Antalya’s ridiculously hot in the summer. Anyone with any sense tries to escape this place in July and August, and yet that’s hardly true at all since summer is the high tourist season in Antalya. Headaches, dehydration, and sunburn must be better than whatever the visitors are fleeing in Russia, Germany, and the UK.
Well, anyway, I try to escape Antalya’s summers. Last year Ferda and I flew to Switzerland. Just a couple days ago I bicycled from the heat at sea level up past the local ski area topping out at over 2000m where I found a cool breeze as I sat in the shade. Those solutions are a bit extreme, I guess. Most people just go to the beach. Also many people from Antalya go rafting in Köprülü Kanyon.
Ferda’s friend, Bilge, now lives and works in Germany and, like many others (!), chooses to come for his annual vacation in Antalya at the hottest time of the year. When he visited, we escaped to Köprülü Canyon and camped for a couple nights. The elevation isn’t so high there, but it’s surprisingly cool near the streams. Actually the water in the side stream next to where we camped was so cold I could hardly stand to be in it for more than a couple minutes. Wow, how refreshing coming from Antalya’s furnace.
On the drive to Köprülü Kanyon we made a small detour and walked through yet another ruined Roman city. This one’s called Sillyon, and this was my first visit. It’s amazing how these cities are littered all over the place. Bilge’s mother, Güneş, was also with us, but she chose to wait in the shade while Ferda, Bilge, and I wandered around in the sun looking at old rocks, an activity I seem to find endlessly interesting.
The following day the four of us rented two duckies and joined the hordes of people rafting the small river in Köprülü Kanyon. The duckies were a blast, and the rapids are quite easy. It ended up being a super fun day, something I’d certainly do again if I’m unable to spend every summer in the Swiss Alps.
This might be the reason it’s called Köprülü Kanyon (Bridge Canyon):
