It”s one of the best known of all ancient Greek myths, and yet it took place in what is now modern Turkey. The story tells how Paris, the handsome son of King Priam of Troy, was picked to judge the world”s first-ever beauty contest. Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty, Artemis, the chaste goddess of the hunt, and Hera, the wife of Zeus and queen of the gods, lined up in front of him, stark naked if we”re to believe the artists.
No doubt influenced by her offer to reward him with Helen, the most beautiful woman in the world, as his wife, Paris plumped for Aphrodite who had conveniently forgotten to mention that Helen was already married to King Menelaus of Sparta. Paris went ahead and snatched Helen, whose enraged husband pursued her across the Aegean Sea to what was then Asia Minor. The result was the 10-year-long Trojan War, which only came to an end when the Greeks left a wooden horse stuffed with soldiers outside the gates of the city and the Trojans were naïve enough to drag it inside the walls.
And where was this infamous beauty contest staged? Well, if the myths are to be believed, it took place on the slopes of what is now Mt. İda, just inland from Altınoluk on the northern shore of the Edremit Körfezi (Gulf of Edremit).
The link between Paris and Mt. İda had even deeper roots because the mythmakers also claimed that when the prince was born an oracle had warned his father that he would be responsible for the fall of Troy. Alarmed, the king had his son abandoned on the slopes of the mountain where, in the predictable way of myths everywhere, he was suckled by a passing she-bear until eventually parental love triumphed over scaremongering and Priam recalled his son to the bosom of his family.
But in a testament to how important this area was in antiquity, other myths also swirl in the mists above Mt. İda. One of them tells how the lustful Zeus spotted another young Trojan prince, Ganymede, on the slopes of the mountain and swooped down on him in the shape of an eagle. Later, repenting of his misbehavior, he had Ganymede elevated to the post of cupbearer to the gods.
In comparison with these raunchy goings-on, the tales that the Turks tell about what they call Kaz Dağı (Goose Mountain) are relatively mild. Here, they say, a shepherd was bringing up his beautiful blonde daughter, Sarı Kız, singlehandedly. Fearing that she would become bored up there alone on the slopes he bought her a dozen geese to keep her company. Eventually her father died and Sarı Kız retreated to a sheep pen to mourn him with her geese. At once a cloud descended from the heavens, and neither she nor the geese was ever seen again.
Behind the story of how the mountain acquired its modern name also lies the story of the Türkmen wood carvers who settled in this area in the 15th century. Apparently, when the youthful Mehmet II was planning his 1453 assault on what was then Constantinople and is now İstanbul he scoured the Taurus Mountains for suitable workmen and hit on the Türkmen whom he persuaded to relocate to the villages around Tahtakuşlar in the foothills of the Kaz Mountains. The goose was sacred to the Türkmen, who accordingly renamed the highest mountain Kazdağı (1774 meters). Today most locals trace their descent to those same wood carvers, and the small privately owned Etnografya Galerisi (Ethnographic Museum) commemorates their lives and traditions, with a fine reconstruction of a nomadic tent and riveting photographs of a Türkmen bride riding on horseback to her wedding in a robe as all-encompassing as an Afghan burka.
Of course most contemporary visitors to the mountain are oblivious to its mythic past. Instead, today the mountain range and the pretty villages that cling to its foothills are particularly popular with vacationing Turks, especially hill walkers, who come to explore the many mountain streams and gaze at the assorted waterfalls and delicate stone bridges. To cater for them the last 10 years have seen many inviting boutique hotels open in the area, especially in the villages of Yeşilyurt and Adatepe. Both are inland from Küçükkuyu, a small town on the coast road linking Assos with Edremit. It”s worth pausing here before taking off for the villages if only to visit the small Adatepe Zeytinyağı Müzesi (Olive Oil Museum) in what was once an old olive oil-making factory, a poignant reminder of an industry that was, in the days before tourism, the mainstay of the local economy.
Both Yeşilyurt and Adatepe are villages of stone-built houses fanning out from central squares. Adatepe is the smaller of the two, and close to the so-called Altar of Zeus, a rock formation which offers fantastic views out toward the sea. But Yeşilyurt offers a better choice of places to stay, including the delightful Manici Kasrı, with a lovely walled garden, and the Erguvanlı Ev, which gazes out over a valley and hosts yoga retreats. In the heart of the village, Bamteli Yol Konağı is named after a popular television series and has the coziness of a British bed and breakfast, while the Çetmi Han, on the outskirts, offers rustic charm and great food. For those who prefer something larger and with more of the feel of a conventional hotel, there is also the Öngen Country Hotel, commanding great views at the back of the village.
Other intriguing places to stay are scattered about in the surrounding countryside. Perfect for walkers and lovers of country sports is the İliada Hotel, high up on the mountainside and surrounded by rolling lawns that give it the feel of a British country house. Also great for walkers is İdaköy Çiftlik Evi, whose owners have written a guidebook to the local walking routes, the "Kazdağı/İda Doğa ve Kültür Gezi Rehberi" (Kazdağı/ Mt. İda Nature and Culture Guide, only in Turkish, unfortunately).
In a league of its own is the spectacular Çeşmeli Konak (Walnut Tree Mansion), a Safranbolu-style converted Ottoman house tucked away just inland from the coast at Altınoluk in Eski Altınoluk, a sleepy village a million miles from the nearby coastal overdevelopment, where old men still snooze the days away in a teahouse shaded by a venerable plane tree and where the 19th-century Abdullah Efendi Konağı is open to a public which visits far too rarely. The Çeşmeli Konak boasts rooms as large as some people”s houses, and those on the top floor are cantilevered outwards so that as you lie in your bed at night you could almost believe yourself to be floating on air.
It”s a shame that the coastline around here is so hopelessly overdeveloped. Still, if you head west from Küçükkuyu towards Kadırga, you will come to a stretch of lovely sandy beach that is perfect for a quick dip after a few days of strenuous hiking.
WHERE TO STAY:
Bamteli Yol Konağı, Yeşilyurt: (286) 752 05 00
Çeşmeli Konak, Altınoluk: (266) 396 68 48
Çetmi Han, Yeşilyurt: (286) 752 61 69
Erguvanlı Ev, Yeşilyurt: (286) 752 56 76
İdaköy Çiftlik Evi: (266) 387 34 02
İliada Hotel, Kalkım: (286) 484 77 78
Manici Kasrı, Yeşilyurt: (286) 752 17 31
Öngen Country Hotel, Yeşilyurt: (286) 752 24 34
HOW TO GET THERE: In summer there are flights from İstanbul to Edremit airport. Otherwise the best way to reach the area from İstanbul is by taking the İDO fast ferry from Yenikapı to Bandırma and then driving south through Balıkesir.
Resource: Today”s Zaman, Pat Yale
