Turkey - Days 4 & 5

Tues, Aug 3rd
I arrived in Cappadoccia not well rested, but as soon as I got off of the bus, I was invigorated. The view was astonishing. Seriously, check it out online. The geology of the area is remarkable, making the town look like something contrived and built up for a movie or for a Disney attraction. Pointed "fairy chimneys" are everywhere. Noturally formed out of the rock of the land, many have been carved out by humans to live inside.

The Star Cave hotel picked me up and brought me the short distance to the hotel. Although maybe not the most attentive, they were great none the less. The hotel itself is built into and among the natural caves. I shared a room with Alan and it was easily one of the coolest rooms that I have ever stayed in anywhere. A cave itself, it had two rooms, tapestries on the walls, and was comfortably much cooler than outside. And the breakfast was awesome. Eating a pile of food, I met newly arrived Alan (Canada) and Andre (Polland/US), along with Gillian and Claire (both from OZ), who had already been around for a couple of days.

After breakfast, Alan, Gillian, and I went on the Green Tour. A packaged tour, it took us all over the are. We started with a panoramic viewpoint of the area. Our guide was good and explained quite a bit about the area. Next we went to explore one of the two underground cities. Remarkably big, and old, they housed many early Christian settlers and protected them from their enemies. In some cases, thousands would live in them and remain underground for 2 or 3 months at a time. Along with live stock, it's amazing that they could stand to do it.

We then had lunch by a stream, chowing down on a range of foods, while bees and flies buzzed all around. Honestly, they were some of the most persistent bugs ever. I don't know what it is, but it just seems that Egypt and Turkey have had the most insanely annoying flies. Fully charged with food, we made our way to the Ishara Valley. A mini grand canyon type of gorge, we poked around into ancient churches carved into the rock and simply had a chance to walk around, hear the birds and bubbling stream and smell some fresh air. At one point we even stopped at a small cafe that was built right into the stream, with stump seats placed in the water.

On our way back to Goreme we paused briefly for a view of Pigeon Valley. For many years, the people of the area relied on these pigeon houses in order to live. Sure, they ate some of them, but more so they gathered the pigeon poo and sold it as fertilizer. Nowadays, the pigeon holes carved into the rocks are just another cool aspect of this amazing land.

Back in town we met up with Claire and Andre for dinner at an old (in a building that is something like 400 years old or so). We all ordered the traditional dish which is baked for hours in clay pots. Not the best tasting food in the world, it did not matter, since the atmosphere was fantastic. The waiter came to our table, broke open each pot, and poured out chicken, beef, and veggie dishes that can be best described as a crock pot type of stew. The conversation was great, and as is often the case with travelers, moves into a discussion of favorite places and places that you would love to go. Adding in the hypothetical thought that you could travel anywhere without being constrained by money or permits, I chose a cruise to Antartica, while Andre went with the very cool idea of a trip to space, and someone else thought up a journey to North Korea. Hmmmm...where would you go?


Wed, Aug 4th
4:45 am. Alarm goes off, but just like being a kid waking up early on a school day for a cool field trip, I was much more excited than tired. What was in store for me was my first experience in a hot air balloon. And what's more, this was over a landscape that would render just about anyone speechless.

Jumping into the basket with Andre and Gillian, along with 8 other people (and we were actually in a smaller basket), we were soon lifting off. The flames of the huge torches, aimed into the balloon, were intensely hot and loud. But with each burst, we rose higher and higher. AT the peak we were about 600 meters or so above the ground. It was breath taking. I was amazed by how calm the wind was up high and at how good the balloonist was at controlling our movement. We dipped high and then low, almost scraping the ground. And at one point we seemed to hover just above the ground forever, seeming to not move at all.

Returning to the hostel, it was still just 7 am. We ate another mound of food and soon Alan and I were off (actually, I left and he was taken to the wrong place, but eventually met up with my van) on the Red tour of the area. Led by our guide Gamse, we saw many similar views as from the previous day. A towering cave castle and lots of views of the fairy chimneys, shaped as a camel, mushroom tops, a family of three, a rabbit, and kissing ducks. We went to the open air museum, which is basically an area filled with carved homes and churches, some of which are preserved quite well, complete with colorfully painted murals within them. To finish the trip, we stopped at a winery, where we tried some bad, but also some decent wine and also a pottery factory. Here we were taken through each step of the pottery making process and at the end, shown how to use a traditional pottery wheel. I was even given the chance to give it a go in front of everyone else. I started off OK, but soon the shape started to deteriorate and there was no coming back from it. I eventually just had to stop the wheel and laugh at my...wine pouring vessel, yeah, that's what it was.

The day ended with a low key dinner of pide (Turkish style pizza) with Alan, Andre, and Laura (OZ), followed by overnight bus (I ran into some MSU people on the way to the bus terminal...Go Green!) trip number two, this one to Pamukale.