Turkey

Climbing in Datça: A Turkish Delight

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Datça is a beautiful seaside town in the South-West of Turkey, on a large peninsular of the same name. Situated in the Aegean Sea, Datça is only a stones throw away from the Greek island Kalymnos, which is famous worldwide for its climbing. We spent three months of 2021 climbing in Geyikbayiri, Turkey’s most famous climbing area. We regretted not visiting Datça, but we are fortunate enough to make the return to Turkey and spend some time in this wonderful place.

The crown jewel of Datça

The location of Datça is perfect, the area is quiet with lots of untouched, pristine coastline and beautiful forests. The area is renowned for pine honey, which is delicious and testament to the quality of the forests in the area. You are never far from the sea and there’s always a quiet, secluded spot to swim and enjoy the clear water. The supply of rock is seemingly endless and hints at how big the area will be in the future.

The official guidebook has been made free to download as PDF, which you can find on ‘theCrag’ here.

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Climbing and Culture in Turkey: Part 2

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If you haven’t read part one yet, which is all about the fantastic climbing on offer in Turkey, you can read it here.

This article is going to be about the culture, activities and traditions you can enjoy whilst you’re taking a rest from climbing. Much like the climbing on our trip, this will focus mainly on the Antalya area. However, there are places we visited further a field, all of which are worth the journey.

Woman sat in the grand amphitheatre with rock views surrounding.
The stunning amphitheatre at Termessos ancient city
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Climbing and Culture in Turkey: Part 1

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Climbing in Turkey revolves around Antalya. When climbers think of Antalya, one name springs to mind: Geyikbayiri. To most climbers this is what puts Turkey on the climbing map. This is the hub of climbing in the country, with the highest concentration of routes and easy access. However, not exploring Turkey’s other offerings would be a mistake. Çitdibi and Olympos are both fantastic places to climb, easily done in a day trip from Geyikbayiri. There are also other areas spread throughout the country, such as Datça, Izmir and Bafa Gölü. We spent three months climbing, mostly based in Geyikbayiri and this will be the main focus of this article. Part 1 will concentrate purely on the climbing and crags, while part 2 will focus on culture, history and rest day activities.

Orange limestone wall of Sarkit sector dripping with tufas. Climber is half way up JaJa City.
Climbing the Awesome JaJa City, 7a+, sector Sarkit.
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