Everything started with a dream. First we’ve had our house built in 1996,

then started coming from İstanbul to Aladağlar at every opportunity. When we realized we could breathe here easier than we could in İstanbul, we decided we should move here. So in 2002, we’ve left everything behind and started our new lives in Aladağlar.

It was not very easy moving to the tiny village of Martı, from a huge metropolis as İstanbul. But we’ve had our passion of climbing, which took up most of our time. We were also constantly setting up new climbing routes. So it was not very hard getting used to living here. Now our friends confess that they have only given us 1 to 2 years before we would return to İstanbul, but it has been more than 12 years now and we are still going strong.

We have been leading the way for the development  of climbing in Aladağlar for a long time now. Since 2002, we have set up many sports climbing and multi-pitch routes, now nearing 300, and organized two competitions in 2004 and in 2005. We have also built up a climbing wall in the yard of Demirkazık mountain hut, with the contributions of NİDOS (Niğde Outdoor Sports Club), and hosted the first outdoor bouldering competition in Turkey there.

And then one day, after long talks we have finally visited the Kazıklı Ali Canyon with Süleyman Vardal. Through long discussions on the rock structure and the possibility to set up routes here, we have set up the first route with Sülo. It was a snowy day in february 2003, and I remember shivering very very badly. At the end of that year, we’ve had set up 3 routes here and not very satisfied with the conglomerate rock structure, we have given up on our trials. Two years after that, again on a snowy february day, we have started setting up routes here once more, this time in the middle of the canyon, in the place called today the “Karnaval” sector.