Derinkuyu to Selime

---

Day 4 Wed 29th September 2010 40 miles.
After breakfast we went behind our hotel and almost straight into a tunnel which took us into a town, which was built 1,500 years ago to house 30,000 citizens of the town during invasions by the Hittites and subsequently the Persians. This was an unbelievable place which took us down 5 levels, of the 11 levels in total, to observe the city carved out of solid limestone rock with several rolling stones, which covered the entrance. It had its own wells and wineries and everything else which was needed to sustian life.
We then got on our bikes and called at the post office to post our cards which we had bought in Urgup. The only place to post letters is in the Post Office itself, unlike other parts of the world which have post boxes. We crossed another plateau with serious head winds causing us to fight just to make 10 mph towards Inhala where we had lunch in a very nice restaurant by the river. We did a steep climb onto another plateau and eventually arrived on the hilltop outside Yaprakhisar admiring the view of the primitive town and the houses cut into the hillside across the valley. I later called into this town to take some photographs and was called into the yard of a family, by the wife, who were treading grapes to be made into grape syrup. There were fourteen individuals covering three generations of family there and they made me most welcome by giving me chai and grapes. I took several photos of them and undertook to email the pictures back to one of the sons, who understood some English and was working in Germany. Our accommodation was a converted farm in neighbouring Selime, converted being rather an exaggeration since the doors would not close properly, tthe concrete floor had a little area covered by carpet, there was no wash basin, the water did not come on until 8pm, and we ate breakfast out in the dusty car park. I did not want to wait for the water so got washed in the river across the road, which was alright but for the flies biting. Drying off was not a problem since it was still well over 20 degrees. Selime oh! Selime. We found a lady outside our pansyon was in her wellingtons treading grapes wrapped in a nylon sack in a trough with her daughter collecting the juice in a plastic basin until well after dark, her husband giving us more grapes.

---

Photos

Grape treading
Grape treading