Hike: Kilyos to Bahçeköy via Gümüşdere Date: 20.12.14. Who: Nick & Caroline with 4 companions (2 Brits, 2 Yemenis & 2 Turks; 1 woman & 5 men, ages 20-60+). Brief description & plan: To join our coastal route Garipçe-Kilyos on to Bahçeköy which is our Belgrade Forest hub. Walking stats: 19kms. 7 hours including a short lunch. Average pace 3kms/hour. Cumulative ascent/descent: 640m. Access: Bus 151 from Hacıosman metro station to Kilyos (2 or so an hour). Return bus from Bahçeköy to Hacıosman (quite frequent). Weather & seasons: Fine. Around 12 degrees. Unseasonally mild. The first 5kms (along the beach) is unsheltered so would be hot & sunny in summer, most of the rest of the hike is through woodland. Difficulties & dangers: None to speak of. We spent something less than an hour working our way down and up a valley as our path had petered out. This was somewhat brambly but not too bad, no need to get the secateurs out. We’ll reroute this part. Natural history: Late-autumn, very few flowers and birds apart from gulls, feral dogs who didn’t bother us, and invisible boar. Some sheep, goats and horses. And a dead cow. Lots of deciduous, hilly woodland, mostly formerly-coppiced beech I think. People & settlements: Kilyos (aka Kumköy) in winter is not the same place as Kilyos in summer… There’s quite a lot of new building going on around Kilyos which with the new motorway will be much more accessible from Istanbul. The almost uninterrupted beach between Kilyos and Gümüşdere would have a very different feel in summer as some (many? most?) of the beaches are privately-controlled in season and would probably need to be skirted. The land between the beach at Gümüşdere and the new motorway just south of Gümüşdere is made of small farms mostly holding greenhouses. We walked around the centre of Gümüşdere to avoid having to walk on the (anyway quiet) road, next time it would be nice to check out the village centre. Today we saw a few farmers and several boar-hunters and just about no-one else apart from a few people walking or running on the beach. History: Kilyos was once a Greek fishing village though you’d have to look for the evidence. There are various ruined bunkers along the beach. And the last past of the hike passes (very pleasantly) alone the side of Valide Sultan Göleti (reservoir and dam) and past the İkinci Mahmut Göleti dam. Other features: Plenty of crowded swimming opportunities in summer (at a water temperature of 10 degrees we could have swum today too). Photography: Nothing remarkable. The hike: The route worked well as we were able to cross the new motorway under what will be a viaduct without trouble. And the sand was hard, so walking on the beach was pleasant as was more or less the whole hike. The section where we lost the path can be easily rerouted so that all the forest section of the hike can be on tracks. Conclusions: We should walk it again in summer to see how the beaches are when in use, otherwise this hike is a pleasant and reasonably undemanding way to pass a day walking. Access at both ends is easy. Nick
Posted on: Sun, 21 Dec 2014 21:15:32 +0000
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