By a fine stroke of luck this September I was able to join the Evliya Çelebi Ride, following the hoofsteps of this famous Ottoman traveler. A Great Anatolian Ride! Under the experienced lead of internationally known Ercihan Dilari and with the sturdy, reliable horses from his stables at the Akhal-Teke Horse Riding Center, we rode out to discover magnificient Anatolia. And what a ride it was though the most spectacular country side. So varied that each day brought new horizons from the fording ofriver lush with vegetation to climbing to mountains tops that only a few hours ago seemed so far away. Then on to these immense forests, dense with majestic silence embracing each rider. The rural countryside offered a manicured view as if a painter had decided where the poplars should be bordering the multicolored cultivated terrain. We would stop in authentic farm villages that tourists never get a chance to see. The original architecture dating it would seem centuries, the colourful dresses of the women waving to us as we saluted them, the children streaming out of schools to welcome us...indeed a unique, heart warming adventure ! The Great Anatolian Ride !

(Thérèse Tardif 12/09