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Write: Melih Uslu - Photo: Timurtaş Onan

Great Awakening In The Taurus

Spring in the Mediterranean begins in the Taurus when life returns to the deep valleys, steep canyons and mountain villages. Myriad flowers carpet the slopes, rivers rush, garden and orchard break into bloom and smiles return to faces. And it is our business to tout all the beauty of nature that will be yours on a trip to the Taurus in early spring.

With their snow-capped peaks overlooking the Mediterranean from southern Anatolia, the Taurus Mountains are like a natural monument, every corner of which reveals some new surprise. The sheer beauty of a lone tree sprouting from between the rocks is reason enough for one’s heart to fill with the joy of living.

Little by little the snow on the summits retreats in spring, as if to alight instead on the branches of the trees in the foothills. Verdant meadows form a perfect harmony with the snow-white blossoms. The roads that wind between the karstic valleys of the Taurus seem to summon us to come and behold their beauty.

These spots in the Taurus are favorites with mountaineers, photographers, birders and botany buffs. And there is no end to them. The only problem is setting aside enough time. The tortuous roads winding up to the summits will reveal to you hospitable villages and vestiges of civilizations thousands of years old.

But the rebirth of the Taurus in spring is not confined to its village roads. The rivers fed by the melting snows on the peaks are also a drawing point for rafting enthusiasts. These emerald green rivers that wind through forests will afford adrenaline addicts moments they will never forget.