Catching the air in Butterfly Valley: base jumping comes to Fethiye

11 February 2016 by Jane Akatay No Comments
Probably the ultimate adrenaline sport, Base Jumping has arrived in Fethiye and this April the town will host the first World Cup on one of the most spectacular stretches of coastline in the whole of Turkey and Mediterranean


Butterfly Valley is one of the most beautiful, and certainly the most dramatic locations in the Fethiye region.


Butterfly Valley

Popular with travellers and holiday-makers looking for something a bit different, and with a growing reputation for ecotourism, it’s usually where people go to chill out and relax during hot the summer months, perhaps camping, canoeing, scuba diving or hiking through the steep valley to see the famous Jersey tiger moths, from very the location got its name.


Jersey tiger moths – wikipedia

Base Jumping Comes to Butterfly Valley

But on Monday there was a very different kind of atmosphere, pure adrenaline, and a very unusual sight flying through the air: base jumpers.
Cengiz Kocak and Hasan Dökmetepeliolu have became the first two people to base jump into Butterfly Valley. Ever…

Cengiz Kocak preparing for his jump

After the jump Kocak said:
The first base jump to the Butterfly Valley, on which we have been working for over a year, has just been made from the exit point, “Fethi Bey.” With Ali Es, we did our best but I particularly would like to congratulate Erdal Akku_, who is the one behind the idea, for his great efforts in opening one of the most beautiful object in the world for our sport.”

A beautiful ‘object’


A beautiful object

These two described the place from which they jumped as:
One of the most beautiful objects in the world.’
Base jumping involves jumping from a fixed place or ‘object’. This can be natural or man made – free falling through the air – with only a few seconds to open the parachute.
It’s risky but for those who love it, very exciting and addictive.
‘Exit point’ – this is the place from when the jump happens, in this case it is from a platform.
The organizers have named it Fethi Bey, who is the WWI pilot from whom Fethiye got its name.

Why ‘BASE’ Jumping?

For our readers who know little or nothing about this sport, the word ‘base’ in jumping is an acronym to illustrate the different kinds of objects from which the base jumpers jump.
Buildings: jumping from buildings
Antennas: Antenna towers are popular jumping points because they are often as tall as the world’s tallest buildings.
Spans (Bridges): Spans, or bridges, have to cross over large canyons or gorges to be suitable for a BASE jump.
Earth: Earth refers to large natural formations that are suitable for BASE jumping — cliffs, canyons, fjords and gorges. BASE jumping actually began on a massive rock outcropping in Yosemite National Park known as El Capitan.
Click here to find out more

Catch the air around the butterfly

Erdal Akku_ is the man behind the idea and this year, working with Ali Es, he’s managed to make Butterfly Valley the location for the first Butterfly World Cup, which will be held on 26th to 29th April, 2016.
Applications for this competition will be accepted using the reference system, via event’s website and Facebook page. These will be online in the coming weeks.
The list of athletes and sponsors will be announced in March.



Details

Object’s name / Fethi Bey
Place / Butterfly Valley, Fethiye
Object type / Cliff (with ramp)
Height / 179 m.
Landing / Butterfly Valley Beach
Access to the exit from the landing / 45 minutes hike / 30 minutes boat drive.