First, the sound of water, rushing down from
mountain peaks, striking against the rocks on
its way, flowing into deep valleys where it
refreshes the human soul.
Then, the sound of the wind, licking the hills
as it swoops down into the forest, caressing the
leaves. The sound of the wind, permeated with
the scent of autumn reds and weary greens.
Finally, the sound of birds. The calls of the
migratory birds, intermingling with the cries of
the other birds seeing them off.
The scent of autumn. Scent of sadness, emanating
from every red- and yellow-tinged leaf.
Güzeldere is a unique patch of nature where the
sounds of water, wind and birds commingle.
On the most colorful day of autumn, I fell to
watching the Güzeldere waterfall and the water
that literally gushes from the giant rock
formations in its deep valley. A person’s mind
seemed to empty out with the colorful
crystalline droplets that chased away every care
and woe from the heart. Reddish leaves of beech
flew about the valley, those that fell into the
water whirling like Mevlevi dervishes in the
small ponds there.
Spring waters arising in Düzce’s Elmacık
Mountains join together to form streams, each
more beautiful than the last. As its name
implies, Güzeldere (literally, beautiful stream)
is the loveliest of them all. The forests that
line the valley boast the most pleasing colors
in every season. In winter everything is
blanketed in mute white. Then, in spring, fresh
green makes a harmonious contrast with the wild
rhododendrons’ purple. In summer dark green
rules the mountains. And in autumn? The red of
beech and hornbeam and the yellow of the linden
mingle with the stubborn green of the brush.
Autumn is the most splendid season at Güzeldere.
ON THE
MOUNTAINS’ BALCONY
The small streams arising on Mount Elmacık
meander across comely highlands, each one more
stunning that the last. Flowing gently from the
Hira, Pürenli, Kızık, Balıklı and Derebalık
plateaus through kilometer after kilometer of
forest, they plunge now into canyons, burst now
into the plains, bestowing life on the
woodlands. So dense are these forests that their
deepest recesses are as dark as night in summer
when the trees are in leaf. And deer and stag
wander in the shadows of the majestic beeches.
This virgin forest was discovered at the
beginning of the 18th century when caravan
routes from
Istanbul to Ankara crisscrossed the
mountains. And the lumber required by the
Kocaeli dockyards, where the Ottoman fleets were
built, was obtained from trees cut in these
forests. Brought down over rugged mountain roads
to Lake Efteni, formed by Güzeldere and other
streams, the trees were transported from here to
the Melen River. Thousands of logs were thus
floated down to the Black Sea coast through a
river bed made deeper by a series of weirs. Lake
Efteni in those days was a vast lake covering
Düzce Plain. According to data for the year
1918, wild animals were abundant in the area
around Efteni, a vital lake that covered an area
of 67 square kilometers, including the ‘Subasar’
forest. So much so that the wild animals here
were hunted on contract and the resulting
revenues used to cover treasury deficits. There
were myriad varieties of wild birds on the lake,
as well as fish in abundance. But mosquitoes
carrying the malaria microbe were also present
in large numbers. Malaria being a dread disease
in those days, few people settled in the area
around Güzeldere and Lake Efteni. Owing to its
temperate climate, however, birds made their
home in the environs. Unfortunately, however,
Lake Efteni and its marshes were drained to gain
agricultural land, and neither birds, wild
animals, forest, nor marshes remained. In more
recent years, the lake was declared a wildlife
refuge and bird sanctuary, and efforts are
currently under way to expand it further.
Soft-spoken water buffalo and deeper voiced
cows, which have now replaced the stags, can be
heard in the few wetland forest areas that
survive.
EFTHELYA SPELLS
PASSION
Many legends are told about Lake Efteni. One of
the most interesting of them concerns a
Byzantine princess, Efthelya, whose name is also
said to have inspired the name of the lake.
Legend has it that when the Byzantine army was
returning from battle in a time when the lake
stretched all the way to the horizon, they
encamped along its shore. Struck by a fatal
disease en route, Prince Efthelya developed open
sores on her hands and face. But during the
encampment the princess bathed in the warm
waters bubbling up from underground along the
lake shore, and by morning all her sores were
beginning to heal. Seeing this, the Byzantine
emperor immediately gave the order for a bath to
be built here, and, leaving the princess with
the doctor and his assistants, went away. Later
on, when the princess, her sores now healed, was
sailing on the lake in a boat, she was smitten
by an Ottoman prince who lived on the opposite
shore, and they began to pay each other
reciprocal visits. But these visits were cut
short when the princess’s boat sank in the lake
and she died. Ever since that day the lake has
been known as Lake Efteni.
Although the legend is of debatable truth, there
remains today at Gökyaka a tiny thermal spring
that has been used for centuries. There is also
a small bed&breakfast in the vicinity. The
waters of this spa, overlooking Lake Efteni
where hundreds of birds fly, are said to be good
for rheumatism and diseases of the skin.
Woodcutting continues today in the forests of
Güzeldere where trees have been felled for
centuries for lumber. The raw materials of the
timber industry at Düzce are also supplied from
here. The rumble of lorries carrying the giant
beech trees down the mountain roads and the
sound of the chain saws, like the buzzing of
thousands of bees in the depths of the forest,
are unfortunately rarely absent nowadays.
Vanishing like falling stars from the forests
that used to cover the mountains like emerald
green carpets, the trees resound with a great
reverberation when they hit the ground.
Hazelnut trees were planted around the Güzeldere
waterfall in the areas where the forests were
cleared a hundred years ago, and hazelnut
production is the main livelihood of the local
people today. Additionally, fields of wild
strawberries from whose tiny, sweet smelling
fruit jam is made, are also conspicuous. Most of
the villages in the vicinity are populated by
refugees from the Caucasus. While signs of human
life were once never encountered in this richly
forested area, increasing population growth has
led to the division of existing villages and
opening up of new districts at higher elevations
as well as the formation of new villages.
The area where the Güzeldere Waterfall is
located is used as a picnic ground today.
Welcoming large groups of travelers, especially
on weekends, the waterfall area, the uplands and
Lake Efteni offer a perfect opportunity for
anyone who wants to savor the taste of autumn.
