Antalya Overview
Situated on the shores of the eastern Mediterranean, in southern Turkey, is the historical coastal town of Antalya. With its picture postcard landscape of beaches, woodland and the steeply rising Taurus Mountains, it is easy to see why this area has become increasingly popular with outdoor enthusiasts, and more specifically climbers.

The main rock climbing areas revolve around Geyikbayiri, which is situated around 15km west of Antalya itself, with a further 3 or 4 areas within a 30km radius of Geyikbayiri. The area is a relatively recent addition to the European sun rock circuit, having only been seriously developed since 2000. The routes are generally well equipped, with quality bolts and lower-offs, and there is now over 300 routes to go at, ranging from f4 to f8c – with the best and most prolific offerings being in the 6a+ to 7c bracket.

There is obviously plenty of cheap accommodation in and around Antalya, however if you want to keep car hire and travel costs to a minimum, there is pleasant, low cost accommodation below the crags of Geyikbayiri, in the shape of small lodges, bungalows and a campsite. Contact details for the companies offering these facilities can be found in the guide book…

Guide Book: A Rock Climbing Guide to Antalya
Author: Ozturk Kayikci

Ok so you have read the blurb, done some research of your own, and decided that Antalya is for you, so what about the guide? Is it easy to use? Has it got loads of useful area knowledge? Does it include English text? Let’s take a look…

In truth this is, initially at least, one of the most interest grabbing foreign guides of recent years. It is stacked with great action shots of climbers of all abilities enjoying the sunny delights of this east-meets-west climbing destination, as well as clear and concise maps, sharp topo images and useful local knowledge - regarding accommodation, supplies etc.

Image left: Working one of the many great projects at Geyikbayiri.

The book is fully translated into English, with very few of those lost in translation sentences, that are often cause for both arguments and moments of mirth in equal quantity. The book kicks off with a general introduction, going on to outline the history of climbing in the area and its relationship with local community. The guide then goes on to give you details of the best seasons to climb (September until early June), transportation knowledge, accommodation needs and finally a list of the many things you can do on your rest days.

After a brief but concise description of how to locate the sector, the actual crag sections of the guide are relatively simplistic, in that they rely heavily on annotated overview images and maps, as well as the photo-topos themselves. Having said that, there isn’t the scary overuse of symbols, which now seems common place, in many new guides. The route information is displayed in table format, below the photo-topos, giving details of the route names, grades, number of bolts, route length and first ascentionist details. The grade offered in the info table is displayed in the UIAA scale; however the author has kindly converted the grades to the standard (French) sport scale, and added them next to the applicable line on the photo-topos.

Summary
Overall this is a really nice guide, with the major plus points being that it is easy to use, it offers plenty of useful info for the first time visitor and it is chocked full of inspirational climbing shots, allowing you to get a real taste of the areas' ambiance, even before you step off the plane.

Purchase the Antalya guide here.