May 14th: Beysehir to Cappadocia: breakfast was taken on the senic terrace of the Ali Bilir Hotel with its wonderful view over the lake. However the tv screens in the hotel, and everywhere else we went that day, were full of the terrible mining disaster in Western Turkey. Also, the Turkish flag, which is flown everywhere: in towns, villages, houses, filling stations, shops and hotels, were all flying at half mast. The first part of the drive from Beysehir to Konya, the regional capital, was along fertile valleys and hills; completely unlike the previous day's drive through the mountains. As we got nearer to Konya the terrain became more hilly and arid then, when we crested a hill, the city with a population of nearly 1.2 million was spread out on the plain below. Our route
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