Magnificent and mysterious Cappadocia

My first day in Goreme, i walked all over town to get my marks and find places to eat, and I slept a lot.

The next day, i had decided to meditate from 5:30 to 6:30 to catch the sunrise and the hot air balloons flying in the sky, but unfortunately, the timing was off. Apparently, the sun here wakes up very early, and when i got out of door, the sky was already covered by balloons flying over it. So no time to reach the best viewpoint in town to watch the "show".

Since i was up anyway, i took a bus south and went to see the underground city of Dirinkuyu, 100m under ground, about 8 floors of connecting caves. Definitely most impressive from an infrastructure and engineering perspective, yet I was surprised to not see any drawings or paintings on the walls like one sees on most of similar ancient sites. 

On my way back, i asked direction to a guy standing next to me at the bus stop. He coincidentally went the same way, Urgup, and used to work at city hall, so lucky me he gave me lots of explanation about the city and different sites around it. Then he even showed me around a bit and walked me to a local restaurant. I ordered and off he went on more errands. Such delicious lunch!!! Some white bean stew again plus this time a dish called manti, a Turkish version of raviolis. Delicious!

I walked around Urgup some more and bumped into him again. Small town. He told me he was going to see this woman who told his Turkish girlfriend the day before that he was treating his Greek girlfriend much better so that she should asked for the same treatment. (Weird, eh?!) So he told me he was going to kill her, jokingly of course. I offered to lend him my knife. Lol

From Urgup i walked to another village with an old stone castle. After visiting the castle which was definitely not worth the fee, i met a big dog who followed me all the way to my hostel 5 km further. On the way we watched the sunset together, on top of a big cave structure, sitting next to a Japanese family.

The next day, I managed to tag along the hot air balloon crew to see how they launched and all. So up and picked up by 5am. Ufff...though it was very early, it was beautiful. So many of them so early. I couldn't wait to take one of these flights.

Once again, since I was up so early and wanted to make the best use of my day, I went to walk up Pigeon valley...though i only saw three pigeons. I was told later that it owes its name to when the valley people used to raise pigeons there to use their excrement for high quality fertilizer. But since then the pigeons have been abandoned because villagers use chemical fertilizers. Cheaper and easier to produce and handle.

In the absence of the pigeons, i however saw tons of butterfly. Almost had to push them aside with my hands to go through the valley. It was incredible. That explained why the day before I had seen so many butterflies dead on the road. Since so many of them exist here and that they only live on average 5 days, a lot of them fins themselves dead at the same time.

About 10 minutes before arriving at Uchisar, i reached Hasan tea garden, located in the middle of nowhere, with such a fantastic view of the valley and its boulders, and in the most peaceful of places. It was such a breeze of fresh cultural and joyful air. Hassan is extremely well educated and spoken. Just pick a language and he will impress you with his knowledge and his kindness. A group of 20+ old Germans were to arrive an hour later, so i didn't over extend my stay with Hassan.

Uçhisar is quite spectacular as the village is filled with caves all around for acres. So I spent hours venturing in as many caves as possible. So incredibly inspiring as to get an idea of people's living conditions back then. And also, it made me want to come back with sleeping bag and mat to sleep in caves rather than hostels. Much more fun and the views are breathtaking.

The entrance of the love valley, which is where I went right after Uçhisar, was magical. Gigantic lime and volcanic stone formations smoothened by century old erosion, looking like giant mushrooms carpeting the bottom of the valley, surrounded by white and yellow cliffs all around, with bright green trees and bushes here and there. I say it again: magical!

Later on in the valley, I understood why it had such a name: love valley. It is what I thought, but I got confirmation. Huge vertical formations looking like giant penises. But off course! I suppose Love valley sounds better and more romantic than Penis, or Shaft valley. Lol

Right at the end of it, at the right timing as I got into Çavuşin, it started hailing and raining very brutally. Ufff..perfect for a lunch break. I met a couple, he from Slovakia, and she from Japan, they were also both taking refuge here until then rain stop. Then back on the road for the Rose and Red valley. Gorgeous valleys, very colorful, with tunnels carved in the rock, and bridges. It started raining again, so as i ran fast to look for refuge in the valley, i bumped into this young French couple, and we both climbed up into the small yet old cave church. Finally the rain stopped for good. The end of rose valley is an unbelievable spectacle, dominating the whole valley. There was a local coupe who was probably doing some extra cash by setting this gorgeously simple little tea garden on the very edge of the cliff, with carpets and pillows on the floor perfectly arranged to have the most romantic and comfortable moment while watching the sun setting over the valley.

While sipping on a fresh squeezed grapefruit juice, i met a Turkish couple from Uchicar who were hanging out with this Spanish student they had picked up hitchhiking down the road. They chilled behind me on a sofa facing the valley while I was sitting in a floor carpet with pillows on the edge of the cliff staring straight into the sunset...when their dog, a beautiful golden retriever laid down on my lap. Yet another sunset with a dog. Hehe!

