as the woodlands take on their fall hues of red, orange, yellow and brown. Beside the road sit matching piles of yellow, green and red apples because the lakes are Turkey’s apple orchard and autumn the time of year when the fruit is picked.

So glorious is the scenery that you could be forgiven for assuming that tourists would flock here by the coach-load. But tourism can be the strangest thing and here in the lakes it’s mainly the locals who reap the benefit of the month-long slalom from autumn into winter.

The small town of Eğirdir is the tourist heart of the Turkish Lake District and, as you approach it and glimpse the brilliant blue of the lake with Sivri Dağı (Pointed Mountain, 1749m) soaring above it, it’s easy to imagine yourself on the South Island of New Zealand, where tiny Queenstown has converted the lure of water sports into a million-dollar industry. But here, where you might expect to find a similar line-up of excursion boats and tour companies offering a myriad different ways to celebrate the scenery, the only vessels on offer are those of the pension owners and the odd friendly fisherman who baits tourists as a sideline from his day job.

Why such a lacklustre approach to tourism? To be fair, the weather is not always kind to Eğirdir, with body-buffeting winds and clothes-soaking rain fairly common.

The other problem is that the town is uncomfortably situated midway between the tourism honeypots of Cappadocia and Ephesus. For too many visitors it’s a handy place to stop for a night en route to the better known sites, leaving Eğirdir trapped in one of those Catch 22 situations: without more tourists it’s hard to justify the outlay necessary to create a better infrastructure – but without better infrastructure there’s little to persuade people to linger.

What’s there to do while in Eğirdir? Well, you should certainly aim to take a boat trip on the lake. Otherwise, this is really walking country, where many of the pensions are busy with climbers and hikers who think nothing of striding up Sivri Dağı before breakfast. Pension owners can organise transport to nearby Lake Kovada National Park, the glorious Çandır Canyon and the spectacular ruins at Sagalassos.

Today Eğirdir is probably as well known as a commando training centre as it is as a tourism centre. You’ll see the barracks on the hillside to the right of the road as you drive into town from Isparta.

Don’t leave town without trying:

pide topped with sugar, a local delicacy

Around town

The lake itself is the centre of everything. Jutting into it is a causeway that links tiny Can Ada (Soul Island) and much bigger Yeşilada (Green Island) to the mainland. egiridir2 Picturesque interior of Yeşilada

Until the 1923 population exchange Yeşilada was where the local Greeks lived but unfortunately almost all their picturesque wooden and stone houses were torn down in the 1960s to be replaced with featureless pension blocks; those few that survived are virtually invisible behind a ring-fence of concrete. This is a great shame because it means that the island is much more appealing from afar that when you actually get to it.

The one specific attraction is the 19th-century Greek church of Aya Stefanos (St Stephen’s) although its doors are kept locked.

But if you’re looking for a quiet place to rest for a few days the lake views on all sides go a long way to compensate for the loss of the built heritage, as does the small size of the island – you can walk right round it in about half an hour.

Such historic sights as Eğirdir has are mainly congregated immediately inland from the bus station where they form three sides of a quadrangle.

Here you’ll find the Hızır Bey Cami which dates back to 1308 and has a curious walk-through minaret, and right beside it the Dündar Bey Medresesi whose elaborate portal started life as part of the local caravanserai before being brought here after a fire during the reign of Felekeddin Dündar Bey, one of the Hamidoğlu dynasty who ruled this part of Anatolia after the collapse of the Selçuk Sultanate of Rum. This has since reverted to something like its original purpose and now houses a small shopping mall. Look carefully at the support columns around the cloister and you’ll see that most still retain their fine Selçuk capitals, some carved with eagles.

egirdir3 Minaret of Hızır Bey CamiThe nearby hamam may be old but has little else to recommend it, but a short walk along the lakeshore brings you to the remains of one of those castles whose foundation-stones were laid way back in the mists of time (in this case conceivably when King Croesus was ruling over Lydia in the 5th century BC). It has since been built over and over by every successive group of potentates to hold sway locally, which means the Byzantines, the Selçuks, the Hamidoğlus and the Ottomans.

Today there’s a tiny shrine to an Islamic saint tucked into one side of the wall and a restored Ottoman house that is theoretically open to the public on the other (it’s usually locked).

If you follow the shore road at the back of the castle you’ll be able to see how walls once ran right around the peninsula; today some houses are built right onto the remains of the walls as in Sinop on the Black Sea and in Balat in İstanbul.

Otherwise, on the western outskirts of town stand the scant remains of the Keyhüsrev Kervansarayı, built in 1237 during the reign of the Selçuk Sultan Gıyaseddin Keyhüsrev but destroyed by fire in 1301 after which its portal was moved into the town centre to form the entrance to the Dundar Bey Medresesi.

On the opposite side of town stands the kümbet (tomb) of İsa Bin Musa, erected in 1358.

St Paul’s Trail

The waymarked long-distance (500km) St Paul’s Trail passes through Eğirdir which makes a good base both for those trekking the whole route and those hoping to walk short stretches of it. Charly’s Pension is well-known as a source of information for trekkers.

Sleeping

Your biggest decision will probably be whether to stay on the island (atmospheric but a bit isolated especially in poor weather) or on the mainland (less atmospheric but often offering great views).

Ali’s Pension Tel: 0246-311 2547

Charly’s Pension

Eskiciler Nis Konağı Converted village house with pleasing decor and large ground-floor breakfast room. Outdoor breakfast terrace slightly marred by wall partially blocking view of lake. Tel: 0246-333 2016

Fulya Pension

Göl Pension Tel: 0246-311 2370

Hotel Altıngöl (closed in winter) Tel: 0246-311 3961

Lale Pension

Transport info

Eğirdir’s aged otogar is right in the town centre although some through buses will drop you on the street corner outside. There are regular bus services from İstanbul to Isparta with onward connections to Eğirdir (34km).

Buses also connect Eğirdir with Pamukkale, Konya, Nevşehir (for Cappadocia) and Antalya. One direct bus a day at 12.30pm runs to Afyon.

Half-hourly minibuses connect Eğirdir with Isparta although most transit neither the otogar nor the town centre. Instead they trundle past Isparta railway station and terminate at the Köy Garaj where you can connect to local bus services including the one to Ağlasun for Sagalassos. Minibuses also run to Yalvaç via Yeşilköy and to Pınar Pazarı for the market.

Day trip destinations

Çandır Kanyon National Park

Ertoküs Hanı

Isparta

Kuyucak (Lavender Vaillage)

Lake Kovada National Park

Pınar Pazarı

Sagalassos (via Ağlasun)