Cappadocia
Our next stop was Göreme in Cappadocia, where the landscape is surreal – pointy pillars of soft volcanic rock, many of which have been excavated to make houses, churches and bars. The landscape was created when Erciyes Dagi erupted.
On our first morning we were woken at dawn by odd engine noises and when we looked out we discovered that our campsite is next to the hot-air balloon launching grounds and we watched about fifty balloons (each holding up to 20 people) take to the air. Wonderful sight, and so we booked a flight for a few days later.(€130 each).
On our first morning we were woken at dawn by odd engine noises and when we looked out we discovered that our campsite is next to the hot-air balloon launching grounds and we watched about fifty balloons (each holding up to 20 people) take to the air. Wonderful sight, and so we booked a flight for a few days later.(€130 each).
We stayed at Camping Goreme which we found by accident when the sat nav went mad but there are two other campsites in the area which are well regarded. Our campsite was convenient for walking into Goreme which is a nice little town. It caters for tourists but is not tacky. There are lots of restaurants and bars and small bijou hotels cut into the chimneys.
These are pigeon coops.
We went round the open-aire museum (15TL each - €7.50) but made the mistake of not getting there at the 8am opening time – when we arrived at 9am there were already coachloads of tourists there and big queues to get into the early Christian cave churches, some of which date from the second century, though the murals are mainly 13th or 14th century. There was also a ban on photography in the caves, though this was almost universally ignored. We got a particularly good view of the ‘Dark Church’ only because you had to pay another 8TL each (€4) to gt in, and we saw several people baulk (sometimes abusively) at this piece of sharp practice but having come so far it seemed churlish not to pay up and see a bit more.
Rose Valley
In the evening we walked over the hills behind the campsite and into the Rose Valley to see more fantastic rock formations and houses/churches – including the conical ‘fairy houses’, some deep gorges, and a fox and a Long-Legged Buzzard. The steep slopes covered in fine sand meant some scrambling over very slippery rocks but the sights were amazing. If you are staying longer in the area there are lots of good walks to be had in this amazing landscape. You can also do a spot of horseriding or quad biking.
Goreme
Goreme
Goreme
It also turned quite cold during our visit – we were at 1200 metres (a touch under 4,000 feet) so the absence of sunshine sends the temperature down quite sharply. Unfortunately a turn in the weather meant that our balloon trip was cancelled and we felt we had too much to do in the rest of Turkey so did not stay on to see whether we could get another flight a day or so later, which with the benefit of hindsight we subsequently regretted.
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Cappadocia is marked on the map on the left. |
Click here to go to Mount Nemrut and the OTT burial ground on an ancient king.
