WEEKEND GETAWAY: İĞNEADA TOUR

For those looking for an alternative weekend, we come with a suggestion to shake off the effect of recent events and the city's bad air! The İğneada Tour! Our escape route includes a busy tour programme, which is why we jump into our cars early on Saturday morning and hit the road.

İğneada, part of Kırklareli and on the Bulgarian border, is actually a small town you can choose for a weekend in any season. Longoz Forests National Park is a very important resource for protecting natural resources and biodiversity. We wanted to see the longoz forests national park before it gets any more spoiled, and with summer coming to İğneada we made plans for trekking. With the waters receding in summer, walking in the longoz will be more enjoyable.

So as not to lose time with a roadside breakfast, sandwiches, energy bars and fruit were ready. We enjoyed watching the roughly 250 km road, passing through villages here and there, with unique views of sunflowers. The Istranca forests make the road views magical, and it's not far to the destination. After Demirköy the İğneada sign appeared; we're ready to arrive early and finish our walking route before the sun gets high.

İğneada welcomed us with its tiny signs, its coffeehouse set up on the square as is common across Thrace, and its weekend bustle. We caught the smell of grandma's cookies from the bakery; early in the morning, raisin and orange cookies had filled the whole glass counter.

We parked our cars at the tent area near Lake Mert; our walking route is below.

Thanks to the Wikiloc app, which helped us a lot in creating the route. I can say it's the best app I've used so far for sharing outdoor activity routes (hiking, mountain biking and many other activities) and making discoveries. You can download the map offline and also make sure over GPS whether you're on the route.

Bandanas/buffs, sunglasses and insect repellent are your must-haves. I think instead of shorts and the like you should choose long clothes, thin and breathable. And comfortable shoes suited to a long walk are essential. Don't forget the chance of trudging through mud when choosing; once we've grabbed our sticks we're ready to explore the footpath in the forest.

Right at the entrance, little pinscher friends welcomed us, and they didn't leave us alone throughout the longoz tour. They dived happily into the water, and even if one of us split off, one of them wouldn't leave that person alone. Thinking of these sweet little animals that keep you company on your walk, I suggest you take something for them to eat too. Even though they didn't much like our food, it was very clear they were hungry. I think the only downside of walking in the forest is the flies that come with the sun. Still, İğneada has managed to stay clean; with its streams, creeks, lakes and longoz it is home to many kinds of living things and eases your longing for nature.

Our walking route, in the words of our camper uncle, centres on a saya (pasture). "Go on a bit, like this, says the uncle, don't lose the footpath, you'll come to the saya, cross it, and all the way to the main road it's longoz!" :) "There are reeds on the left, avoid them, that's a swamp, you'll get yourselves dirty all over. Then walk, look, from the main road to Lake Mert." Then laughter... And so, with our friends who helped us find the route, the heat, the flies and the effort to find the right way came to an end: a dirt road going to Lake Mert and the gazebo at the start of the national park.

While we were walking on the main road, the cars coming along were turning back; a little further on we saw puddles on the dirt road blocking the way. Even though one or two voices among us said let's carry on walking, we met a couple who'd tried before. They told us don't go, even if you get past this one the next puddle comes up to your knees and the one after to your waist, the end of this road goes into the lake :) Naturally, with that tiredness, we were stuck in the middle of the road. From the main road it was 10 km to where we'd left the cars, and going back into the longoz at midday was torture. Luckily the couple we met took the drivers in their car, and our tour ended with us taking off our shoes and waiting for the cars to come!

CANOE FUN

If you've come to İğneada, you shouldn't go back without doing a canoe tour. It was incredibly enjoyable. You do the canoe tour on Lake Mert. There are many fish in the lake too; they jump in front of you during the trip. The canoes are for 2 people; the price is 40 for one person and 50 TL for two. We hadn't booked a canoe beforehand, but the little ones looking after them helped us and we started making our way across the lake by canoe.

At a certain point the lake connects to the forest through a narrow channel; a narrow channel surrounded by reeds, and the end of the channel connects to the forest. But since we were going back to Istanbul that evening, we did a small tour without going out too far. In the lake you get stuck in the reeds here and there and have to turn back. In these channels the lake is at most 1 metre deep. As long as you don't make very big movements to the sides, there's no danger of the canoe capsizing, and life jackets are also given against any danger.

Note: The İğneada longoz forests are also among the places in danger of disappearing. You should definitely go before they disappear or get spoiled..