Culture Routes in Turkey

 

 

Turkey is criss-crossed by old roads from various historical periods. One of the joys of walking the routes is to use these old routes as our ancestors did. Here are some pictures of old roads which can help you identify the makers!

The earliest roads were made by the Hittite Empire, the Phrygians and local tribes like the Lycians and Carians.

Around the coasts, the Greeks made roads linking their cities. Alexander the Great and his army added more.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Most of these became part of the Roman road network, which covered Turkey as far as the Euphrates and beyond. These roads are fairly well-documented; some of the main ones are still in good condition. They are well-made, paved with locally-available stone, in various widths according to the traffic, and normally of a gentle gradient which could be used by an ox-cart. Often these roads have beautifully built round-arched bridges or drains. Some lesser Roman roads were designed for pack and riding animals and walkers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Byzantine road network were based on the Roman roads but new roads were added linking monasteries or new settlements. These were generally for mules, donkeys or walkers, and sometimes have steep gradients or zigzags.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Selçuk Turkish roads crisscross the Taurus mountains especially between Konya, their capital, and Alanya, their port. Other roads of this period were made by the Beyliks which rules Anatolia after the decline of the Selçuks. The roads are paved, and often have steps and kerb-stones. The bridges have pointed arches, not rounded ones.  The principal roads had caravansarays one day’s journey apart. They were camel, mule and donkey roads.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ottoman roads also were paved, and are often walled or hedged. They were camel, horse and mule roads and also have caravansarays along them. Selçuk and especially Ottoman roads had many water-points, wells or drinking troughs  for the pack-animals. You often find graveyards along these roads, frequently on passes or viewpoints. The roads covered the whole of Turkey and extended into the Balkans, Greece and the Middle East.

 

Until the 1950’s Turkish roads were maintained by voluntary labour. Each village sent out a few men each summer to work on them.  Many of these old routes have disappeared under today’s roads, but, if you can find them, you will see that they are well-made and sometimes wide.

 

 

 

 

Routes in the Kaçkar often have high, narrow pack-horse bridges, built well above the winter flood water.

 

Minor mule-paths linked the upper, summer pastures (yaylas) to the villages that owned them. They had to climb through the mountains so were often steep and narrow. Many were in use until the 1980’s or ’90’s.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Not only roads but also aqueducts and bridges are part of the ancient road system. Turkey has many Roman bridges and aqueducts.

 

Each road had a start and end point at a city, town or village. Each road had a purpose. They took the most logical and shortest convenient distance between two points. To find them, first look for the bridges and passes. If you find these points, the course of the road will become clear.

 

 

 

 

Finding and maintaining these old roads is a labour of love, and we hope you enjoy using them as much as we do. Imagine the people who used them, where they came from, where they went. As well as nearby graveyards, you may see cart-ruts, loops to tie up horses, mounting-blocks, bridges or drains. All can give you a clue to the age and purpose of the road.

 

 

Many new roads are not made to last and collapse within a few years, like this forestry road