http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Turkey/Central-Anatolia/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Middle East , Turkey , Central Anatolia en-us Sat, 26 Jul 2008 07:54:21 BST Sat, 26 Jul 2008 07:54:21 BST Balooning in Cappadochia Turkey the photos shall do all the talking this time. http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Turkey/Central-Anatolia/Cappadocia/blog-303211.html We went out the other night to the restaurant in the park again. We happened in on a family festival happening. I asked the waiter and with a few words he jestered it was the muslim tradition of the coming of manhood for a young man. Other wise known as a circumcision party We were up on a balcony overlooking all what was going on. we must have arrived near the end all the men were seated in anoth http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Turkey/Central-Anatolia/Ankara/blog-295232.html Well we only had minor damage today. Joe landed pretty hard and bucked the fuslage a bit. Everyone is trying to fix yesterdays damage as I try to properly pace my self as the Jack Daniel van just opened and are serving. It's quite something how passionate these guys are in their planes. My goal is to stay out of their way and not step on the wingtips AGAIN. We are currently in 24th place. Good th http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Turkey/Central-Anatolia/Ankara/blog-294495.html Got off the field late Sunday night from the opening ceremonies which were impressive. They were giving out free Jack Daniels Vodka and tequila by good looking girls in tight white shirts. Pictures to follow. We had a late night dinner and was curious as to what Crap Flakes were so when I received it I got Imitation Crab salad AKA Crap Flakes. We are at the field from 7am to 730pm so it is long da http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Turkey/Central-Anatolia/Ankara/blog-293851.html Well we had a prep day and registration for the Worlds and did some practise flying. The day was going well till Joe buried his plane in the trees Small poplar used for pulp. Some damage but he seems to feel it is fixable. I guess it was a misjudgment on his approach. We had the opening ceremonies and all marched on to the field in our own respective countries. It was quite well done and I will http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Turkey/Central-Anatolia/Ankara/blog-293395.html Got up early today and spent some time talking to the bell hop that works here. Really nice guy Told me about the big earthquake which rocked this region in 99 and that it killed 100000 people. He seemed to be quite hardened by it and was obviously affected by it somehow. He works here 12hrsday 6 days per week for 650 Turkish Lira or 500.00 per month. He likes to practice his english with weste http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Turkey/Central-Anatolia/Ankara/blog-292839.html Mikkel and I set our alarm for 10 but when it went off it still felt way too early. We laid in our beds and talked for a little bit before Mikkel decided it was probably time to get up. He got out of bed and went to see where everyone else was. He found them all fast asleep on the couch or floor of the living room. He woke Berk up who then woke up all the others. They were in there talking for a http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Turkey/Central-Anatolia/Ankara/blog-292621.html Trying to sleep last night was kind of difficult not because of the sleeping surface but because of how sunburnt my arms were We actually had really comfortable cushions to lay our sleeping bags out on so that was no problem but I could not get comfortable with my burns 61516. Inside the sleeping bag my arms felt like they were on fire but outside the sleeping bag they were freezing co http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Turkey/Central-Anatolia/Ankara/blog-292619.html The bus dropped us off in Nev351ehir where we would then need to wait for another shuttle to take us to Greme. While we were waiting for the shuttle of course they had people attacking us with fliers and brochures about the various guided tours we could take around the area. The guy that approached us was really pushing Mikkel hard and I was shocked at how patiently he listened and how g http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Turkey/Central-Anatolia/Cappadocia/blog-292618.html Today was the first Day of the Sporapi Cup and I felt like I was going to Sporapi all over. I didn't get the first launch off but it turns out there was a signal infraction and we got a refly. So nothing lost. Once our captain got me refocused it was smooth sailing for the rest of the day. 33 degrees but a slight breeze. We are using this tournament to work out the bugs for the World Cup starti http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Turkey/Central-Anatolia/Ankara/blog-292510.html We'll we made it over after long fights and some delays in Frankfurt due to thunder and Lightning. What a neat country. Coming by shuttle through Istanbul was very interesting with the traffic was crazy but organized. Miles of hills covered with housesApartment buildings. This is the biggest city in Europe and it shows. Got in late Wednesday night Turkish time and then back up early to go to the http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Turkey/Central-Anatolia/Ankara/blog-292095.html turkey lost last nite. im a litttle bummed. yes im watching soccer now. you got a problem with that http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Turkey/Central-Anatolia/Cappadocia/blog-291847.html Cappadocia is a high desert region of central Turkey. It is famous for its astounding landscapes which are decorated with peculiar rock formations. It is an otherworldly place with the strange shapes of the rock towers and pillars rising against the clear desert sky. Canyons of eroded red rock the valley floor green with scrub vegetable plots and trees such as olive walnut apricot and mulbe http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Turkey/Central-Anatolia/Cappadocia/blog-291258.html It has been about five months now and Rozy and I have experienced discussed and analysed the many differences both subtle and extreme between the transport systems of 6 different countries. Our travels in Turkey bring us closest to some of the most economically developed countries in the world and one would probably expect a jump in the quality of the transport system given this proximity and http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Turkey/Central-Anatolia/Cappadocia/blog-289171.html Carmen San Diego would be proud.Now who were the Mole People really I mean I know thats a term thrown around in conversation usually jokingly but I actually have no idea who they really were. e.g. What happened