Yesterday I wandered the streets of Goreme with the words to Paul Kelly's 'From St Kilda to Kings Cross' bouncing around my head. We had just spent 13 hours on a bus and arrived in a desserted little town just as the first light of dawn was spreading across the sky. It was great just to dump our packs at the Pension and wander the streets for a while. We found a good vantage point and watched
as more than 20 hot air balloons rose slowly into the lightening sky.
Back to the Paul Kelly reference, I couldn't help but ask myself the question would I trade all that land and all that water for this one sweet promenade? I'm just glad I don't have to answer that question.
The buses these in Turkey are clean and comfortable. It appears that the only person allowed to smoke on buses is the driver! We arrived in better shape than anticipated and so decided to be a little adventurous on our first day in Cappadoccia. We rented a couple of mountain bi
kes for a bit of off track exploring. We made the obligatory visit to the open air museum, but I really enjoyed having the chance and the means to explore away from the crowds for a while. The landscape of the whole area is so unlike anything I have seen before. It has elements of the Bungle Bungles, Badlands (South Dakota) and a lunar landscape all rolled into one.
The maze of valleys and ravines at times feels all but impenetrable and was the cause of us getting lost on a couple of occasions. After riding through creek beds and tunnels and pushing our bikes up impossibly steep goat tracks we emerged at Urchisar, a small town perched high on a ridge overlooking Goreme. The view from the top and on the way down was worth every bit of the effort to get there. The descent was..... a balancing act between soaking in the view, negotiating the turns, dodging the potholes and avoiding the buses! I had so much fun but my calves (and to a lesser extent my bum) were so sore.
My toe is slowly healing but I still cant get a shoe on my left foot (obviously its not slowing me down too much!). After the ride we celebrated with an Iced White Chocolate Frappe that was to die for. A deserved indulgence I figured (as was the afternoon nap that followed).
Much of the accommodation in Goreme is in the form of cave rooms, which allows your room to remain a fairly constant temperature during the day. I can't quite get my head around arriving all hot and sweaty in the middle of the afternoon and soon feeling the need to put on extra clothing. On the other hand, when we got back after dinner a little chilly, I soon became warm and toasty.
We rose early again this morning for the mandatory balloon ride. The 50 minute ride was simply breathtaking. We bagin with a close quartes descent through Rose Valley. I was amazed by how much control our pilot had, allowing us to get up close and personal with some awesome fairy chimneys and ravines. We the rose quite quickly and had a magnificent panoramic view from a fair way up. I was suprised by how peaceful it was, with this only being punctuated by an occasional blast of the propane torch. Infact, if I had been able to throw the Californian out of the basket the trip would have been perfect!
I have the next day or so wandering the alleys and shops of Goreme before boarding another overnight bust to Antakya (Hatay), once described as the most depraaved city of the Roman empire! From there I will kick off the Syrian leg of my adventure on Friday.
as more than 20 hot air balloons rose slowly into the lightening sky.Back to the Paul Kelly reference, I couldn't help but ask myself the question would I trade all that land and all that water for this one sweet promenade? I'm just glad I don't have to answer that question.
The buses these in Turkey are clean and comfortable. It appears that the only person allowed to smoke on buses is the driver! We arrived in better shape than anticipated and so decided to be a little adventurous on our first day in Cappadoccia. We rented a couple of mountain bi
kes for a bit of off track exploring. We made the obligatory visit to the open air museum, but I really enjoyed having the chance and the means to explore away from the crowds for a while. The landscape of the whole area is so unlike anything I have seen before. It has elements of the Bungle Bungles, Badlands (South Dakota) and a lunar landscape all rolled into one.The maze of valleys and ravines at times feels all but impenetrable and was the cause of us getting lost on a couple of occasions. After riding through creek beds and tunnels and pushing our bikes up impossibly steep goat tracks we emerged at Urchisar, a small town perched high on a ridge overlooking Goreme. The view from the top and on the way down was worth every bit of the effort to get there. The descent was..... a balancing act between soaking in the view, negotiating the turns, dodging the potholes and avoiding the buses! I had so much fun but my calves (and to a lesser extent my bum) were so sore.
My toe is slowly healing but I still cant get a shoe on my left foot (obviously its not slowing me down too much!). After the ride we celebrated with an Iced White Chocolate Frappe that was to die for. A deserved indulgence I figured (as was the afternoon nap that followed).Much of the accommodation in Goreme is in the form of cave rooms, which allows your room to remain a fairly constant temperature during the day. I can't quite get my head around arriving all hot and sweaty in the middle of the afternoon and soon feeling the need to put on extra clothing. On the other hand, when we got back after dinner a little chilly, I soon became warm and toasty.
We rose early again this morning for the mandatory balloon ride. The 50 minute ride was simply breathtaking. We bagin with a close quartes descent through Rose Valley. I was amazed by how much control our pilot had, allowing us to get up close and personal with some awesome fairy chimneys and ravines. We the rose quite quickly and had a magnificent panoramic view from a fair way up. I was suprised by how peaceful it was, with this only being punctuated by an occasional blast of the propane torch. Infact, if I had been able to throw the Californian out of the basket the trip would have been perfect!
I have the next day or so wandering the alleys and shops of Goreme before boarding another overnight bust to Antakya (Hatay), once described as the most depraaved city of the Roman empire! From there I will kick off the Syrian leg of my adventure on Friday.
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