Turkey Sufi Trail 10 days Hiking with Linda
Walking through green forests, olive groves and authentic villages.
June 4-16 2023 and September 3-15 2023
What: Day 2 – 9 from the book Sufi Trail.
Where: From Yalova to Osmaneli
Total distance hike: 150 km
What I arrange for you: 10 overnight stays, the first in Yalova and the last in Osmaneli.
10 x breakfast, dinner and motorized transport, if necessary, during the walk.
What you arrange yourself: Flight and transfer to the start and from the end back to the airport. Lunches, alcoholic drinks and entrance fees are also not included.
If you want more information about the details of the hike you can contact me on lindapijl2908@gmail.com
For prices an reservation please visit sufitrail.com/shop/
On this trip, we leave Istanbul for what it is and start our walk in Yalova. If you would like to see Istanbul as well, I advise you to come a few days earlier or add a few more days to Istanbul at the end of our walk.
Thermal baths, leafy forests and extensive olive groves
Right at the end of our first walking day, which starts very quietly with a small hill and some nice villages, you can visit a thermal bath. In our first overnight stay, Gökçedere, there is a historic Turkish bathhouse and various hotels with Spa Wellness facilities.
The following days we walk through beautiful deciduous forests, vast olive groves and characteristic Turkish towns. At the end of day four, we arrive at a guesthouse with another thermal bath nearby. This is a natured-shaped outdoor pool, but relaxing after a day trip of 25 km is nice.
Days five and six of Walking with Linda will take you through low mountain scenery, forests and remains from Roman times. Naturally, we visit the tombs of the saints named in the Sufi Trail book. Along the way, we will also regularly experience that we have a chat with the population while enjoying a Turkish glass of tea.
Iznik: Christian history and colorful ceramics
In the afternoon of day six, we enter the town of Iznik. Day seven is a rest day. Iznik is a walled city dating back to 300 BC. It has been inhabited by the Greeks, Romans, Selcuks and Ottomans. Remnants of all these cultures are still preserved and have been beautifully restored in some places. Iznik is a famous place for the production of ceramics. There is a lot to see and do, which is why I chose to spend a day of rest here.
Pepper-drying houses, abandoned villages and ruins of Orthodox churches
During the last two days of walking, we leave the area of the olive trees through peach groves, forests and shepherd areas. It is an area where you keep taking pictures. There is so much to see. We pass through abandoned, completely overgrown villages, through villages that used to live off the pepper drying industry, but have to leave this because they cannot compete with the mass production of modern factories. As we approach Osmaneli we begin to see more and more Roman and Greek remains. The oldest finds in Osmaneli date back to 1000 BC. The city is located on the fertile banks of the Sakarya River. In Osmaneli we end with a visit to the tomb with the flag and the ruins of the Greek Aya Yorgi church.
Here we have come together at the end of our walk. We spend the night in Osmaneli. The next morning after breakfast, we return to our own lives. It is understood that I will help you arrange your transport to the place you want to go.
If you want more information about the details of the hike you can contact me on lindapijl2908@gmail.com For prices an reservation please visit sufitrail.com/shop/
