Blogs from Göreme, Cappadocia, Central Anatolia, Turkey, Middle East - page 6

A couple things about Cappadocia: It's mentioned in the Bible twice by Peter. The early Christians trying to escape the Roman Empire built numerous churches underground and in the caves and mountains here. The crazy formations are the result of volcanic eruptions a long time ago. If you want to know more you can look it up! Lacey and I loved it and definitely want to go back as soon as we can. We're going to look into flying next time (1 hour as opposed to 25/26)! There is so much more to explore in this area. It is probably most famous for its hot air balloons. If you google Cappadocia you will certainly see tons of balloons floating in the sky. We would obviously love to do this but they take off around 5am for ... read more

Nad ránem jsme dorazili do Goreme. Goreme je vesnice uprostřed Kapadokie, pohádkového kraje utvářeného sopečnou činností a erozí do podoby skalních hradů a komínů. Po tisíce let zdejší lidé kutali do skály jeskyně, domy a dokonce i města. Ubytovali jsme se v hotelu Flintstone, kterej nás zaujal jednak nízkou cenou a jednak velmi skalním image a taky bazénem přímo před dveřma pokoje. Trochu jsme se dospali a vyrazili na ohlídku centra. V centru jsme potkali chlápka vzezření Řeka Zorby, kterej nám prozradil, že na oficiální túru je už pozdě, ale na plánku nám ukázal kudy se můžeme po okolí projít pěšky. Plánek byl dost schematickej a navic sever na něm ukazoval na západ. Ale co, na omyl jsme přišli poměrně rychle. Hned za vesnicí se nachází kaple a kostely vytesané do skály, bohužel spolu s davy ... read more

Many moons ago, I once saw a BBC programme presented by Michael Palin, about this wonderful landscape somewhere in the middle of Turkey. A place where humans and fairies once lived together in peace. A landscape dominated by cone shaped rock formations, straight out of a Disney movie. Fairy chimneys and cave dwellings, scattered across the Cappadocian landscape as far as the eye could see. A wonderland like nowhere else on earth. I have kept this place in the back of my mind for a long time. It is somewhere I had wanted to go, even before I even dreamt of our round the world trip in 2009. Palin’s description of this magical, mystical place, had stuck with me for some time. Although the fairies had now moved on (due to inter marriage problems apparently) a ... read more

Today we began our day in the Cappadocia area which is most unique and sometimes called the land of the fairy chimneys. Ten million years ago volcanoes erupted and covered the plateaus. It left a white soft stone comprised of lava, ash and mud. Cone like stone formations with boulders perched miraculously on top, cover the region. Five of the group got up at 4am to hot balloon it over the area. They all agreed it was a magnificent sight. Brian & I gave it a miss preferring the sleep-in. As this stone is soft, inhabitants of the area carved out houses, churches and small villages that survive today. We went to a Christian cave village which still has the frescos on the church walls and ceilings dating back to 12th century. There were many tour ... read more

One of the decision that took a very long to take, is whether we should do the hot air balloon or not. No doubt it will be an exciting experience. But at a hefty 150 euro per person price tag (and only for 1 hour), it’s just ridiculously expensive! It’s just so sad to think how many poor people you could fed with that money. After tossing and turning, we decided to pull the trigger anyway. Well you've work hard, so it makes sense to play hard. For your conscious you could do good deed separately. Besides, we might never ever go to Cappadocia again. We got picked up around 5.30 am then the minibus go around to few more hotels before dropping us in their headquarter office (Atmosfer Balloons). We gave them our name and ... read more