Cappadocia

 Monday May 15th

A 3:30am alarm is no great way to start the day, but the end result was worth it. We were picked up from our hotel at 4:00 and taken to the Voyager Balloons office for breakfast  - but mostly to pay the remaining balance for our sunrise balloon flight. We had booked a 'Comfort' ride, which meant a maximum of 16 people, rather than the 20 or 24 crammed into other baskets. It turned out to be an inspired choice as there were only 4 of us - plus pilot. Trace and I in one half of the basket meant we could move around and swap places at will. It was our first balloon ride and we were surprised at how gentle take off was. In fact the whole 1:15hr ride was so peaceful and smooth it was amazing. A balloon ride is a 'must do' in Cappadocia and we were in one of 100 balloons, with another 50 launching half an hour or so later. It was truly spectacular watching all the balloons floating along, but also looking at the 'fairy chimneys' that form a large part of the scenery around here. Our pilot flew low through various valleys and quite high between them, giving us very different views.  He also dropped down as we went over the town of Goreme - and our hotel. I say low and sometimes we were below the tops of the fairy chimneys, but it always felt extremely safe. The landing too was very gentle, landing on top of the trailer used to transport the basket. After the obligatory champagne we returned to our hotel in time for a shower and a proper breakfast.  (The earlier one was minimal, we had only a bread roll and a few slices of cheese)

After breakfast we walked to the Goreme Open Air Museum.  The musuem is a UNESCO World Heritage site and is home to a group of fairy chimneys, about 12 of which had had churches carved into them. These churches date from around the 11th century and many have beautiful painted ceilings and walls.  Many also have graves dug into the floors, with two graves displaying human remains under plexiglass.  Unfortunately photography was forbidden inside the churches so we don't have any of the paintings.

Returning to the hotel we got the car and drove to Uchisar Castle, the highest point in Cappadocia. (About 60metres tall) Once again Uchisar Castle is essentially a fairy chimney and not a castle in the traditional sense but one where many famililies lived together.  The caves in Uchisar Castle are believed to be from Byzantine times or even the Hittites (as per Bogazkale from the previous post)

After returning from here I dropped Trace off at the hotel before heading out to get some diesel.  Fuel stations aren't overly common around here and I wanted to fill up before a bit more exploring we have planned. Having done around 870km - and showing a remaining range of 165 - the car took 40 litres and cost $60AUD.  Fairly happy with that.

Managed 15738 steps and 25km of driving today. 

Tues May 16th.

We left our hotel around 9:00am this morning for a 12.5km walk on a circular route that started outside our hotel. The route went through Pigeon Valley to Uchisar, then back through White and Love Valleys.  The Pigeon Valley portion took us through a few tunnels and past many pigeon roosts. The farmers of old had carved pigeon holes into the side of the fairy chimneys and then used the pigeon droppings as fertiliser.  We had flown over all the valleys yesterday so it was interesting seeing them from ground level. I was using an App called AllTrails which shows a green line for you to follow - turnng blue as you pass.  This was essential because the signposting was virtually non-existent and even with the app we missed a turn off here and there.  I  paid for the premium version a while ago ($15 on special) and that buzzes if you go too far off track.  It never buzzed so we didn't go too far wrong.  

Pigeon Valley

The walk down into White Valley was quite treachorous, steep with loose stones on the main track. We both had visions of Trace falling and cracking her pelvis - as she did in Kakadu - but no falls, so all good.  White Valley consisted of wavy, smooth looking white walls that were amazing. Not sure why it's called Love Valley, but maybe you can work it out from the photos ;)  

Love Valley

White Valley

The walk took us through Goreme township so we stopped for a bite and then completed the last few hundred metres.

By the time we got back to the hotel we were both hot and tired, so after talking to the kids on Messenger we sat in the sun and started writing this and Tracy, her diary.  Not long after we sat, the hotel staff spent about ten minutes unwrapping a giant umbrella and wheeling it over to us.  It was very kind and made it easier to see the screen of my tablet.

Not surprisingly, quite a few steps today, 20924

Wednesday May 17th

We got up at 5:30 this morning to watch the balloons float over our hotel, but unfortunately it seemed the wind wasnt blowing the right way.  Whilst we still saw about 40 balloons and it looked pretty amazing, they weren't as close as we wanted.

We headed straight out to do a hike, but upon getting to the start of the Red Valley we realised the sun was in the wrong spot, so we headed home and waited 30 minutes or so for breakfast to start.

After breakfast we drove to Kaymakli about 30 minutes away.  Here there is an Underground City dating back as far as the 8th Century BC.  In the period 780 to 1180 it were expanded and used as protection for the Christians against the Muslim Arabs.  The complex is huge with hundreds of tunnels and rooms, including stalls for animals, kitchens, wine cellars, living rooms and bedrooms.  There is no furniture in the rooms, but there are signs saying what the rooms were used for and sometimes there were stone blocks that were used for crushing spices etc.  There were also a couple of big circular stone doors that would have been rolled into place to seal the complex.  Currently tourists can go down four levels and explore many of the rooms and it was fascinating- so long as you are not claustrophobic, as most of the tunnels you had to bend over, almost in half, to fit through.  These cities were still used up until 1923.

Next stop was Derinkuyu Underground City about 7-8 kms away. This city is around 85 metres deep and used to house around 20,000 people, with the first two levels having been dated to 370 BC.  They say that Derinkuyu and Kaymakli are joined by tunnels and despite going down 5 levels and exploring, we couldn't find them :) The rooms in this city were bigger and the ceilings higher.  It was interesting comparing the two.  Derinkuyu had some walls with rocks and morter, not just carved rock.

We  returned to Goreme and wandered around having a closer look at some of the shops we had previously skipped past and got some lunch - a nice Pide.  

After a rest, we were planning on going back out to hike Red and Rose Valleys.  Unfortunately Mother Nature intervened with a huge thunderstorm.  For a while we still procrastinated, as despite quite a bit of thunder, there was little rain.  Fortunately we erred on the side of caution (and sensibility) because not long after, the heavens opened and heavy rain fell.  This is the only time (so far) that weather has intervened, so while disappointed we can't complain too much.

13192 steps today and 95km of driving