How to Get to Sansarak Canyon?

The distance between Istanbul Mecidiyeköy and Sansarak Village is 154 km, Bursa- Sansarak Village 93 km, Iznik- Sansarak Village 17 km, Sansarak Village 3 km. I am in Bursa and it takes me two hours to leave Bursa and get there.. Even though I can’t trust the Sansarak Village information that I navigate to and ask for directions from time to time, navigation takes you to the village without errors. There are signs on the road, although not very often.. Internet goes before Sansarak Village. I realized this when I left the village.. When the weather is sunny in Bursa, I start to go under the dark clouds on the road.. As I climb the hills, I often stop and take pictures for the magnificent Iznik Lake views.

As soon as I reach the village, it starts to rain like a flood.. It’s even raining. I lowered the glass and asked, “Where is the village coffee?” This is what happens when I say. Unable to get out of the car. I can’t even get off and sit in a coffee shop anyway.. Since I am still in Aegean weather, I came to the village with shorts and t-shirts.. I couldn’t think. Think about it.

Guide Şaban Aydın and Çiçek Evi

As soon as the rain is about to end, someone knocks on my window. This is Uncle Saban.. He says “Welcome” with a warm smile.. This is how we first met. I get out of the car and get something on me.. He held an umbrella in my hand, pointed with his finger and said, “Go straight to the house with flowers.. Let your aunt Emine fill her stomach”. He is running to prayer.

I am looking for a house with flowers, with an umbrella in my hand, trying not to fall into the water on muddy roads.. I am in a 500 year old Ottoman village.. Doesn’t it sound so incredible? Houses made of adobe, eroded roads who knew who walked before… Is it this house or that house? I understand what my uncle Saban means.. Uncle Şaban built a fairy tale house in the village.. White, with colorful flowers on its balcony and stairs, this is the good man’s cabin from the fairy tale.

I go and knock on your door. Aunt Emine must be the one who opened the door. I say, “Uncle Saban sent me.” He has news of my future. My feet were stuck in mud until I came. brings me water. I wash my feet at the door. He’s inviting me in. Even though it’s July, the stove is on. Sansarak Village a thousand meters above sea level. It’s even colder with the effect of the rain. We sit on the sofa in front of a window and chat.

When she tries to take a picture of my Aunt Emine, she says “don’t take it, I’m a pilgrim”. got it in the newspapers. They used to lay those newspapers on the ground. someone saw. It tells and it tells. I’m laughing at them. How sincerely he speaks. I took a frame, but I can’t show it to you according to your request.. We are watching the arrival of Uncle Saban in front of that window.. That crazy rain is over and a nice summer heat is back.

When Uncle Saban comes, we have something to eat. Uncle Saban has sold organic eggs for years.. Doesn’t sit on the table without eggs. Our floor table consists entirely of organic products.. He was in organic farming.. He produces things from the seeds in the village that he has grown for years.. Like tomatoes, wheat. Growing fruit without drugs. “Whatever God has given,” he says.. Hormone-free, drug-free, non-genetically engineered. At the age of 68, I attributed the atomic ant energy to it.

We both chat and eat. The walls of the room are filled with hometown photos. I’ve been to most of them. There are also news clippings of my uncle Şaban in the press.. Movies and serials were shot in this village and my uncle Şaban acted in them.. He’s pretty famous.

Sansarak Canyon

We’re on our way before it’s too late. We have to leave the village and walk 3 km.. Uncle Şaban had all the signs here put up.. You can enter the canyon in two ways, the first is the waterfall entrance, we follow the path through the forest and descend into the canyon.

When you go down to the canyon, you can see the waterfall when you turn left.. When you continue on the right and go up the stream, you can go towards the mill entrance, which is the second entrance.. We enter through the first entrance and exit the Mill entrance.

There is a guide card on the cross-tied bag. Uncle Şaban guides the local and foreign tourists and hikers who come to the village.. After a while, we dive into the lush forests. I came unprepared. I don’t know why I didn’t think of this. I’ll wear shorts and a t-shirt just to get in the water.. I’ve got sandals on my feet but we have to walk through the forest before the water. Make sure to wear something with long legs.. Have a boot on your feet. Even in your arms. Because I don’t have a place to be scratched with brushwood.

My Dream of Swimming in Sansarak Canyon Is For Another Spring

The places are muddy and slippery due to the rain and hail that just fell.. The water is muddy, but it has such a nice earthy smell.. I wish I could hear the scents for you. We’re getting off, we’re getting out, we’re jumping. There is a tiredness on me from being on the road for a very long time.. First we walk with the flow of water. My dream of swimming in Sansarak Canyon is leaving for another spring. Because the mud is flowing. For normal times, you can take a swimsuit with you.

