Did you know that Isparta is known as the land of roses and beautifully nicknamed as Rose City? I bet you dont! This southern Anatolian province is situated about two hours inland from the Mediterranean sea. Afyon province is adjacent to the northwest side of Isparta, Burdur comes at the southwest, Antalya on the south side and Konya to the eastern side of the land. Isparta is positioned as the world’s biggest growers of the famous damascene rose. They export rose oil all around the world and holds the history of oil distillation for over 200 years. The Grand mosque at Mecca, Saudi Arabia usually buys rosewater from Isparta. If you have a love for flora and nature, you must visit Isparta on harvest time during May/June. You’ll find some great beautiful roses and a bunch lavender flowers everywhere during this period.
Lake Eğirdir is a good place to relax if you’re traveling from the Aegean coast or Konya. At the diminutive lakeside town of Eğirdir, there is a walkway extending into the good-natured blue Egirdir Lake that connects two small islands. The lake is one of the most beautiful lakes in Isparta. Egirdir count to be the fourth largest lake of Turkey having 517 kilometer square surface area. The lake is divided into two sections one on the south as the Egirdir Lake and the other one on the north called as Hoyran Lake. You can do swimming, boating and hike up to the incline of adjoining DavrasDağı (2635 meters, 8645 feet).
HızırBeyCamii is a mosque situated in Eğirdir and is the largest among all the other mosques of the city. Its walls are made up of paper and the roof was built for the first time by HızırBey. The construction of the mosque was completed between 1327 and 1328, at the beginning of the 14th century. After the completion of the construction, the name of the mosque was Hamidoğlu but later it was changed to HızırBey Mosque because it was constructed by HızırBey. As the features shows, there is a high row of the skylight on top of the central hall along with new tiles all around the mihrab (a place that represents the direction of Mecca). The delicately carved wooden doors and stone portal enhances its beauty because of the well ordered minaret’s faded blue tiles.
Davraz Kayak Merkezi, which is also referred as Mount Davras, is a mountain that is basically used in winters for sports and ski resort in Isparta. This ski center is to be found just 26 km away from Isparta (56 km from Isparta’s Suleyman Demirel Airport). Davraz mountain ski resort is located in the mediterranean region. There are five lifts that are used to transport the guests for skiing and snowboarding on eight kilometers of slope. The winter games area is positioned at the altitude of 1,650 and 2,150 m. Lake Eğirdir is roughly at the distance of 25 km (16 miles) from the Davraz ski resort.
Köprülü canyon is a national park which is one of the famous parks of Isparta. The park is enriched from flora and fauna and renowned for its wild beauty. Casting an area of 366 kilometer square, it was recognized as a national park by the ministry of forest on December 12, 1973. The canyon is 400 m deep and stretches at 14 km at some places, besides the Köprü River. There is a circular beautiful crisscross way, fleeting from side to side of the wide forest and over the waterfalls. Rest of the area is housed by several fish restaurants where you can enjoy fresh trout in such a special way.
If you wish to see something thrilling in Isparta, you need to visit ZindanMagarasI which is a cave and a place for imprisonment. Located 2km north east of Aksu city center, Zindan cave is 765 meters long in total. Zindan cave is being recognized for 1000 of years. For reaching Zindan Cave there is a road which shares the slender passage with the river. The roman bridge gives a way in across the river to the huge cave entrance but once you enter the cave, passageway becomes quite narrow and the ceiling height soon might be dropped on your head so it is recommended to wear a hard hat to avoid any harm.
Want to see something historical? Visit the first museum in Isparta, which was constructed in 1935 with a display hall of the public house for ancient works. The construction of this modern museum was startedin 1971. The first museum office was established when a room in the library building was used as a museum warehouse. Isparta museum is being organized as archaeology and ethnography museum. The contruction consists of four halls, one of the halls is relatively smaller than the other three. Each halls are categorized as ethnography hall, archaeology hall, yuruk hall, and carpet hall.
The village of Kuyucak is a place for flora lovers. The manufacturing of the essential oil from lavender is an important source of income for Turkey. Lavender gardens have fascinating purple colors and has created an individual opening in eco-tourism. Around 50 years, the production of lavender was accessible in the Kuyucak village of Isparta province. Located 47 kilometers from Isparta, Kuyucak being an attractive village is positioned on a high hill at the circumference of the Taurus mountains, encircled by lavender sheltered plains and slopes. When you see the clusters of lavenders which are sprung on the streets between the lanes of mud brick houses, your vision will actually enchant and refresh the soul with a fragrance of flowers.
One of the oldest cities in Isparta, Antioch of Pisidia is a city in the region of turkish lakes which is at the turning point of the 100 miles north of the mediterranean. The city lies about 1 km northeast of Yalvaç. There is a hill with its top most point of 1236 meters in the north on which the city lies. The ruins were discovered by europeans in 1833, after the destruction in early 18th century. This city went through a lot of destruction and discoveries. There is a temple which was made by the Jews community dedicated to the moon god for worship. There is a stadium and a theater which were built in the city even before the birth of christ.
Firdevs Pasha mosque, one of the oldest mosques of Isparta in the neighborhood of Isparta ÜzümPazarı, built by the Isparta governor FirdevsPaşa in 1561 during the reign of Süleyman the magnificent. The mosque is in its position since it was built, several renovations has been made but its original interior was never changed. Halil Hamid Pasha repaired the mosque in 1783 but he did not break the original form of the restored glass and cracked marble columns.
If you have any of the hobbies among trekking, climbing, and camping then lake Kovada national park is the most suitable place for you while your stay in Isparta. The park lies in the east of Isparta and south of Egirdir with the enclosing area of 6,534 hectares. The depth of the lake is about 6 to 7 meters and 9 kilometers in width which makes it a quite shallow one. Sediment in the water gives the lake a greenish color by which you can see 1.5 meters underneath the water. Different types of herbs like blackberry, wild roses and daphne enhance this park. Most probably, you shouldn’t be surprised to see many wild animals including wild bears, foxes, squirrels badgers and martens.