We took a taxi from Batumi to the Turkish border and then a Dolmus (Turkish name for Marshrutka shared mini bus) to a town called Hoppa. There we hopped (sic) on an overnight bus to Nevsehir in the Cappadocia region. The bus journey was over 17 hours, and Michelle was upset at how long Ronnie managed to sleep.
We decided that with less than 2 weeks left that Turkey is just far too large to do it any justice at all, so we decided to just focus on a couple of main sites – Cappadocia and Pamukkale. That would leave a few days on the coast at the end for some beach R&R to relax after a strenuous trip.
Even only a few kilometres over the border, it felt quite different. Although Turkey is still supposed to be a secular country, Islam is very dominant.
Cappadocia is the world-famous site with lots of strange rock formations with cave dwellings and “fairy chimneys”. They were formed by lava deposits of basalt, a hard rock, on top of the soft sandstone which has eroded away except where it is protected by a basalt cap. The name Cappadocia derives from “the land of beautiful horses”.
Cappadocia is a fascinating area, and I make no apology for the number of photos which follow. Enjoy or skip.
Until fairly recently, people lived in the cave houses carved from the rock. The last moved out only in the early 50’s.
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Ice-cream tricks -
Teasing
We got up before 6am to watch the balloons being launched over Cappadocia.
We took the “Green” tour to North Cappadocia to see some of the sights there. The first stop was the Selime monastery.
Next stop was a lovely 4km walk along the Ihlara valley. It was cool with the trees and the small stream.
We were pleased to see Turkeys in Turkey – even though they originate in America.
We explored the Derinkuyu underground city – well Ronnie did at least – Michelle was too scared.
The tunnels were only just big enough for one person to pass. This made the city easier to defend.
There were a few round doors which could be rolled across to block the tunnel entrances. The doors had a peep hole (spear hole?) in the middle.
On the way back we stopped for a viewpoint.
Before getting back to our hotel, we visited a gem factory. Turkey is famous for Onyx, which is related to marble, but is translucent which makes it even more beautiful when the light passes through it.
Then we stopped at the obligatory Turkish Delight sweet factory.
We took a hike through the “Rose valley”. Very pretty.
At then back into “civilization” (?)
