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Published: October 8th 2011
Ankara otogar
waiting for the busAfter breakfast and thanks & farewell to our hosts, we caught a taxi to the nearest metro station and caught a metro that took us to the bus station. Naively, we arrived at the bus station at 5 minutes before 11 thinking we would be able to get tickets on the 11am bus out of Ankara to Cappadocia. It's Sunday morning and as soon as I saw the amount of people crowding the bus terminal I realized that we were pretty stupid thinking we would get a on the bus we wanted without having pre-purchased tickets.
There were just 2 different bus companies that were going directly to Goreme, but of course now it was just minutes, even seconds, before 11 and I was not surprised when both companies told us that their buses which were both about to depart, if not already departed, were full anyway. Not to worry, they both had buses that were leaving later in the day at 3.30pm and 4.30pm respectively.
A quick conference with Zak to decide if we should wait until this afternoon and get one of the later buses, which would mean we
would arrive in Goreme after dark. Or to purchase tickets for one of tomorrow morning's buses and return to our friends and beg another night on their couch. Zak was of the idea 'no going back' so it was decided we would wait and buy tickets for the afternoon bus. Unfortunately, what we wanted and what was available in this instance were 2 different things. Both afternoon buses were already completely booked (why they didn't just tell us this when they originally told us about the afternoon buses eludes me,). So we thought we had little choice but to buy tickets for tomorrow and return to Danny & Ulla for another night on the couch, which by the way was in fact very comfortable. This option was soon quashed also when we were advised that both morning and afternoon buses for both companies leaving tomorrow were also all fully booked out! Bugger, seems everyone in Ankara was heading to Goreme. Now I was stumped as to what to do, as we did not really have the time to spare to hang around in Ankara for a few more days.
As we stood looking confused, a man from another bus company
came up with a solution. Instead of taking a direct bus from Ankara to Goreme (which now was not an option), he suggested we take one of his buses to Askaray
(25try = $14 each) and then a mini bus to Cappadocia. After consulting a map, we saw this was only a slight detour and meant we could leave Ankara today.
We had just a 1 1/2 hour wait for our new destination bus to leave and were advised it would only add 45 minutes traveling time. The terminal was still full with Turkish people and tourists alike, coming and going. Seating was minimal so we took up a prone position on the floor and waited for our boarding time. Places like this are always interesting for people watching and the time flew by as we sat and watched the passing foot traffic. Zak was kept amused watching a couple of policemen who were patrolling the terminal stopping random people (noticeably single men traveling alone) and asking them for ID. One of the cops had a machine that looked similar to my net book in size and seemed to be typing the ID details into it. Not exactly sure
what information they were getting from it or if they were looking for someone in particular, but they were working through the crowd fairly efficiently.
The time came for us to board our bus and although we were not traveling with one of the better known bus companies and the bus was a little on the older side, it was still comfortable. Soon we were on our way and before long the host on the bus was handing out free cups of water. I had forgotten that Turkish buses have a refreshment service on all journeys that are over a certain distance. After the water was served we had the option of hot tea or coffee. It was just instant 3 in 1 coffee, but a nice touch when your traveling on a bus after waiting at the station for almost 2 hours. I think the level of service depends on the level of the bus company and considering we were on a crappy line it was a pretty good start.
Zak made friends with a little fat kid on the bus who was the brother of the host serving coffee. Their job was also to help load
and unload people's luggage and baggage. This kid must have been about 12 or 13 years old and it was funny watching him and Zak trying to communicate. One speaking Turkish, the other Arabic and English, both not understanding each other but seeming to have a conversation anyway!
The scenery along the way was nothing exciting. Lots of big open fields that were obviously between crops so nothing but turned soil was to been seen. About an hour after leaving Ankara we drove past a huge sail lake, but other than that there was not much to see and we both dozed a little on the bus.
In just over 4 hours we arrived at the Askaray otogar (bus station), the town itself that we had just driven through did not look like much so it was ok that we were not stopping here. Luckily we were able to transfer straight away to a dolmus that was leaving for Nevshir
(10try = $5.60each) - our next destination en-route to Goreme. This took about an hour and the dolmus dropped us in the center of Nevshir. There was a Turkish man on the dolmus who was nice enough to
walk with us for about 2 blocks to show us the bus stop for the dolmus that would take us on to Goreme.
