HIKE walks and events came to an end on 8-10 November in the area of Turkish İzmit (Nicomedia) and İznik (Nicea) along the Tolerance Way. Culture Routes Society organised the events with support from the Izmit Municipality and other local associations and clubs.
On 8 November the participants enjoyed a walk mostly through farmlands and orchards in perfectly warm weather, reaching an obelisk dating back to the 2nd century AD and continuing to a monumental tree of 700 years old. The hike ended in the center of İznik in the province of Bursa, on the southern end of the Tolerance Way, famous for its mosque which was previously a Roman temple, then a Byzantine church and local handicraft shops with a great variety of local tiles.
The second day united 60 walking enthusiasts (with over 10 volunteers for academic research). The walk started at Çobanoğlu village, where the group visited the remains of a Roman aqueduct en route as well as vast landscapes. The day continued at a lakeside with a 30-min yoga session. At the end of the day, participants also enjoyed a workshop given by Kate Clow on mapping and safety during outdoor activities. The topics covered during the workshop included conventional mapping and way-finding methods; essential gears; wildlife; route finding and safety on trails; emergency and rescue, etc.
The final day’s itinerary was a rather easy and pleasant walk along the coastline near the center of İzmit. The day started with warm-up and stretching exercises by İzmit Municipality’s Sports department and continued with a sunny walk in a recently opened park area. Finally, HIKE closing event with over 150 participants took place at the headquarters of the Kocaeli Higher Education Association with the CRS team presenting project goals, outcomes and achievements, while the İzmit Municipality explained their contribution and involvement in the project.
During all the hiking events the Sports Faculty students of Kocaeli University took health measurements and conducted psychology-related surveys of the participants for the academic research on the influence of sports on human health. The second weekend’s bloggers were another traveler couple (@kokladunyayi) who helped document the event with their photographs, short videos, etc. daily.
You can read the article on the first weekend of the HIKE in Türkiye here at this link.
[Pictures: Culture Routes Society]