Wow someone has selected some pages for me !
...and the poster apparently cannot decide if Turkey is in Asia or Europe,
so let's happily crosspost !
"T.R.H." a écrit dans le message de
news:b47e286d-7219-484c-a6db-b4d6e9a6affa@d25g2000prn.googlegroups.com...
> [See more on this subject by visiting the pages
> selected for you by Anita Donohoe:
> http://www.turkradio.us/k/kemaliye/ ]
>
> x0x A nature festival: Kemaliye
>
> By MELIH USLU
>
> Kemaliye, a candidate for one of Turkey's leading
> centers of eco-tourism, is up and ready for the
> 2nd Nature Sports Festival, starting on 14 May.
> How about you? Anatolia possesses a number of
> regions which are ideal for nature sports owing to
> their geographical structure and plant cover but
> whose touristic attractions are insufficiently
> well-known. And Kemaliye, the southernmost
> township of Erzincan province, is one of them.
>
> The Kemaliye Valley, formed by erosion over
> billions of years of the limestone rock of the
> Karasu, one of two branches of the Euphrates,
> harbors a rich diversity of habitat and climate
> due to a sharp rise in altitude over a short
> distance. While the over 1000-meter-high mountain
> steppes exhibit an Alpine ecology based on a harsh
> land climate, a Mediterranean climate reigns along
> the length of the valley. What's more, owing to
> its location on the Silk Road which joins Anatolia
> and Central Asia, the township boasts not only a
> rich history but a long-standing traditional of
> hospitality.
>
> With its profusion of rare wildlife, it is a
> candidate for soon becoming one of Turkey's
> leading centers of ecological tourism and nature
> sports.
>
> CITY OF TERRACES
>
> Inspired by Ataturk, whose middle name was Kemal,
> the new name of the township, which had been a
> small town by the name of 'Egin' in the Ottoman
> period, was conferred in 1922 by a decision of
> parliament.
>
> Guidebooks for the region refer to it as the 'city
> of terraces', which were leveled out by the local
> people to make more productive use of their very
> limited farmland. Turks, Armenians and Greeks who
> built houses on the terraces exhibiting the
> architectural features of their own cultures,
> formed a highly multi-cultural community here
> where they lived together in harmony for
> centuries.
>
> The door knockers with vegetal motifs that adorn
> Kemaliye's traditional houses are among the
> township's unique treasures.
>
> In a tradition going back to the Ottomans, each of
> the door knockers, which are forged from red-hot
> iron, is decorated by the home owner with his
> favorite floral motif. Today Kemaliye is one of
> seven settled areas in Anatolia that have been
> proposed as world cultural heritage sites by the
> Foundation for the Protection and Promotion of
> Environmental and Cultural Values (CEKUL).
>
> NINE FULL DAYS
>
> The late Erzincan governor Recep Yazicioglu worked
> hard to open up the region for tourism in the
> 1990s and was a pioneer of nature sports in the
> township. The Kemaliye Nature Sports Festival is
> being held 14-22 May with the purpose of
> acknowledging a debt of gratitude to, and honoring
> the memory of, this governor, who won the hearts
> of the local people with his successful policies.
>
> At the first festival, which was held last year,
> this township of normally two thousand people
> swelled to four thousand with an influx of
> sportsmen, musicians, photographers, journalists,
> scientists, folklore ensembles and nature lovers
> from all over Turkey.
>
> Anticipating even greater interest in this year's
> festival, the people of Kemaliye started their
> preparations weeks in advance. The frequency of
> bus and minibus connections from Malatya, the
> township's nearest airport, has been increased,
> the final touches have been put on the
> restaurants, hotels and bed&breakfasts, and
> posters have been hung at the entrance to the
> village declaring visitors 'Welcome to the 2nd
> Kemaliye Nature Sports Festival'.
