Geyikbayiri

…The goat bounced off and rejoined the herd. We then had our first acquaintance with ‘Goat Lady’ – a short, stocky woman wearing traditional Turkish dress; this is best described as baggy, floral patterned trousers, with a floral blouse/top and a colourful knitted cardigan on top. All items of clothing are chosen to clash as much as possible. The Goat Lady’s most defining feature is her continuous shrieking, shouting and swearing at the goats. Her cries can be heard throughout the valley, but thankfully she doesn’t start till about 8am.

Geyikbayiri is a small village about 500m above sea level and 15km outside of Antalya. The main sport climbing crags are situated below Geyikbayiri and are mostly south facing. The main crag is over 1.5km long and has routes up to about 50m. The area has over 500 routes, with most of the quality routes in the French seventh and eighth grades.

We spent our first week staying at the ‘Josito’ campsite, where we made the most of hot running water and hot showers. The campsite is beautifully situated in the valley and has convenient access to the lower crags. We spent New Year here and had an amusing evening taking part in a silly bouldering competition! The competition involved trying to complete a set route; however, the stronger climbers were handicapped in a variety of amusing ways. These ranged from two people tied together to drinking a beer whilst completing the route. Needless to say, we felt quite rough on New Year’s day!