and went on to do the North Cappadocia tour, starting with a 3km walk through the splendid Rose Valley where the sweetest grapes grow. Around us on the heights were the pigeon caves, still yielding guano to fertilize the fields, but the inhabitants no longer required to be the message bearers to distant shores! The various rock strata create pastel bands of colour across the mountains. Upon reaching the little church hewn out of the hillside at about the 1.5km mark some chose to rest in the shade while others explored further seeking unique photo angles. Cappadocia is a photographers paradise!
The path took us in a loop back to the road below where a large dog intent on pouncing on some invisible prey amongst the tomato plants kept us amused and curiosity as to what another group of tourists were eating under the trees opposite us drew us to sample the fruit of the “Olweide” tree (info provided by a German couple) – a powdery dry berry.
Upon asking Azzu where the Red River was we took a short detour across it to through the pretty town of Avonos on its banks. The river is wide and runs strongly. Mud from the river is used to produce the exquisite pottery of the region. Our visit to Guray Seramik was worthwhile with our well-spoken guide describing his family's enterprise in an entertaining and humorous manner. The entire factory - workshops and showroom in which the exquisite works are elegantly displayed – is hewn into the hill.
In keeping with the underground theme, lunch was had in a very large cave restaurant where a musician in the central area kept us entertained and a Cappadocian speciality – a “pottery kebab” - had us licking our lips and rubbing our tums. The casserole was cooked in a large vase-shaped clay pot, its lid sealed with dough. Some of us came home to see if our Romatoff pots of days of yore were still in our cupboards!
Needless to say, we left the restaurant feeling that supper would be unnecessary- although I should not speak for the men!
Goreme Open Air Museum was crowded and we unfortunately had a long wait to get into the first of the little churches, which meant that we did not get to see all of them. However what we did see gave us insight into the passion and fervour of the people who created them. The Goreme valley has 30 or more churches dating from the 9th century onwards and dazzling Byzantine frescoes to be found in some of them are slowly being restored. The area has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Also of interest are the refectories where learning and dining took place.
Last stop in the late afternoon was at the Carpet Co-operative where we watched women working at their looms creating fine and intricate works of art in silk, cotton and wool. The whole process of carpet making was explained to us, starting from the purchasing of the mulberry leaves from the area around Bursa to the unthreading of the silk cocoons and the weaving. In the showroom carpets from the different regions of Turkey were displayed to us, each region having designs and shades of its own. All very beautiful!
Azzu had kindly arranged for us to change and freshen up at the Dedeli Hotel in Urgup before we caught the overnight coach at 8pm to Nevshiher. Untimely rain as we swopped coaches at Nevshiher left us somewhat damp – but we dried out quickly. The temperature within the bus was pleasant- outside it fell to 12deg!
With the 2-hourly breaks along the way, sleep came in snatches and it was a bleary-eyed crew that disembarked on schedule in Antalya at 7am.
Reflections on Cappadocia :
Ray: A truly eye-opening and mind-boggling experience. We were amazed by the numerous cone-like pinnacles of rock and “fairy chimneys”- cones with darker rock slabs balanced on their tips, some resembling camels and other figures. Even more stunning were the enormous number of dwellings carved into these stone pillars. One city we were led into at one time housed 3000 people and included churches, refectories and kitchens etc. Even our hotel was composed of hollowed out caves in the living rock. The village of Goreme in which we stayed was charming and we were able to buy interesting items at shops near the hotel. Another unusual sight was that of colourful hot-air balloons (more than 20) floating above the valley in the early morning.
Charmaine: One cannot imagine how fear of persecution could drive 30 k people to live underground for months at a time. Even more amazing to me was their unstinting religious faith and their need to honour this by constructing subterranean holy places of worship. The skills and knowledge needed to provide ventilation, water and waste disposal can barely be believed. The sight of hot air ballooning... I remember and bless the memory of “Paddington” but could not bring myself to go up. Cave hotel an extraordinary experience – lopsided floor and bright red sateen bed covers!
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