לידיעת אלו ששוקלים טיול בקצ'קר. ספר + מפות חדשים. להלן העתק המתב של קייט קלאו שיצא בתפוצת נאטו:
Well, we hit target. A year ago I drew up a schedule for the Kaçkar book which showed it arriving in the UK in early March 2008. It's now at the wholesalers, www.cordee.co.uk and on our website, www.trekkinginturkey.com. I'm thrilled to bits with this book - not because of my efforts, but because of our marvellous mapmaker, George Zsiga. For the first time, there is a colourful, accurate contour map of the Kaçkar, showing about 30 walking trails which are described in the book, and several more which aren't. So, any of you who haven't been to the Kaçkar and been blown away by the stunning scenery, get onto the Kaçkar section of the website. There, thanks to Serhan, our web master, you'll find (under Kaçkar / photo gallery) a new slide show of the Kaçkar mountains. Look and wonder. This compact, glowing green gem is one of Turkey's best-kept secrets.
This area, set between Trabzon, Erzurum and the Georgian border, includes superb old growth forests, mountain torrents, tiny villages and, above the forests, a maze of old stone-and-timber summer villages linked by a maze of paths. The area is dying; it's threatened by the Yusufeli Baraj, facilities (schools and health services) are being withdrawn and the population are departing en masse.
This book is part of a wider attempt to reverse this trend. The EU, the UNDP and the Japanese, working through local NGO's and agencies, all have projects to protect the forests with all their bio-diversity or re-generate the villages. One aim is to improve the living standards of the local population and thus reverse the long-term depopulation trends. In the next few years, considerable money will be invested into turning the area around. I'll be spending much of the summer there, working for the TEMA NGO as tourism co-ordinator on one of these projects
So please, book stockists, eco-tour operators, journalists, get in touch and see what we can do to put a bit more income into the pockets of the local people and at the same time protect the forests and bio-diversity. Those of you who want ל"קפוץ" in a group, try the tour operators listed on our 'Sponsors' page. For independent travellers, the book contains all necessary information about transport, where to stay, and what to bring.
The new book means that this year, I will be neglecting the Lycian Way and St Paul trail. Middle Earth Travel will be doing some maintenance on the routes. If you have walked recently and know of any problem areas, please point them out to us. The Culture and Tourism Ministry have finally realised the value of the Lycian Way and are producing a brochure about it in several languages. Hopefully it will be available soon. And, because 2008-9 has been designated by the Pope as 'the year of St Paul', suddenly people are taking an interest in the trail.
Two other points: Firstly, Terry is leaving Upcountry, with the intention of doing more writing and less trekking! Secondly, a friend, Billy, has put together an information site for Antalya which includes many photographs and videos as well as information about property, activities, flights, shops, transport, regional information and also the facility to book hotels. It's called www.antalyaliving.com. Take a peep.
Have a wonderful spring and enjoy your trekking.
Kate Clow
.