We stayed one night at the Serender Pansiyon, then moved over to Ecodanitap where we will be under the wing of Mehmet. Mehmet is an enterprising fellow who runs Turku Turizm, Ecodanitap, Fora Pansiyon, and more.
The Kackars are often compared to the Alps. For me it invokes Yosemite. Which is rather apropos, since I just picked up a copy of John Muir's "My First Summer in the Sierras." In it, he recounts his adventures accompanying a dour shepherd and 2500 head of "hoofed locust" to the summer pastures in the Sierras. There are many pages of romantic rapture at the mountain vistas and meticulate descriptions of trees. The original tree-hugger!
PARODY OF JOHN MUIR
"We are taking a flock of sheep up to their summer pastures in the Sierra. Today, we went up the hill, and I saw A TREE. <3> This was the best day of my life! Later, we rounded up the sheep and made camp. ... Today we went along a river, and I saw A FLOWER. <3> I could die right now and be happy. ... Today we ran out of bread and everyone was surly, but I saw A ROCK. <3> Oh the raptures of nature are unceasing. ... etc. etc. etc."
EKODANITAP
Ekodanitap is the latest brainchild of Mehmet. It is his headquarters for running his yayla (high-altitude summer pasture) tourism empire. It's situated on a hill with a patch of tea bushes in the middle (Camelia sinensis). At the bottom of the hill is the common area, with a kitchen, salon, restroom, and a porch. The salon and porch have a beautiful view of the Fırtına river and valley below. The chipboard outside is stamped "Canada, May 2007." In the corner of the salon is an iBook G4, which I am commandeering right now while Mehmet hangs with his peeps. Mehmet is Hemşin, and his extended family lives along the valley.
The four eco-huts are written up in Lonely Planet as being solar-powered, but really they're just connected to a solar water heater, which is pretty much standard-issue in Turkey and Greece. They are very nice little huts, brand-spanking new, with a double bed, bathroom, and mini-living room downstairs, and a ladder up to the loft where there are two single beds on either side of a plankwalk. Everything is plain pine, and you can see sunlight through the walls.
We were slated to go on a trekking tour with a Canadian couple, but inexplicably they changed their minds within the course of a dinner, apparently due to "foot problems." We haven't met them, so don't know the whole story. Now the plan is to hang out and do day hikes until a foursome arrives from Poland. Then we'll tag along on their trekking tour. Mehmet has kindly offered to waive the 5 person minimum for us two, but we are trying not to make him extra work if we can avoid it.
The Hemşin are ethnic Armenians who settled here in the highlands and intermarried with the Turks. The lowlands are predominantly Las people. Mehmet and his wife Kader made us a delicious Hemşin lunch. There was mahlama, a fondue of cheese, eggs, milk, flour, and butter, kısır, which is like a tabouleh but with green onions, tomatoes and chili paste, and a yogurt salad that was like a tzatziki but with dill and small-leaved greens. There was also makarna, which is basically macaroni in a tomato sauce, and sekerli makarna, which is macaroni in a sugary syrup! This was a very nice change from the typical lokanta fare.
Mehmet and Kader have a four-year-old son, Daglar ("mountains"), who loves to play with guns. He'll point his toy gun right at your face or jam it into the flesh of your arm and press the trigger for that satisfying click. I think he will do well in his askerlik (mandatory 15 month military service.)
I like to ask the young men about their askerlik, where they served, what they did, etc. One young man, Ali, had some English skills and was stationed at Antalya outside the officers' resort. This is what he said to trespassing tourists: "I'm very sorry. This is a military area. Tourists are not allowed."
I got some comments on the blog from Robert, an American who is also travelling in Turkey. He and his wife have taken a flat in Istanbul for a month. It is delightful to hear from a kindred spirit!
Early in the trip, I was browsing in a bookstore and saw some lovely children's books by Mevlana Idris. They had titles likes "The man who was losing his hair", "The man who gave away money," etc. I picked up a 10-book set and carried them around to give as gifts, since there are always kids running around. I think they appreciate the gesture. To really send the kids into apoplectic fits though, I simply read from the books in my terrible Turkish.
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