Termal to Güneyköy to Orhangazi – 7th September
Distance: 27.2 km – Elevation +600 m -620 m
Weather: Sunny. Temperature: High 28 degrees
Like the rest of Termal, the Termal Park Hotel was very quiet last night and I slept well. There was some confusion over the payment when I left just before 7.00 am. The night receptionist didn’t at first accept that I had prepaid for my room when making the booking and it took him several minutes to resolve. The route out of town took me through Termal Park where I passed the community barbeque area with its regimental line of uniform barbeques standing like guards or sentries, I almost felt they were saluting as I passed.
I was walking around the northern end of the Gökçe Dam Reservoir which was constructed in the 1980s to provide a water supply for Yalova. As I approached the entrance to the dam I was met by a group of noisy and aggressive dogs seemingly intent on preventing my progress. I approached the gatehouse of the dam and asked the guard if I could enter and take photos of the dam but politely and in a friendly tone he made it clear I was not allowed to enter. The route continued towards Yenimahalle where it started to climb, providing wonderful views of the reservoir and the wooded slopes of the valley in which it sits before descending to cross the Selimandira River which feeds the reservoir from the sea of Marmara. Climbing again through woodlands before descending into the village of Kurtköy where I found cows freely roaming the streets. I stopped a while and sat in the village square with its view of the village mosque painted in white and soft shades of blue and watched as its villagers went about their daily lives.
From Kurtköy there was a steady 4 kilometre climb through a mixture of forested areas and more open sections affording views of the valley below and the Gökçe Dam Reservoir before reaching the summit at an elevation of 470 metres, the highest point of today’s walk, and then descending into the village Güneyköy.
When I reached Güneyköy it was lunchtime and I stopped in the village tea house, and for the very first time, I saw women in a village tea house. They were all in Muslim dress, twelve in number all seated around a long table enjoying lunch and when they had finished they distributed what was left to the men sitting at the tea house tables, including me. Everyone greeted me in such a way as to make me feel as if I was part of their community. A glass of tea was brought to me without the need to order and the man delivering the tea smiled and said in an inquisitive voice “Sufi trail?”. After three glasses of refreshing Turkish tea I left to visit the village old mosque:
‘This serene mosque was built in Dagestan style to honour the visit of Sultan Resat in 1910 to Güneyköy. This mosque, with its beautiful architectural features, is being repaired. Sheikh Sharafeddin Dagestan has educated many students here. This mosque was destroyed during the Greek invasion. Since the Central Mosque in the village square attracts more believers, the beautiful old mosque seems to be slowly disappearing, it would be beneficial for the old mosque to pray there instead of the Central Mosque. At least take a break in this courtyard and treat yourself with his abundance of figs and other fruits when in season. Salute to those who built this mosque.’
After visiting the Sheikh Muhammed Medeni Tomb I started for my day’s final destination of Orhangazi. I was followed for a short way out of the vìllage by several tiny puppies and maybe it was this distraction that caused me to miss the turn I should have taken. It was 5 kilometres later that I realised my mistake, too late to backtrack and so my final 7 kilometres were via a not too busy main road. Just before joining the main road I stopped to take a photograph and an elderly man on a rather large motorcycle stopped and offered me a lift and when I tried to explain my need to walk he gestured in surprise waving his arms in the air and rode off. Later whilst on the main road, a young couple stopped to offer me a lift but after my explanation that I needed to walk they kindly gave me a bottle of water and a bottle of cranberry juice both ice cold which were very welcome on a very hot afternoon. I reached Orhangazi and the Hotel Familia close to 5.00 pm.
