Congratulations to Sedat Çakır, who had the great idea of linking existing paths and finding new ones following the route of the Ottoman Sultans in their marches into Europe in the 16th and 17th C. The route connects Vienna to Istanbul in a winding route across the Balkans.
Their routes are known from descriptions of the ‘menzils’ or camping points of the army on the move, and the bridges, roads and caravanserays which marked their progress.
During the last five years, Sedat and his team have published the Sultan’s Trail guidebook in Dutch and a guide (Sultanlar Yolu) to the sections in Turkey and Greece. The route in Turkey is supported by the local tourism managers and has been marked with blue and white signs. The team are working on an application to make this route one of the 29 European Cultural Routes.
In spring 2013, with members of the Culture Routes Society, they were represented at the ITB, Berlin, the world’s greatest travel fair. Next year, the CRS hopes to be with them again in Berlin.
The route has been pioneered by small walking groups working together to explore the countryside and decide the best alternatives, photograph the monuments on the route and meet the villagers along the way. If you would like to walk part of this historic route, you can make arrangements to explore the route with Sedat Cakir.
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