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Eğirdir is a fine place
to rest if you're traveling between
the Aegean
coast (or Pamukkale)
and Konya or Antalya
(map).
From the small lakeside town of Eğirdir
(eh-YEER-deer), a causeway extends
into the placid blue lake waters to
connect two small islands to the mainland.
This is the place to look for a restaurant if
you want to try the local lake
fish.
Comfy small hotels and pensions dot
the islands, hosting travelers for
a night or two as they laze away the
stress of travel and sample the local
fresh-water fish.
Besides swimming, boating,
the big market on Thursdays,
or
a hike up the slopes
of neighboring Davras Dağı (2635
meters, 8645 feet), there's little
to do in Eğirdir (pop.
18,000)—which is just the point.
A crumbling fortress with
foundations from 400 BC provides visual
charm. Although the town's Mosque
of Hızır Bey (1237, 1308)
and Dündar
Bey Medresesi (seminary; 1218,
1285) date from the great age of Seljuk
Turkish architecture, they were
works more of the local Hamidoğulları
emirs rather than the great Seljuk sultans.
The only other feature of note is
the Turkish army's commando base on
the western outskirts. You may forget
it's there unless you wander through
town on the commandos' day off when
you're sure to notice their blue berets
everywhere.
Here's
a description of
the drive between Selçuk (Ephesus)
and Cappadocia via
Aphrodisias, Pamukkale, Eğirdir,
Konya and the Silk
Road.
If you don't have your own vehicle, bus is
the best way to get here. You may
have to change buses at nearby Isparta,
from which minibuses run
to Eğirdir about every 15 minutes.
The rail line between Eğirdir and Isparta
no longer has passenger service, so
the minibus is the way to go. Airports with
frequent flights are at Antalya and Konya.
Eğirdir oddity: the town's
name used to be Eğridir (eh-REE-deer),
a Turkish adaptation of its old Hellenic
name Akrotiri. But Eğridir means "crooked" or "wrong" in
Turkish, so in the 1980s the town transposed
two letters in its name and made it Eğirdir, which
has meanings associated with spinning,
with flowers, and with bee propolis—all
good things!
Distances & Travel Times
Afyon: 138
km (86 miles) N, 2.5 hours
Antalya: 186
km (116 miles) S, 3 hours
Beyşehir: 141
km (88 miles) E, 2.5 hours
Cappadocia
(Urgup): 450 km (280 miles)
E, 7 hours
Isparta: 36 km (22 miles) W,
40 minutes
Istanbul: 638
km (396 miles) N, 11 hours
Izmir: 418
km (260 miles) W, 7 hours
Konya: 236
km (147 miles) E, 4 hours
Kuşadası: 390
km (242 miles) W, 7 hours
Pamukkale: 225
km (140 miles) W, 3.5 hours
Selçuk: 387
km (241 miles) W, 6.75 hours
Aegean
Region
Central
Anatolian Region
Mediterranean
Region
Where
to Go
TTP
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