After getting a ride from the Turkish coupe and the Spanish student (Andres) back to Goreme, I hung out with Andres who showed me a local place to eat for cheap, as well as the fact that to speak some Turkish can go a very long way in this country. The owner talked to us for hours about history and geography. Incredibly knowledgeable about the world history. Then we went to meet his friends at a grocery store, where we sat on boxes in the entrance and chatted while having some beers and interacting with clients. So much fun. I had to bail out at 10:30pm though because the next morning I was to be picked up at 4:45am for my actual hot air balloon ride.

So the next day, I indeed weakened to another flying sensation opportunity, the last one on my list thus far (I have to make a new list now), a hot air balloon flight...above the Cappadocia valleys.

The morning was Spectacular. Not a cloud, warm air, and all 99 balloons up. The take off was so smooth that it didn't feel at all that we were rising up in the air. So strange. It was such an interesting experience as for me, the most spectacular part was not necessarily the Cappadocia landscape but rather the quantity of balloons up  in the sky at the same time and how they transform the landscape into something magical. This business is definitely a gold mine. About 20 people per balloon, 99 balloons in the sky at once. One to two flight per gallon, and on average each passenger pays between 90 and 160 euros! Do the maths!

(A little parenthesis to mention that the whole Cappadocia region is like a huge turtle nest. I kept on bumping I to turtles of all sizes every single day.)

After that I slept for a while, I needed to catch up on my sleep. Then packed, checked out and went to meet up with Andres at the grocery store where he had slept. Since we both were headed to the same place next, to trekk the Ihlara valley, we decided to do it together. Only a 15 km trekk, but with lots and lots of caves to check out, so it promised to be quite a trip and more challenging than a regular 15km trekk, especially since we both had on our back all of our bags (about 23kg for my part).

So as we were bidding farewell to his friends, this retiree social worker america woman from Seattle (who had just returned from volunteering in a Syrian refugee camp on the border) offered to give us a ride as she was herself going there to have a lunch picnic. Fantastic start of the day and the weather couldn't have been better.

As we got closer to Ihlara, we slowly discovered this 200m deep canyon in the middle of nowhere, filled with willow trees and other beautiful green trees all along the rushing river which traverses the whole valley from Ihlara to Selimeff. And the more we got into the valley, the more caves we saw, giving the walls on each side an impression of tapestries of mysteries. Using the image of swiss cheese would be an understatement as swiss cheese, though it is delicious, does not have ancient churches, and other very complex architectural and engineering works to allow each hole to harmoniously communicate with each other.

Andres and I, being the two boys that we are, couldn't resist the temptation to check what was behind each hole with the hope to maybe uncover an even more complex structure each and every time. And that of course slowed us down quite much. But it was well worth it.

We had the intention to get to the hot springs before sun down to hopefully set up camp there, but we got misled by the farmer about which side of the river to walk along and the possibility to cross over at some point.

So as the sun was on its way down, and since we were just half way through the valley, we decided to find the best spot to set up camp. Thank god Andres had a tent. We spotted the perfect niche, far away and high up on the cliff, just in case wild dogs would wander around at night or if some guards were doing their rounds. (The valley is supposed to be closed to tourists after 6pm, and camping is not allowed.)

Anyhow, our diner consisted of ham and cheese sandwiches we made ourselves, a mere repetition of our lunch menu, apples and oranges, and carrots, perched in our niche, overlooking the whole valley, and watching the sun setting behind the village of Bellisirma, as the tall minaret in the horizon was making its evening call to prayer. The resonating echo of the muezzin through the valley, while the sun was setting and the millions of frogs were starting their nocturnal concert gave quite a surreal feeling, which definitely helped picture a bit more easily what it must have been like to live in those caves back in the days.

Fatigue didn't take long to hit us both...and soon we were both sound asleep in the open (oh yes, I forgot to mention that we didn't actually set the tent up but rather used the whole fabric as a sort of mat to smoothen a bit the roughness of the stones on the floor of the cave), and under the gazillion of bright stars shining above our heads. Magical. One of those situations you always sort of dream about but never really push yourself to go for it. If you are in the camping mood, though it is fun to do it with a pal, Cappadocia is even better for a romantic camping trip. Imagine, hopping from cave to cave in the middle of nowhere, night after night, just the two of you, soaking up the ancient history and infinite starry skies and multicolored valleys.

The cave we had settled in was perfect as the next morning, the sunrise was right in front of us, at the other end of the valley. Perfectly smooth alarm clock displaying the nicest of first sights as you wake up...just as long as we were careful enough to watch our morning clumsy steps and not fall down the cliff. (Climbing all the way up with our bags the night before was quite an effort, the way down promised to be one as equally interesting...and it was.)

