Arriving in the "land of the beautiful horses"

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Day 5

Before sunrise I arrived in Göreme, a small but known town in Cappadocia. Cappadocia is a spectacular region I have been dreaming to go to probably for years already. It is known for its amazing rock formations and early Christian heritage.

Unfortunately, at 6:00 a.m. in the morning there was nobody in the hostel reception, but the entrance was open, so I spent the 2nd half of the night in my sleeping bag on a terrace couch, seeing the sunrise and some balloons going in the air (1st half was on the night bus). After checking in I first had a quite long nap (in the first bed I saw after 2 nights of travel) and - lacking some energy for big activities - spent a lazy day in the town, exploring its streets and the surrounding landscape a bit.

But this was already amazing enough for one day - the town itself is a highlight of Turkey. Convince yourself looking at the pictures!

I have seen many more things here already, but for now this should be enough, because again, ınternet time is limited.

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Photos

Cappadocian landscape
Isn't it just wonderful? This is the view from a hill next to Göreme, the town (that you cannot see) is on the left hand side.

Göreme
... seen from the same hill. People carved houses into the spectacular rocks, called "fairey chimneys" by visitors. The rocks are from tufa, a weak sedimentary rock that however dries at contact with air, which makes it a perfect material for carving out caves.

Göreme - 2
Another view. My hostel is the rock house on the right with the terrace and solar heating.

Göreme - 3
Another view showing also the mosque of Göreme.

Drying grapes
There are a lot of grape plants in the area and agricultural work still continues in the town of Göreme, although tourism seems to be the main economy here now. They also, by the way, produce quite some nice wines here.

Cappadocian landscape - 2
More of the landscape - actually nice to come here in autumn, when the leaves (of the scarce trees) get some colour.