15 June, Eğirdir to Şarkikaarağaç,
85km
Hotel Korkusuz 80TL (negotiated down from 100TL)
An almost full moon was still visible in
the sky when we departed Yeşilada Island this
morning at 06:00, the sun rising behind us. Our route followed the Lake Eğirdir
shoreline for approximately 40km, giving us wonderful views of a
vast stretch of water surrounded by mountains and fruit plantations. Many
farmers were offering their fruit for sale at small roadside stalls, and I was
persuaded by one to sample a recently-picked and still sun-hot cherry and then
to buy a bag of the delicious plump fruit. “Çok gϋzel” he said; a useful phrase
we learnt awhile back. It means “very beautiful” and can be applied to a hotel,
a town, a view, a meal... It took
me half the day to learn to pronounce the name of the town for which we were
headed – Shark-i-kara-gach (with the g almost silent). Someone encountered en
route had tried to persuade us to come to his town instead, saying Şarkikaarağaç was “gϋzel yok” (“beautiful no”). It proved to be a
dusty town with only one hotel devoid of receptionist. The petrol attendant at
the attached garage made a call, which rectified that.
Leaving Yeşilada Island
Lake Eğirdir
Lake Eğirdir and Yeşilada Island
Between Eğirdir and Şarkikaarağaç
Between Eğirdir and Şarkikaarağaç
Between Eğirdir and Şarkikaarağaç
Between Eğirdir and Şarkikaarağaç
Şarkikaarağaç