The lake resort of Egirdir is the best base for day walks along the trail

Practical information:
The Saint Paul Trail
The Lycian Way

Though St Paul himself travelled with little more than a staff, modern day walkers should carry camping gear on the route. Only the lake resort of Egirdir offers much in the way of accommodation, and is the best base for day walks along the trail. Crouched beside Turkey’s fourth largest lake and ringed by mountains, it is a relaxed, friendly town, with guesthouses in the narrow streets of the atmospheric old quarter.

There are more places to stay on Yesil Ada (Green Island), a tiny pearl of an island tied to the mainland by a narrow causeway. Swimming in the lake is wonderful from June through September, and the local food is excellent. For most visitors - especially footsore walkers - the highlight of a stay in Egirdir is sitting at a lakeside table, sipping cold beer and tucking into freshly caught carp as the sun sinks behind the mountains.

Back on the trail, Aaron and I toiled, clearing the path towards a small village, painting the guiding white and red flashes onto rocks. Uele, a retirer lecturer from Switzerland, followed taking readings with his beloved GPS, collecting coordinates and bearings for the trail map. As I daubed white paint onto a telegraph pole, a man emerged from a nearby house.

“Welcome,” he said looking us up and down curiously. ‘Why are you painting?
“We are making a footpath,” I replied.
“Why are you making a footpath?”

This was a fair question, as in the eyes of most Turks walking is for someone who can’t afford to travel any other way.

“So that tourists can come and walk, and see your village.”

At this the villager looked bemused. Then a broad smile spread across his face.

“Of course a foreigner would want to see this village, isn’t it the finest in all of Turkey?”