We waited at the bus stop for about half an hour before a bus marked Goreme arrived. At least this was a quick journey of only about 20 minutes
(2try = $1.12each).
By the time we had arrived in Goreme we were pretty exhausted, it had been a long day traveling. Even though we did nothing really except sit in buses it was still taxing and I was glad that we had our accomodation already organized. We had actually contacted a guy to couch surf with and on arrival Zak phoned Cemil to find out where to meet him. We were directed to the Blue Moon hotel where he was working, just a 2 minute walk from the bus stop. On arrival were told that we would be staying at the hotel (for free) as his wife and kids were out of town so he was not hosting anyone in his home. This suited us fine, even though we had to share the room with a weird french bloke. After tea and a little chat
with our host Cemil, we took our bags to our room and went out to explore the town. I had stayed here in Goreme 6 years ago on my last visit to Turkey and I was amazed at how much the little town had grown. The tourism boom has obviously aided in the growth of this place, so many more hotels and shops now.
We walked around a little and found an nice little cafe/restaurant to have some dinner. Now I thought this was going to be the biggest challenge for Zak (and me) on this trip as he is a very fussy eater, and not really interested in anything unfamiliar or new. Luckily the cafe we picked had its food on display so at least Zak could see what to order. He chose a dish that looked as much like a tajine dish as possible, that's fine, better to stay safe to start with. I of course had a starter of lentil soup and then some of the best moussaka that I have eaten in a long time.
When the sun had gone down the temperature had dropped dramatically and we were grateful for the jumpers we
had taken with us on our exploratory walk. We enjoyed dinner
(12try = $6.75 total) and walked back to our hotel.
We sat and chatted some more with Cemil for a little while and he told us his wife was out of town visiting her family and would return tomorrow with the kids after being away for more than 3 weeks. He seemed very excited about their arrival in the morning and told us we would still be staying at the hotel as her parents would be coming to stay with them and would be staying at the house so there would be no room for couch surfers. Hey, suited us fine, we had a hotel room for free!
Monday 19th Sept - Goreme Open Air Museum & hike in Rose Valley Since we were paying nothing for our room, we agreed to have breakfast at the hotel. This of course we had to pay for but Cemil gave it to us at a discounted price
(5try = $2.80 each) and it was easier than going outside for breakfast first thing in the morning. We were served a typical Turkish breakfast consisting of olives, cheese, sausage,
boiled egg, butter, jam and lovely fresh bread. Tea and coffee included. Personally I, love this kind of breakfast, but Zak was looking for something sweet to eat first up. Bread with honey will have to be enough for his sweet tooth today.
After our little sleep in and leisurely breakfast we walked the short distance of about 1.5 km out of town to the Goreme Open Air Museum.
For those of you who do not know about Goreme and Cappadocia here is a bit of an explanation:
Göreme is a district of the Nevşehir Province in Turkey. After the eruption of Mount Erciyes about 2,000 years ago, ash and lava formed soft rocks in the Cappadocia Region, covering a region of about 20,000 km2. The softer rock was eroded by wind and water, leaving the hard cap rock on top of pillars, forming the present-day fairy chimneys. People of Göreme, at the heart of the Cappadocia Region, realized that these soft rocks could be easily carved out to form houses, churches, monasteries. These Christian sanctuaries contain many examples of Byzantine art from the post-iconoclastic period. These frescoes are a unique artistic achievement from this period. The
short walk in the hot morning sun was bad enough, but when we saw the crowds at the museum and the line ups to get into the churches to see the frescoes, we decided to have a quick tour and then get out of there.
The Goreme Open-Air Museum resembles a vast monastic complex composed of scores of refectory monasteries placed side-by-side, each with its own fantastic church. It contains the finest of the rock-cut churches, with beautiful frescoes (wall paintings) whose colors still retain all their original freshness. It also presents unique examples of rock hewn architecture and fresco technique. The Goreme Open Air Museum has been a member of UNESCO World Heritage List since 1984. Like I said earlier I had been to Goreme before and for those of you who have been receiving my rantings for previous trips may remember that on my last visit to the Goreme Open Air Museum I dropped our camera and we had to stick around for a few days and wait for a new camera to be sent from Istanbul. So on this occasion I was very careful to hold on to the camera and use the wrist strap
at all times. I am happy to advise history did not repeat itself and the camera came out in the same shape as it went in.
