As we enjoy the last few days of spring, the days where one can enjoy nature along with mild weather are numbered.
It’s never very difficult to find spots throughout Turkey where you feet can really get re-acquainted with the earth and where your lungs can load up on oxygen. Everyday, interest in the environment and sensitivity about how we should treat the land increases here. Some of the most important signs of this are the projects that are aimed at protecting the environment. About a year ago, the Ministry of Environment and Forestry started up the “One Nature Park for Every Province” project, and now this particular project is beginning to show its first fruits. Almost 10 different forests and state-held lands have been declared nature parks. One of the last plots of forested land to fall into the official nature park category was the Kap?cam Nature Park, which opened at the end of last year in Kahramanmara?. But what conditions does a “nature park” need to meet in Turkey in order to be able to earn that title? Professor Dr. Mustafa Kemal Yal?nk?l?ç, general manager of the nature protection and national parks department of the Ministry of Environment and Forestry notes the importance of the blend of water, plants and animals that constitute these geographies. In order for a piece of land to be labeled a nature park, according to the National Parks Law in Turkey, there are certain standards that need to be fulfilled by its geographical position, its flora and its fauna. These are, after all, parks that go beyond just providing a place for people to rest and relax, parks that are also meant to teach and expand people’s views of nature. They are parks that boast a variety of geological, biological, zoological and floral dimensions. And in Turkey, the sheer range and variety of flora found in some of our natural parks is of a level that cannot be found anywhere else in the world. Take, for example, the “peygamber çiçe?i” or “cornflower” found along the shores of Ankara’s Mogan Lake.
In most of Turkey’s nature parks, you can also enjoy activities like canoeing, trekking, cliff parachuting, biking, etc. And all of these activities take place in a setting you would never find in man-made parks, or, of course, indoor arenas. Turkey’s nature parks are generally chosen from forest and state plots of land. And the most important factor in choosing these parks is that they be completely natural. If there are any structures on them, the structures should be made of wood or stone, and built keeping the local ecology in mind.
We paid a visit to the nature park in ?stanbul’s Polonezköy. This park is spread out over 30,000 hectares and boasts many of the characteristics you would expect from a perfect nature park scene. This gigantic park has hundreds of different kinds of plants and animals. In fact, at one point, the photographer that accompanied us to the park started to jump around in excitement. Depending on the time of year, you can also see every shade possible in the trees and leaves here. We also visited the spots where deer and pheasant live; there is just so much to see here. Mostly, we realized this is really a great opportunity for people living in ?stanbul because it is so close.
Nature tourism, guide in hand
Eco-tourism, or nature tourism, has been rising in popularity in recent years. The Ministry of Environment and Forestry has been fast to recognize this, and has printed special guides to Turkey’s various nature parks and national parks. Their guides — which include guides to Kayseri Kapuzba??, Çanakkale Gelibolu, Bal?kesir Kaz Mountain, and Rize Kaçkar — allow people to head out on their own and enjoy adventure tours, zoo-tours, bio-tours, etc. There is a separate and different program recommended for each park. And so, finally, rather than just being filled with people who are relaxing and enjoying themselves on the weekends or holidays, Turkey’s many nature parks will be filled with people who know precisely where they are relaxing, and amid which kinds of flora and fauna!
Gölcük
Turkey’s Nature parks
Ölüdeniz-K?drak (Mu?la)
Çatak (Çorum)
Abant Gölü (Bolu)
Yaz?l? Kanyon, Gelincik Da??, Gölcük (Isparta)
Uzungöl (Trabzon)
Bafa Gölü (Ayd?n)
Polonezköy, Fatih Orman?, Türkmenba?? (?stanbul)
Ayval?k Adalar? (Bal?kesir)
Ball?kayalar, Be?kayalar (Kocaeli)
Kocakoru Orman? (Konya)
Artabel Gölleri (Gümü?hane)
Karagöl (Artvin)
?ncekum, Güver Kanyonu, Kur?unlu ?elalesi (Antalya)
Ball?ca Ma?aras? (Tokat)
Hamsilos (Sinop)
Çamkoru (Ankara)
26 A?ustos (Afyon)
Meryemana, Örnekköy (?zmir)
Mesir (Manisa)
26 May 2009, Tuesday
D?LEK GÜRAY ?STANBUL
www.zaman.com