The English Bandit

This weekend was the Bayram festival in Turkey, when homes are traditionally blessed with visitors bearing gifts of candy and the cities are afflicted by that peculiar kind of chaos that can only happen when thousands of cars which should have been retired prior to Ataturk's declaration of independence are steered onto the roads loaded with the entire extended family, by a driver who only comes out once a year... This, and rainy weather in the Marmara region conspired to inspire our team, as we headed out into the stony wilds of the east, to the Eskisehir region of Sivrihisar!

Unlike western Turkey, which is home to limestone outcrops for about 200km east of Istanbul (one thinks of Gebze, Hereke, Geyve and Bilecik especially), Ic Anadolu or Inner Anatolia is dominated by igneous rocks including basalt and granite formations which protrude darkly from an otherwise flat and straw-coloured landscape peppered by poultry farms, flour mills, roadside tents selling the local crop of melons and the occasional silhouette of a hill-top statue commemorating a key battle from the Turkish war of independence.

Sivrihisar is one such place. With over 10,000 years of history this small and fascinating place which takes its name from the curious spiky granite rocks that frame its skyline is a climber's paradise. Remote, unspoiled and seldom visited by all but the connaisseur...the potential for first ascents is virtually unlimited, and if you repeat an existing route on the famous Balkaya (canvas for some 2,000 year old horse paintings) you will likely be joining the select company of mountaineers such as Tunc Findik who themselves pioneered here a mere ten years ago.

One other benefit is that with Sivrihisar having been visited in history by the Hittites, Romans, Byzantines, Seljuks and Ottomans (among others no doubt), and being the birthplace of the celebrated storyteller Nasrettin Hoca, the people of Sivrihisar and surrounds are welcoming of strangers. You can expect to have a friendly conversation with a group of locals out wandering the hills whilst you gear up at the base of a rock tower - no-one will ask you what you are doing, as in the Malatya region for example where the villagers believe all outsiders are treasure-hunters especially those with ropes and strange equipment!

This being our first visit, we contented ourselves with opening up a new trad route on the southern flank of Yazicioglu Kulesi, a 50m tower on which a half-ruined fortress still watches the town. Our route, English Bandit (V+) was a first ascent and a real pleasure offering magnificent afternoon views of the hills and plains. This being granite, and sound at that, protection was easy to find (mainly DMM wires and friends 0.5-3.0). There is a choice of crux - either a nice traverse and mantleshelf at half-height, onto slabs, or a direct layback continuation on flakes, all with a splendid feeling of exposure and wild charm, with the occasional hawk circling overhead. Once atop the easy-angled slabs, belay close to a small pond resembling a baptismal font and enjoy the fact you have just been annointed into the small company of Sivrihisar's climbing brethren...

Wishing you Good Climbing (ve Gecmis Bayraminiz Kutlu Olsun!)