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Each morning if it isn't windy the balloons fly low through Goreme
I was at eye level with the balloon as it went silently past our room at 6.30am on a glorious still morning. I left off with the camera full of Permukkale water! Six days in a sealed container of rice and 2 days drying in a warm room with an occasional blast of hot air from a hairdryer worked magic and the camera seems fine. The long term story may be different but I'll worry about that later.
We are just back in Dalyan after a great visit to Cappadoccia in Central Turkey. No driving this time. We went by dolmus (mini bus) to the local centre, a bigger bus to Antalya, a plane to Kayceri, a luxury pick-up car to Goreme and then a variety of mini buses to see the area over 3 days.
It is quite spectacular – luna and eerie with thousands of houses , monasteries and churches carved into the rocks. Traces of most ancient civilisations are evident from the Hittites, Greeks, Romans, Persians, Christians, Byzantines and Ottomans. We went down two underground cities – one 8 floors deep could house 10,000 people when they needed to hide from their enemies. The multi level city had stables, kitchens, storage areas, churches, schools and even a wine making room. In the cave dwellings, you see pre-Christian art,
Weird and wonderful
Volcanic eruptions changed the landscape. The hard basalt coating at the top and the softer sandstone helped create this lunar world. stories of the life of Christ and symbolic Arabian paintings.
Last visit we were taken with the friendly Turks including every shop keeper with a cousin in Canberra, who loves Aussies -OI,OI,OI and who will do the best deal in Turkey if you will only just please come into his shop. We fell in love with the richness of the coastal landscape and how it is is impossible to forget antiquity – ruins lie everywhere.
This trip the Turks are as friendly as ever but the market sellers and bar owners in Dalyan now recognise us as almost locals and say “Merebat” as we pass by. Our waitress in the local coffee house can't speak much English but we all laugh and joke in sign language. She calls Col – the Big Boss and tries to give me the bill every time!
This time what has struck us is Turkey's diversity.
1. It stands at the junction of east and west with Mt Ararat, the Lycian Way, St Pauls trail and a story that goes back to Paleolithic period. It is still clear that the next seven civilisations each left their mark on the landscape, architecture and
people.
2. Away from the coastal mountains and beaches we saw volcanoes, high plateau's, beautiful river valleys, lush farming lands, arid windswept plains and the spectacle of Cappadoccia.
I think the photo's will tell a better story than I can.
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Hakan Guzelgoz
non-member comment
Great Post & Pictures!
Thank you for this great post & Pictures! As you went to Cappadocia, I thought you might want to hear about our recently opened new design Cave Hotel - hezen hotel. http://www.hezenhotel.com