This one has been on my list for a long time. The setting of the tiny theater on a high ridge in the mountains above Antalya is impressive. It’s where all the photos that you see on the internet are taken. Philipp‘s been up here at least a couple times, and it would have been more fun to come with him than with a big group, but Ahmet called and told me about this plan with TODOSK. On the dolmuş ride to the trailhead, I sat next to 83-year-old Durmuş Ali Abi who I hadn’t seen in years. Great to see that he’s still a strong hiker. I also met some fun new folks who hopefully I’ll see again.
It’s unclear why they chose this difficult-to-access location for their city, likely for that exact reason: it’s difficult to access. There are some cisterns around to collect rain water. There’s a rock quarry conveniently within the city for building materials, but what about food?
The history is the typical Greek-Roman, abandoned in the early Byzantine Period. Now it makes for a nice day hike.
We started walking from the trailhead about 1.5km south of Göynük Yaylası, but I wonder if you couldn’t also start from Zivinde Mevki, the cluster of houses visible in this photo.
The trail isn’t always easy to follow so it’s useful to have an idea of where you’re going. The stage/theater is approximately here (wgs84): 36.65647°N, 30.48394°E