>
> ON THE GROUND OR IN THE SKY, YOUR CHOICE
>
> The festival, which will run for exactly nine
> days, will begin with picking of the region's
> unique morel mushrooms on the mountain slopes. A
> mountain bike race then follows the opening of a
> joint photography exhibition. The first stop on
> the walking tours that will be organized
> throughout the festival to around 20 neighboring
> villages that preserve the traditional
> architectural texture is Apcaga.
>
> This village, which provided the inspiration for
> the poem, later set to music, entitled 'The
> Village in the Distance' by Ahmet Kutsi Tecer, one
> of the masters of early Republican literature, has
> a large panel at its entrance with lines from the
> poem:
>
> "Over there in the distance is a village
> That village is none other than our own.
> Even if we never go for a visit
> Our village it always will remain."
>
> In the village, which receives visitors in its
> library, social room, printshop and guesthouse,
> there is also a small rustic coffeehouse lurking
> in the shade of the walnut and mulberry trees
> overlooking Kemaliye Valley.
>
> The first day of the festival culminates in a
> traditional 'henna night'. But the program is full
> to the brim on the other days as well. The
> 15-km-long, 500-m wide Karanlik Canyon, whose
> steep walls of rock narrow to 10 meters at the
> bottom, is ideal for boating safaris, canoeing,
> water skiing, and speed boating.
>
> The Kirkpinarli Kirkgoz area, reminiscent of an
> eagle's nest with a view of Kemaliye Valley, is a
> favorite with hang gliding buffs.Over a hundred
> bikers are expected to take part in the 17-km
> mountain bike race to be held in separate men's
> and women's categories by the Bicycle Federation
> of Turkey.
>
> Spectators may also enjoy the 'jereed'
> competitions, organized by riding clubs from
> various regions of Turkey. The 8-km-long Tasyolu
> Tunnels, which were hollowed out over a period of
> exactly 135 years from the mountain slope that
> runs parallel to Karanlik Canyon, has matchless
> trails for jeep safaris, motocross, mountain
> biking and trekking.
>
> Among the hundreds of hiking trails in the
> township, the experienced local guides recommend
> especially the stream known as Sorak. An
> approximately four-hour hike awaits sports
> enthusiasts here at Sorak, where you can see the
> Kocan waterfall, the village of Venk, Davar Yatagi
> cave, and the Sorak church and castle as well as
> an historic fountain and graveyards along the
> forested trail that follows the streambed.
>
> EVERYTHING FROM SPORTS TO HISTORY
>
> Surrounded by mountains up to 4000 meters high,
> the Kemaliye Valley with its slopes of varying
> degrees of difficulty, its limestone rock
> structure, its opportunities for camping, and its
> rich nature and wildlife is also suitable for
> mountaineering and rock climbing. The aged forest
> ecosystem that covers the Munzur Mountains where
> Kemaliye nestles is a perfect place for observing
> the indigenous wildlife as well.
>
> In addition to sports events, the festival has
> been further enriched by cultural activities. The
> hundred-year-old school building at the township
> center, which has been converted into the Ataturk
> Culture Center, will host photograph and
> documentary showings, exhibitions, theater plays
> and panel discussions throughout the festival.
>
> But the township's touristic treasures are of
> course not limited to these. Others include the
> historic Armenian church at the entrance, which
> has been modified as an ethnographic museum and
> cafeteria; Zincirlikaya in the district of
> Tasdibi, a massive rock that was chained to the
> slope in Ottoman times to prevent it from crashing
> down over the town; the 150-m-high waterfall at
> Kocan; and the Tasdibi mosque at Kirkgoz, an
> Ottoman structure built in 1635. Not to mention
> some ten other Ottoman mosques just waiting to be
> discovered in the township.
>
> Whether it's adventure you're seeking or simple
> peace and quiet, Kemaliye promises visitors both,
> with its adrenaline-pumping sports festival, its
> unique historic sites, its natural beauty and its
> warm, friendly people.
>
> -----
>
|