The morning trekk was more fascinating than the day before as we were the only ones around, so we peacefully trekked along the river bed and hopped from cave to cave looking for the one that would be the longest and allow us to climb as far high up as possible.

As we had almost reached Selime, the end town of the valley, we met these three local  Kurdish students on our way down from a cave climb, and they invited us to join them for a picnic on the shore of the river. Little did we know that it wasn't just the three of them but 170 Kurdish students from Aksaray university. Their hospitality, curiosity, and generosity was beyond imagination. I thought that the kindness and hospitality I had known previously during my trip through Asia was as much as it was humanly possible, but I must admit that so far, Turkey has blown me away in that area. The kindness of Turkish people has no limit. It is at time almost uncomfortable because it is so much. If only other cultures and countries (mine included) were like this, the world would be such a peaceful and happy place.

I even got to learn what I would perhaps consider the least dynamic, least exciting, and least engaging cultural dance ever. But it was none the less so amusing and interesting to learn this dance and watch all of them holding each others' little fingers and dance. It is a step in 4, like salsa, so it didn't take me long to learn...but one thing is sure, I will not ever perform this dance to try and impress at a party or a wedding...unless in Kurdistan. Hahaha!

As everyone was either dancing, singing, cooking or playing soccer/volleyball, three cars displaying Turkish flags sped by trying to create as much dust and noise as possible all over us, and left. Serious tension quickly raised among the boys and worries among the girls. I wasn't familiar at all with the whole Kurdistan/Turkey political conflict and thus didn't really understand what was going on until some students explained it to me. Two police cars came by soon after. Not so sure what was discussed between the boys and the police, but the party started again. Such a strange situation, but it definitely gave me a quick little taste of the current political situation inside the country. The Kurdish female student who spoke the best English of all told me a few times: "They don't like us. It is our country as well, but we are not allowed to do anything." I found it quite sad, and it is not even a religious conflict! I definitely need to read more about the situation.

In any case, after some more dancing, chatting, and eating the best grilled chicken ever, we bid farewell as we still had quite a long way to go to make it to Sultanhani before sundown, to see the biggest Caravanserai in all of Turkey. Finding a car who would take two hitchhikers onboard took a bit of time, but we made it.

The caravanserai was indeed impressive. Massive! Especially when you imagine how it must have been back then, with absolutely nothing around but hot dry desert, and this huge massive stone fort-looking rest area for passerby's with all their animals. Here again, I want to read more about the full function and purpose of these structures. There is no way they were just rest areas.

When coming out the gigantic gate, a bus load of middle school girls spotted us, and on we were for a one by one photo session with them. It was funny and reminded me of Indonesia so much.

Sultanhani is a tiny town in the middle of nowhere, kind of like these towns you sometimes find along the highway. Only one single point of interest, the caravanserai.

The sun was almost down, the sky was low and getting gray. The main town square was quickly emptying itself as the last tourists were leaving. And that's when Tahir approached us. Tahir is the son of the owner of the camping/pension site across the street. He convinced us to have tea with him at te camping site, and then decide what we wanted to do for the night. The apple tea was delicious and Tahir super nice. So was his multilingual dad. So we decided to camp out there. But this time we would actually set up the tent as the previous night was a bit cold.

Andres, myself, Tahir and his cousin went to the nearby supermarket to get some groceries as Andres and i had decided to cook diner for us and them. It would be spaghetti with tomato sauce. Simple but yummy! In the store we bump into Tahir's uncle who lives in Germany, and he strongly suggested us, in perfect French, a recipe not only for the pasta but also for some appetizers. Ufff...I was so starving!

So Andres, Tahir's cousin (I can't remember his name) and myself quickly got cooking. It was lots of fun and reminded me the Toronto days when Juana and Sebastian lived in the same house and every Sunday we would spend the day and evening cooking delicious foods altogether. And trust me, the result was quite satisfying, or perhaps, given our hunger and after out cave diner of the night before, anything slightly elaborated would have tasted delicious. There was plenty of spaghetti left for the next day's breakfast.

After diner, Tahir suggested we go play billiard, all four of us. Whoever wins pays. OK, why not. Sounded like an interesting activity in this tiny town. It was a lot of fun to be around all these locals. Not the typical dive bar one would expect, with smoke and alcohol all around. Sultanhani, Turkey is a Muslim place. A dozen people at most, around three pool tables. Billiard and black tea is not so usual in the west on a Sunday night.

We ended up losing 2-3. Not a bad performance anyway. USD$3 for an hour of pool and four teas is not so bad. :-)

The next morning, after a spaghetti marinara leftover breakfast, Andres went his way hitchhiking back to Istanbul, and I went my way bussing to Pamukale.  Getting to Pamukale from Sultanhani was quite a complicated task, so I chose the easier option of taking the bus. I will however maybe try out the hitchhiking option to get back to Istanbul.