Perhaps one of the most remarkable places that I have stayed, Cappadocia is like Star Wars desert meets porn film set. Have you seen those photos of hot air balloons in the sky above giant rocky phalluses? Yes, this is the heaven, erm haven I speak of.
Known for it's cave dwellings, accommodation in the area offers visitors a chance to sleep in cave rooms. Due to the limited amount of time I had here (2 nights, 3 days) after settling in to my very own (faux) cave dwelling I walked to the Goreme Open Air Museum, which is essentially a whole series of cave churches and residences no longer in use. These places are designed with excellent insulation and their main purpose was to conceal. Cleverly carved into the rock, these homes provided protection from scouting enemies, as they simply looked like rock formations. Vanessa and I (another lone traveller at the same hostel) revisited our childhood scrambling over some of these formations off the beaten path and climbing into their nooks and crannies.
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| Vanessa and I at the Goreme Open Air Museum |
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| Pottery grows on trees here |
If you ever visit Cappadocia, I highly recommend undertaking the Green Tour. It's very well priced and you are able to cover lots of km by shuttle bus to visit places you wouldn't get to see on foot. A practically bird's eye view of Pigeon Valley, a guided tour of Derinkuyu Underground City (massive refuge city still being excavated below ground) and a hike through Ihlara Valley to a delicious al fresco restaurant serving local cuisine are some of the highlights.
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| Pigeon Valley |
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| Ihlara Valley |
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| Green Tour lunch with new friends from New York |
Other memorable experiences include....
Ordering a traditional pottery kebap for dinner and not realising that the whole thing came enclosed in a... pot. Then cracking said pot with terrible technique and crunching on the pottery shards in my meal throughout the course of the night.
Climbing to the hill above our hostel to the best sunset spot, and riding a random local's white horse (that's one sighting!) along the ridge as the red sun dipped behind the horizon.
My late night escapade with roomie Liz and two of the local boys who worked at the hostel. We grabbed some beers after they knocked off and they took us to a secret spot on the top of a nearby hill which overlooked the town of Goreme. The stars were so bright!
My final day spent relaxing by the pool and recalling childhood games such as Marco Polo and Cargo, Battleship & Submarine, playing table tennis, writing in the very cool cabanas in the garden and swimming some more. Oh and eating. Mustn't forget the eating.
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| My hostel, complete with erection |
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| Shot from horseback |
As all good things must come to an end, I am now on the overnight bus back to Istanbul so I can fly out of Turkey and into Croatia. I really hope that nothing goes wrong, as I have left only four hours between my arrival to the city and the departure of my flight. Nothing like flying by the seat of your pants! (Although I'd prefer to actually catch the airplane as these are new pants and remain, as yet, untested for flight...)
Recommendations:
Accommodation: Rock Valley Pension in Goreme, Cappadocia.
Cappadocia Green Tour (approx 70TL).
Cappadocia Open Air Museum, Goreme.
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| Rugs a million |
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| It's hard not to laugh |
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