Antalya : Climbing in Geyikbayiri

From the 14th of October till the 2nd of November

When we speak about Turkey, and especially about the city of Antalya, the first thing that comes up into our mind is the view of a blue sea, some splendid beaches, together with their big holiday centres. This city of nearly 45,000 inhabitants, whose name derives from the king of Pergame Attalos II, is often referred to as « the Turkish Riviera »Antalya is located along
the coat of the golf of Antalya and is surrounded by a mountain range called Mount Taurus. You only need to travel a couple of dozen of kilometres away from Antalya to reach altitudes ranging from 1,000m up to 2,000m. During the winter, you can even enjoy the ski resort of Bakirli (1,750 – 1,900m) located at less than 50km from Antalya. This is within this landscape that you will find the crags of Geyikbayiri.

But let’s come back a couple of months ago. Why did we decide to travel more than 3,000km to climb there? Everything started an evening of May 2006, during a bivvy on the plateau of Presles. We were a couple of lads sharing a good meal, amongst whom Georges, Jody and myself, and chatting about our future climbing projects. After having discussed about the possibilities to go to Morocco or Greece, Turkey was finally mentioned. Back home, each of us looked for some information about these three destinations. One important source of information was the article « climbing in Turkey » of the 17 May 2006 written by Pieter-Jan De Roo on the Belgian Climbing Network (www.belclimb.net). Quickly (well, to be honest it was already late August…), we have all been charmed by the pictures of amazing tuffa climbings on an incredibly colourful limestone and we made up our mind: our next destination will be Geyikbayiri, in Turkey.

We were a little group of 6 lads ( Murielle, Georges, Jody, Vincent, Vincèn and myself) and stayed over for about 3 weeks of pure happiness. We arrived separately, one by one, some coming from Belgium, some others from France or even England, but everyone knew that he was going to spend an awesome time in Turkey.

The cliffs of Geyikbayiri are located at 25 km in the southwest of Antalya at an altitude of 500m and at 15 min by foot from the village Geyikbayiri. The crags lay down in a beautiful mountain scenery with a direct view on Antalya and the Mediterranean sea. The atmosphere at the crags is pretty calm and rather hot! There are only a few trees to hide oneself from the sun during the hot hours. Even though the area is really quiet, it is still possible to exchange a couple of words with some locals who are usually very friendly. As an example, the first day, I couldn’t reach the crag without having been stopped by an sympathetic Turkish barman who offered me two cups of tea. Unfortunately, the latter couldn’t speak any English at all.

The first route in Geyikbayiri has been bolted in late december 2000 in the sector Magara by the Turkish climber Oztürk Kayikçi. At the moment, the crag offers more than 320 routes (only sport-climbing). Here, it is the UIAA grading system which is used and you’ll find some routes ranging from IV up to X/XI-. The average length is 25-30 meters. A big part of the routes have been set up by mainly 3 climbers. Firstly, Ozturk Kayikçi is the author of almost all the main lines in the main sector. All of them are magnificent and are definitely worth it. In 2002, the two Germans Tobias H. and Jorg M. began to develop the sectors of the campsite and the north face and added as well some more routes in the principal face and in the Alibalik and Alibalik Balcon sectors. And finally, Michel Piola who in 2004 set up most of the routes in the sector Mevlana. He will moreover come back in 2006 to add some more lines.
Regarding the equipment, you’ll find mainly bolts of 10mm. The belays are systematically doubled. A specificity of this crag which is worth mentioning is the strict local ethic: no use of sika and no chipping whatsoever is tolerated. All the routes are 100% natural and that won’t change. Another good thing is that the crag isn’t overexploited. Only the logical lines are bolted and there is usually plenty of space between each route.

The cliff can be divided into 4 main areas: the principal area, the Mevlana area, the campsite area and the north face.

  • The principal area with the sectors gizlibahçe (12 routes), çesme (19), laboratuvar (2), sarkit (31), magara (17), Anatolia (28), geyik (10), dragon (11), kekik (4), zeus (4), kanyon (19) and zeytinlik (5).
    Amongst these 12 sectors, the most beautiful are according to me sarkit, magara, dragon and Anatolia. Just for those 4 sectors, it’s worth the trip to Geyikbayiri. The first three sectors offer an unforgettable overhanging tuffa climbing on a very colourful limestone. In addition, this orange-reddish rock is of an amazing quality. It’s between VIII- and IX+ that you’ll have the most fun. In the sector Anatolia, the climbing is more vertical on a pockety wall with still some small tuffa-style features. The principal area is at about 5 min walk from the Climbers campsite and about 15 min more from the Jo-Si-To campsite.

