For the past twenty years the CRS, which is set up in Antalya, has formed contacts with travel agencies, guides and accommodation owners in the villages along our routes. Walking (or biking) the paths is the best way to experience the traditional life of goat herders, foresters and small farmers. Here you can sample their herbs, honey and home-made cheeses combined in a fresh local cuisine.
Turkey has a huge variety of landscapes – from the permanent snow of Mount Ararat in the east to the turquoise coast of the Carian Trail in the southwest. The countryside is sculpted by the civilisations who lived here, leaving their ruined cities and their roads – the Persian Royal Road, the Via Sebaste built by the first Roman Emperor, the cobbled roads trod by camel caravans.
This road network extends to Europe, via the famous Roman roads – the Via Egnatia, which ran across the Balkans from İstanbul to Albania, was the first road the Roman built outside the boot of Italy. It was later repaired and reused by the Ottomans as they expanded westwards from Edirne across the Balkans. After crossing the Adriatic, the Via Traiana and Via Appia, which form part of the Via Francigena del sud, lead from Bari to Rome.
During the lockdown, we put final touches to a new network, which combines several of our routes with partner routes through Greece, the Balkans and Italy. The Via Eurasia (viaeurasia.org), is a 4032km network of historic ancient roads running from Rome, Italy to Demre, on the Mediterranean coast. Jointly, we have just applied to register this route as a European Cultural Route of the Council of Europe, which will equate it with the Camino de Santiago or the Via Francigena.
You can see more about the ancient roads which form the foundation for this route on our you-tube video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgWa6wtWP-Y. It’s in English with sub-titles in Greek.
Leave a reply