Actually we were not surprised when we walked into the mountains behind Çirali, to find little fires burning between the rocks, but just imagine you reached this spot and had no idea!
In Çirali we had parked at the sandy and wide beach, from where we started our hike the next day into the mountains. At the entrance to the park we were given a plastic bag and asked to collect any rubbish we might find. Not a bad idea I think.
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| Not much to find here but doing my best |
After we had climbed the mountains we finally reached the rocks where dozens of small fires burn constantly from vents in the rocks. The fires are fueled by gas emissions (mainly methane) which have been burning for at least 2500 years. These vents are the biggest emission of abiogenic methane discovered on land so far. Directly below the fires are the ruins of the temple of Hephaistos, the blacksmith to the Greek gods.
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| Just next to the fire also water emerged through the rocks |
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| View back to the bay where we started |
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| Short break at the pass |
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| Dried figs |
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| Tahtali Dagi covered in snow |
From the fire places we continued up the mountains and discovered more such spots on the way. After crossing the pass the route took us down into the valley and followed the river until we reached the sea again and "only" had to cross the settlement of Çirali to get back to our caravan. In the end we hiked 5 hours through a spectacular landscape.
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| Crossing the river on a dubious bridge |
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| I made it ;-) |
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| Waiting for a splash ;-) |
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| Flower of the Day |
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| Banana plant on the way back |