Here is a selection of routes that I particularly enjoyed:

Sarkit : back on funky planet (IX-), lu (VII), melting souls (IX-), colonist first part (VIII-), pusht bush (IX-), jaja city (VIII+), geyikbayiri games (IX-), inner smile (IX-), skyline (IX), saxofon (VII+)

Magara : red attack (VII+), karinca (VIII), amele (VIII+), sabotaj (IX-), in ordan (VIII

Anatolia: ange de l’oubli (IX), kapt’n kirk (VIII-)

Dragon: ahtapot (VIII), dragonfly (VIII)

  • The Mevlana area with the sectors Poseidon (16 routes), ottoman (14),
    mevlana (11), barbarossa (11), alaaddin (4) and akdeniz (3)    . The barbarossa sector is pretty nice, offering some lines of about 25m on a good quality rock. In the route called barbarossa you will even have the opportunity to test your caving skills… The mevlana sector offers some interesting climbs but unfortunately on a less attractive rock. The Poseidon sector looks beautiful too but I didn’t have the opportunity to climb there. According to me, the Mevlana area is not as interesting as the principal area.

Here is a short selection of some interesting routes:

Mevlana : bartabas (VIII), mevlana (IX-)

Barbarossa: sairlerin sultani (VIII+), barbarossa (VI)

  • The campsite area with the sector: heart ( 13 routes), left cave (13), yilan (8), turrkish standard (14) and right cave (8). The advantage of this area is to be located at less than 3 min walk from the Jo-Si-To campsite. These sectors did not look major to us except maybe the left cave sector.
  • The north face or Trebenna area (24 routes)

    A priori, this sector doesn’t look so attractive but afterward it turned out to be a really good option. First of all, because it is a north face which is a really good option during the hot days. Secondly, this area offers some amazing climbs as well. It is located at only 5 min walk from the Jo-Si-To campsite and at about 20 min by walk from the Climbers campsite.

Here is a selection of routes that I have particularly appreciated:

Trebenna : rattlesnake saloon (IX-), leon ( IX-/IX): impressive!!!, lycian highway (VIII+/IX-), S-klass (IX-), anaconda (IX)

To be mentioned: some new sectors are still being developed (Alibalik and Alibalik balcon, more or less 25 routes all together).

A guidebook exists: «Alibalik kayra tirmanis rehberi / A rock climbing guide to Antalya» d’Ozturk Kayikçi. Only the 2 new sectors Alibalik and Alibalik Balcon are not included.
You can find this guidebook at Climbers Camping and Bungalows d’Ozturk for 18 euros. The other crags of Olympos and Akyarlar are also included in this guidebook. Another one is sold in the Jo-Si-To camp but is not as good as the first one.

Even though this is a pretty young crag, it is already getting famous. So, if you decide to go there you’re likely to meet people from Germany, France, Spain, England, Scandinavia… and maybe a couple from Belgium. It creates an excellent atmosphere.

Regarding the temperature, the best season is from the beginning of October till the end of May (20-30°). December and January are excellent temperaturewise but it can be rainy at that time.

To sleep, there are different possibilities:

Two solutions are really nice for a climbing trip: either the Climbers Camping and Bungalows or the Jo Si To Guesthouse camp. The latter ones are located close to the crags of Geyibayiri. In the first one, the atmosphere is more quiet while in the second one, the atmosphere is more occidental and very lively thanks to 3 very sympathetic Germans. In the Jo-Si-To campsite, you can enjoy some very nice meals at the bar in the evenings. You can also rent a car, pretty useful for shopping. Now that you know everything, you can choose by yourself…

Some more practical information:

  • drinkable water in the campsite
    in Antalya (to Migros for example in a shopping centre, 45 min driving to get there from the Jo Si To camp)
  • big local market in Cakirlar (15 min by car) each Sunday
  • possibility to rent a stove in Jo-Si-To camp for 1euro/day
  • local money: YLT but euro is ok too
  • rate of exchange practiced there: 1=1,85 YLT depending on the mood of the person you’re dealing with
  • little and typical bar along the road, in front of the sector of sarkit. Very nice to drink a local beer or a tea or a coffee. You can’t miss it!!!
  • reception for mobile phone is good

How to get there:

  • from Belgium: by plane with SNBA, Turkish airline (380 euro return), jet air (220 euro return), Thomas cook…
  • fly to Antalya airport
  • from Antalya airport to Geyibayiri: cab (35euro) or give a phone call to the Jo-Si-To campsite and they will be happy to offer you a lift fro 30 euro
  • the Belgian identity cad is ok to enter Turkey, you can get a visa once at the airport in Turkey with a passport or with an identity card. The visa cost 10 euro. With it you can stay 3 months.
    You can find this information on the website :www.turk–konsolos.com rubrique “visa information”).

There are other possibility to climb in the area of Antalya:

  • Olympos: you can go there but just for 2 or 3 days, that’s enough. Access from the parking: 2 YLT. There are ruins next to the crag but it’s not worth it.
  • Akyarlar: very beautiful cliffs, more or less 15m high next to the sea. There are about 20 routes. Very nice for a resting day.

I hope that you made discovered what it could be like to climb in Geyikbayiri and I wish you an excellent trip to Turkey or anywhere else you decide to go…

Happy climbing,

Raph


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