Kapadokya

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Had to get up bright and early (5am) to be ready for our pick-up at 5:30. Hardly any traffic at that time so a good run to the airport. Two lots of security - one before and one after check-in. Only about an hour's flight to Kayseri.

It took a while to find our airport pickup at Kayseri, but once we did it was about an hour's drive to Goreme. The landscape starts off pretty unremarkable, but as we got closer some amazing rock formations started to appear. We drove onto the town centre, which is lined with stalls selling rugs, souvenirs and other tourist paraphernalia, and many cafes and restaurants and headed up the hill, dropping other new arrivals off at pensions and hotels in funny little back streets before arriving at the Kelebek Hotel. It did not disappoint - it's high up on the hill with amazing views over Goreme as well as its own fairy chimneys. We were welcomed by the staff and invited to have breakfast before checking in. Just sitting on the terrace eating breakfast was a treat - stunning views wherever you looked.

After brekky we were shown to our room - another treat - carved into the rock but with all the comforts, including a gorgeous marble bathroom. There is a fairy chimney up above and you enter through a lovely stone courtyard that opens to several rooms.

After a bit of a rest, we wandered down to the centre of Goreme, posted some photos I have been meaning to send all year to one of the cooks on our trekking tour last year, enjoyed lunch on a terrace cafe and then wandered further up the road (just out of town) to visit the Goreme Open Air Museum.

The Open Air Museum contains a whole cluster of little chrurches and other dwellings carved into the rocks. In some you really have to use your imagination, but some of the churches still have ancient frescoes painted on them, in various stages of disrepair. The most impressive is the Dark Church - because it doesn't have much direct sunlight, the frescoes are much better preserved. I love the style in which the faces are painted. Unfortunately there is no photogralhy in any of these churches, but we do have some photos of others we visited later (next two days) to share with you. And for today, some general cave photos and of course some of the amazing views.

After leaving the OAM, and just on the other side of the road down the hill is yet another church (I think it was called the Buckle Church) carved into the cliff face. It is currently under restoration, but definitely worth a look - again some amazing frescoes, but sadly again no photos.

It was a warm afternoon as we strolled back down the hill, and even warmer as we walked back up the hill to our hotel, especially since we got a little lost and then were searching for the tour company so did a few extra ups and downs. We eventually found their office about five metres from the entrance to our courtyard!

At the tour company we arranged to make a booking for the bus from Kayseri to Sanliurfa, including a shuttle bus from Goreme to Kayseri.

Had the most wonderful shower while Jeff had a swim in the pool (not warm enough for me!). Tonight we enjoyed dinner on the terrace of our hotel - see the photos of the night time view! After that, it was a fairly early night to try and catch up on sleep after our early start.

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