to Jerry man Ever since he started dating Sally he's been MIA. Yeah dude he's turned into one of the Mole People... or something. A quick visit to Wiki yields that Mole People http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Turkey/Central-Anatolia/Cappadocia/blog-285461.html Day 1 Overnight bus ride from Izmir to G337reme 25I took the metro about 1 to the main bus station Otogar in Bornova Izmir. I had no trouble getting pointed in the right direction of the long distance bus counters. I think the only company to travel all the way to G337reme was Metro so I approached the counter and asked if anyone spoke english. Several of the ticket agents said http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Turkey/Central-Anatolia/Cappadocia/blog-280486.html Underground Protection When foreign armies moved through the area people needed a place to hide. The soft rock in Cappadocia provided if not the perfect place at least a good place but only after a lot of digging was done. There are several underground cities in Cappadocia. The one we visited has 7 levels and everything that was needed to wait out a passing army was available. There are living http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Turkey/Central-Anatolia/Cappadocia/blog-279525.html 27408We arrived at about 8 in the morning and found ourselves some accommodation. We ended out at a pretty cool hostel which was carved into the rocks. The breakfast they served in the morning was also the best breakfast I had in my travels. Ahhhh menemen.We decided that day we would just go for a walk. After some walking and a ride in the back of a truck we ended out at some great caves. http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Turkey/Central-Anatolia/Cappadocia/blog-276319.html A few really busy weeks nice weather and a headful of thoughts too personal to blog about are collectively responsible for postponing this entry. Life is full of all types of surprises.Three weekends ago Bahar 350enlikleri Hacettepe niversitesi's annual Spring Festival took place. It was also my first visit to our large handsome stone amphitheater probably the nicest thing ever buil http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Turkey/Central-Anatolia/Ankara/blog-276259.html haha so Im about to take another overn305ght bus ton305ght.Last n305ght wasnt so bad actually. I asked the young attendents 305f I could lay down at the back of the bus and they let me so between that and the cold med305c305ne I d305dnt get a horr305ble sleep. I arr305ved 400 to a Nev351eh305r wh305ch 305s about 20 m305nutes from Gmere where I needed http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Turkey/Central-Anatolia/Cappadocia/blog-276228.html We left Goreme at about 0900 for our first day of solo riding with the Turkish capital of Ankara as our destination.The ride itself was pretty unremarkable afew stretches of scenery but mostly farmland. We crossed a few patches of rain about half way through but it did not last more than 10 minutes in total. At one point be305ng low on fuel we ventured into a village in search of a servi http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Turkey/Central-Anatolia/Ankara/blog-274844.html We left Osmaniye after exchanging gifts with our hosts there. Pat has almost enough gear to put together a full Turkish police uniform. The ride to Cappadocia was much less strenuous than the previous day's one.The secondary highway we rode one took us through plains from which we could see some stunning snow capped mountain ranges and through a succession of villages that still looked like they http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Turkey/Central-Anatolia/Cappadocia/blog-274678.html Just a few more riding pics... http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Turkey/Central-Anatolia/Cappadocia/blog-274241.html Mark and I have been in Turkey now for a few days. After a bit of a long flight through London we arrived in the capital late in the evening and got right into right away by trying to figure out how to take a bus from the airport rather than getting a taxi the whole expensive way. And then after a group of old men discussed how best to get us to our hotel a taxi took us off and we ended up sta http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Turkey/Central-Anatolia/blog-273890.html Well goodbye Syria and hello Turkey Not quite that smooth of course border crossings in the Middle East never are. Turkey has started enforcing a law that says foreign registered vehicles older than 30 years old are not allowed into the country. Our Frosty our overland truck appropriate name for the desert I know is over thirty and so that made life interesting. A coach and drivers had http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Turkey/Central-Anatolia/Cappadocia/blog-271873.html Turkish PotteryWe were taken to the location of a family who have produced beautiful pottery for several centuries. Their home workplace and showroom are all in one location up a steep hill from the main road. They must be on the list of many tour operators as there was a large parking lot. At times when a person is on a tour they end up stuck in a place like this with the hope that the touris http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Turkey/Central-Anatolia/Cappadocia/blog-270729.html Istanbul to KayseriWe flew on OnurAir from Istanbul to Kayseri a city in Central Anatolia. Two women from Brazil who also stayed at the hotel in Istanbul were on the flight and same tour that we had booked for two days in Cappadocia. It was an hour and a half flight from Istanbul to Kaiseri. Thankfully we were served a drink we selected orange juice and a good piece of cake. Neither of us we http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Turkey/Central-Anatolia/Cappadocia/blog-268661.html Weight Loss Without DietingHuge thanks to everyone for all the comments and messages on our last blogs... So far we've travelled 75hrs by train and 30 by bus and confess it all feels more like a holiday than travelling whatever that is. We promise our next blog will have a map showing our proposed route but its a little up in the air until we get our heads around what China is doing with th http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Turkey/Central-Anatolia/Cappadocia/blog-268580.html Technically I am not in Cappadocia at this moment I am actually sitting the hotel lobby waiting to go to the airport to fly to Athens. My time in Turkey has ended but I will be back hopefully soon in my life. Since my last entry I have went to a natural hot springs in Pammukale and then headed out east to central Turkey in the region of Cappadocia. This area is amazing to be sure The rock http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Turkey/Central-Anatolia/Cappadocia/blog-267668.html