Detour #177: The Stone Road that took a century to build, Turkey
Photo Mazda
Next time you complain about roadworks, spare a thought for the residents of Kemaliye who had to wait 132 years for the Stone Road to be completed.
What’s more they had to build the road themselves because the authorities wouldn’t pay. Oh, and they did it by hand, carving much of the five-mile route into the rock face of the ominously-named Dark Canyon, high above the bubbling Euphrates river, with picks and shovels.
Work began in 1870, but it wasn’t until 2002 that the route finally opened, connecting Kemaliye to central Anatolia. And what a route it is.
Chiselled into the near-vertical cliff face with no barriers to protect you from dropping into the stunning green-blue hued river below, the unpaved road is best tackled in a 4x4. Although as I picked my way through in a Mazda CX-5 a gaggle of adventurous bikers on BMWs squeezed by. The Stone Road is barely wide enough for one car, so should you come across a fellow traveller you’ll need to manoeuvre carefully to pass without either grinding against the rock wall or tumbling over the precipice.
Slowly does it is the mantra of the Stone Road, not just in its construction but in the way you travel it. In its short length there are 38 unlit tunnels plunging you into instant darkness. In places there are openings to shed a little light on the proceedings and it’s all too easy to mistake these for the tunnel exit and find yourself driving towards oblivion instead.
So it takes some time to cover the short distance, crawling through at little more than a walking pace, choosing the path of least resistance between rocks and potholes, while stealing glimpses at the breathtaking Dark Canyon.
But where’s the hurry? It took 132 years to build the Stone Road so travellers really ought to be able to manage a little patience.
ROADBOOK
CLASS: Canyon road
NAME: The Stone Road
ROUTE: D877 Kamilye to Gümüşçeşme
COUNTRY: Turkey
DISTANCE: 8 miles
The window of opportunity to drive into the wilds of Alaska’s Denali Highway is narrow.