Craig’s back in playing up again and in the middle of the night the pain all got too much. After much tossing and turning it was time to call it quits. By 5pm he’d stretched, exercised and the painkillers were starting to offer slight relief. We were dressed and on our way just after sunrise.

Civilisation ebbs and flows through the valley. We pass a large army camp, more and more farms. Orchards ripe with apple blossom. Chickens scuttle about in the hedgerows. Occasionally pecking a little to close to the rims of Vin tyres. After weeks of dust and tumbleweed it feels nice to see fields and hills lined with trees. But, it feels like someone pressed fast forward on the season. Did we jump from summer to autumn overnight? The countryside around the Turkish Lake District is bursting with autumn hues of orange, yellow and brown. Beside the road sit matching piles of yellow, green and red apples. The vast quantities of apples is beyond anything we have ever seen before and moving them requires nothing more than the humble digger. Bruising is of no concern (click to enlarge photos).

After a few hours of driving we call in our favourite Turkish petrol station, Shell. As usual, they wash our screen and give us a bag of free goodies.  This time its a bag of mini lemon cakes. A few kilometres down the road we reach the edge the lake. Just in time for the weather to turn from sunshine to rain. We pull over for a mid morning coffee to join our free cakes and take shelter from the occasional gusts of wind. Watching the mountain nomads and the apple wholesalers conduct their daily business was as captivating as any Sunday morning headline.

We drive by Yesilada (green island). Until the 1923 population exchange Yeşilada was where the local Greeks lived. Unfortunately, almost all their picturesque wooden and stone houses were torn down in the 1960s to be replaced with featureless pension blocks. The few that survived are virtually invisible behind a ring fence of concrete. This is a great shame because it means that the island is much more appealing from afar that when you actually get to it. An hour and a half later, we reach the heart of Turkish lake district, Eğirdir.

The small town of Eğirdir is the tourist heart of the Lake District. As you approach it and glimpse the brilliant blue of the lake with Sivri Dağı (Pointed Mountain, 1749m) soaring above. It truly is a beautiful setting. Look down towards the waters edge and a white peddle lined jut of land stretches right out in to the lake. It all looks like a postcard painting. We drive right to the end but discover the best parking spot is at the harbour. Clean and flat under foot with plenty fishing boats to watch during the rain spells.

We are parked on the end of the peninsula

Our Bumble free parking spot at Eğirdir GPS position N037.875713, E030.842601

The nearby hamam may be old but has little else to recommend it. A short walk along the lakeshore brings you to the remains of one of those castles whose foundation stones were laid way back in the mists of time. In this case when King Croesus was ruling over Lydia in the 5th century BC. Its an elevated wall to wonder over but not much to wander around. Today some houses are built right onto the remains of the walls as in Sinop on the Black şea.

The one specific attraction is the 19th-century Greek church of Aya Stefanos (St Stephen’s) although its doors are kept locked. But if you’re looking for a quiet place to rest for a few days the lake views go a long way to compensate for the loss of heritage. As does the small size of the island, which you can walk right round it in about half an hour. Just wear blinkers when it comes to the amount of litter, babies nappies and beer bottles.  Best views are if you climb high the mountain that overlooks the lake…climb on Eor, of course!

Eğiridir is probably as well known as a commando training centre as it is as a tourism centre. You see the barracks on the hills above the town. They host an army special forces training base, while a distant western shore conceals its underwater equivalent.

Hills behind military training camp

So glorious is the scenery that you could be forgiven for assuming that tourists would flock here by the coach load. But its not on the right route for attracting the hoards. As such Egidir feels like it is trapped between a tacky wannabe tourist resort and mountain village. In the core, you have the hustle and bustle of daily life. Sadly, this soon pitters as radiate to the lakeside. Exchanged for drab and tired pensions, souvenir shops and cheesy duck boat rides. Every piece of land is converted in to an ‘oto park’ with miserable locals trying to charge extortionate prices. It is clear some people want tourist whilst others do not, as such, Eğirdir leaves us with an equally mixed feeling.