Mount Spil and the Weeping Rock of Manisa

The mountain behind Manisa is both a national park and the address of a legend. The rock said to be Niobe, turned to stone after losing her children, stands at its foot, and water seeping from its surface still makes it look as though it is weeping. An hour from İzmir, it is the nearest height to escape the summer heat.

Getting there: trains and buses to Manisa are frequent and take about an hour. Reaching Mount Spil requires a car, twenty kilometres of mountain road from the centre. Without one, the town and the Niobe rock make a full enough programme.

The day: spend the morning in Manisa. The Muradiye and Sultan mosques belong to the Ottoman classical period; this was a city where princes were raised and the architecture carries that weight. The tradition of mesir paste was born here, and the area around the Sultan Mosque is the heart of that story. Then walk to the Niobe rock nearby. In the afternoon drive up into the national park. The road twists but the view opens at every bend, and above there are black pine forest, caves and meadows where the Manisa tulip flowers in spring. The Gediz plain is visible in full from the top.

Eating: try Manisa kebab and the local sübye drink. Buy mesir paste from herbalists in the centre.

Tips: the tulips flower in mid April and the park is busy that week.