The museum was a little disappointing, with an entry fee of 15try = $8.40 each. I am positive that they had more than half of it closed off. Not sure why they would close off a large part of the site, perhaps it became too dangerous or fragile and was being damaged by all the tourists. But the part that was still open only consisted of various churches and the line up to get inside them was almost and hour long in the hot sun. We went into 2 of the lesser churches where there were also frescoes on the walls and ceiling and that was enough for us. It's a bit like seen one seen them all, and we didn't fancy standing in line in the hot sun with 100 other tourists.
We exited the museum and continued up the hill to find the start of the walk to the Rose Valley. The information office in town had given us a bit of direction and a rough mud map so we walked
about 2 km up the road to the camping ground where we turned down a side track and the start of the hike.
It was pretty hot by now, but the walk was pretty easy going so not too bad and we had purchased a bottle of water at the campground back on the road. The first 2 km of the track was through orchards where again it seemed that the soil was between crops. Although we did see some grape vines with fruit that Zak helped himself to. Apple trees seemed to be growing like weeds everywhere and the tiny apples we picked were juicy and sweet. A nice refreshment for during our hike.
We continued along the dusty track and along the way were rewarded with great views of the surrounding countryside. Finally we arrived at the start of the Rose Valley, so called because of the colour of the rock walls. Absolutely nothing to do with flowers as we saw no evidence of any roses growing in the valley. Again more apple trees supplied us with a quick snack.
We walked a little way up the valley and came across a church that had
been carved into the soft rock. This was not an uncommon site as there seems to be hundreds of churches everywhere in this area. We climbed into a carved out cave that had like a terrace that was high and open to the outside. Here we stopped and had a makeshift lunch with the snacks that we had brought with us and the apples the Zak had picked on the way.
Continuing on through the valley, still more apple trees - they really were growing like weeds here. Although some were planted in rows in little cleared areas there were plenty that seemed to be growing in random places so this is where we picked the fruit from. Although we did notice that most of the fruit from the other trees was dropping to the ground and rotting so I'd say no one was going to miss the couple (of dozen) apples that we took. Hey they were only tiny apples that's why we took so many. And they were not wasted, we ate them.
We continued to walk a little further along the valley and soon we were climbing up stairs which were carved into the rock.
From the top we were again rewarded with a great view and low and behold another church. Hacli church, this one had some really nice frescoes which were still in pretty good repair and good colour. There was also a cafe here and we stopped for some tea. The cafe was inside one of the carved out fairy chimneys and the owner told us his grandfather used to use it to breed pigeons before it became a cafe. Up inside we could still see the pigeon holes that had been carved out for the birds to breed in. We climbed the ladders and had a look inside the church, enjoyed a refreshment and then started on our way back to Goreme.
It was later in the afternoon now and but the sun was still scorching us as we walked back to Goreme. I'd just like to add at this stage that my Keens sandals have been great. These are the only shoes I have brought with me to Turkey and they have stood up a hiking test today. Brilliant! Great investment and much cooler than wearing closed in shoes. Although I must inject here that Zak did not consider
our little walk today as a hike. He in no uncertain terms advised me that for it to be called a hike you must encounter mountains. When I pointed to mountains in the distance, he gave me a typical 'you stupid woman' look and advised that walking up and down the mountains is what is called a hike. What we did today was a walk!! Well, give me a walk any day!
By the time we arrived back in town I had decided that I deserved a beer after my 'flat country hike' and purchased one in the store near the hotel then proceeded to enjoy it on the hotel terrace. Not a hike indeed!!
Later that evening after we had showered and changed we went out to have some dinner. We returned to the same cafe as last night, Zak still wanting to see the food before he ordered it. I was fine with this place as they had nice lentil soup so I was happy. And one of the guys spoke a smidgen of Arabic so Zak was happy to be able to speak his mother tongue a little.
On the way back to our
hotel we were looking for a place to have a nice cup of coffee. Of course I had realized by now that this was an impossibility as Turkey does not do good coffee. Not unless you call the half cup of mud ie Turkish coffee good. We came across an Australian owned restaurant/pub that claimed to be serving meat pies and Vegemite sandwiches. I did not have a craving or a want to eat either of these but the mention of dessert did catch my eye and I knew that they would be able to appease Zak's sweet tooth.
We shared and enjoyed a slice of chocolate mud cake and cheese cake which were divine even though the coffee was shit. I also think that Australia's sweet offering met with Zak's approval.
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