In one place, water meets in one place from two separate arms.. The water is clear on one side and muddy on the other.. That crazy rain didn’t fall on one side of the water. It has a very interesting look. People cannot take their eyes off the miracles of nature.. Uncle Saban takes me to the waterfalls. If the water was not mud, what would I swim here?

Then we start walking against the water. In the canyon sport, the water flow is continued by entering from the top of the canyon.. It’s irreversible, but this isn’t one of those crazy canyons we entered. I can actually call it a creek walk.. Actually, this is a 7km track.. We could not enter the most difficult parts because the waters rose.. Normally a 7 hour track. We wandered inside for two hours.

It would be a great walking route on hot summer days.. Green trees, icy waters. Face and walk. I must come here for camping and hiking with my friends.. Uncle Şaban was not hopeful for me at first, but when he saw that I was able to walk and take care of myself, it seems to me that his sympathy increased.

The one he brought to Sansarak Canyon before] but he talks about how he had to carry people who couldn’t walk or who injured themselves.. He says “you’re fine”. What does the mountain know that I’m wandering around the hill?. Uncle Şaban is like spider man despite his advancing age.. A rubber shoe jumps such distances, it shakes itself in the trees above the water, I’m out of my mind.. The more he says “don’t”, the more he has fun with me. If something happens to him, how do I get him out of here, how do I find the way? I’m in trouble. Because the phone is not picking up.

Exit from the Old Mill and Sansarak Canyon

We are walking to the place where the old mill was. destroyed over time. Uncle Şaban talks about bringing wheat to that mill once.. He built fountains from trees for the waters that come there.. It may be given another name, but its function is the same.. We drink the water coming from the mountain, flowing through a wood.. There is also a wide meadow. Ideal for camping. You can also go near by car.. Normally it can be crowded.. Especially on the weekends, there are many people who come to picnic.

We walked for two hours, either in the forest or by the creek.. I couldn’t stand it and walked through the waters. It was muddy but okay. We couldn’t go to the place where we needed to go because the waters rose.. When we set off on the asphalt road and take the road back to the village, Uncle Şaban says, “You came out alone, on the woman’s side.. You said you will cross Sansarak Canyon. In this weather. It’s the act of courage”. I can’t say, “Oh uncle, what is this, normally I should have entered alone, but today, my good girl”. How nice to be admired by such a man.

When we arrived at the village, I was starting to feel cold. I am changing my wet clothes as I will be on the way back to Istanbul.. I’m leaving the village at full speed when the dark clouds on the hill increase. I did not inform anyone when I came to the village.. The line suddenly went because. No one can reach me for several hours. I’m on the road to Istanbul before anyone gets caught in the crazy rains again. I’ve been away from my friends for a long time. Before I go home, I go directly to the campsite, with my friends, by the fire and chat.

Things to Do Before Sansarak Canyon

Our Sansarak Canyon hike is two hours shorter than the weather. it was a tour. It was also very enjoyable. If you are going to enter the canyon all day, be prepared for a tiring day.. It will take at least 7 hours. Have full equipment. Wear non-slip boots, long sleeves and long legs. You are walking through the forest. You don’t have a scratched place. There may be cuts from the rocks, thinking that you will also enter the water.. If you are considering swimming, get a bikini and shorts.. I prefer swimming in such places with an easy-drying shorts and a T-shirt, which I call the waterfall costume.

Make sure to take food with you. You can shop for bread and tomatoes from the bakery in the village.. Before you go, call Uncle Şaban, the Guide Şaban Aydın, and ask if he can get information about the situation and join you.. There are many people who go into the canyon on their own and get lost or injured.. Especially on weekends, many trekking groups can go to the region and there is only one guide in the village.. Of course, you can go here with a walking group.

Uncle Saban has a camera. Always taking pictures of you. If you don’t have a problem with photography, but you must take it yourself, take a waterproof camera with you when entering Sansarak Canyon.. Cell phone absolutely not working. If you want to stay with me and take a photo once in a while, wear a waterproof case.

Uncle Şaban, whom you talked on the phone and made an appointment with, will be waiting for you with his crossbody bag and camera.. See the flowery house he created in the village. Be a guest at his table. Don’t tire my aunt Emine, but. Though he won’t make you do the job, but act before he does.. Send a greeting from me to these beautiful people.

If you want to walk the Sansarak Canyon but you can’t do it alone, Istanbul Nature Sports Club organizes treks to Sansarak Canyon. You can also go with them.. You can reach it from social media accounts on the Internet or at www.istanbuldoga.org event page.. If you have your own group, if you go to the region, Uncle Saban will happily take you.

Go on weekdays if possible. You can spend a nice day away from the crazy crowd. Navigation takes you to the village smoothly. From there, you are entrusted to the guide Şaban Aydın.. You can also get your food from the village.. I say don’t leave without eating the delicious bread baked in that beautiful oven, the tomatoes of the village where organic farming is still practiced, and the eggs of the chickens roaming the streets.