The next stop on the tour was Cappadocia. It is located in central Turkey where there are a lot of hills and valleys with beautiful rock formations. Most of this leg of the trip was enjoying the great outdoors, and getting a bit of exercise too.
The night we arrived we got in too late to explore at all. We barely made it in time to get dinner. After a good night's rest, we set off the next day to explore the region. I really enjoyed the tour guide that we had for this leg of the trip. The one in Istanbul was talking more to hear himself speak. Ranya, the one in Cappodocia, was spunky and full of energy. She gave us enough information to know what we were looking at, but didn't make us listen to a bunch of meaningless details.
The first stop of the day was a valley along one of the major roads. From there we were able to see some of the fairy chimneys that make the area famous. Then came the first test of the day, the underground city in Derinkuyu.
Used as a place to hide from invaders, the city can hold up to 3,000 people. Apparently, very short of stature because for most of the tour underground I had to walk bent over, sometimes crouching as well. It was a true test of how strong the muscle of my back were. Through a maze of stairways and sloping tunnels, the people of Turkey built an entire city. By storing food and water ahead of time, they would be able to remain hidden underground for months, as enemy armies lay siege to the ground above. Though not somewhere I would want to spend an extended amount of time, with the amount of invaders coming through the area throughout history, its existence makes complete sense.
After "crawling" my way through the underground city, it was time to enjoy some open-air on an easy grade hike. Well, at least easy grade was the term that the brochure used. I don't think I would have done the same. The sad fact is that we only really hike about half of the entire length of the valley, but that half (4km) was plenty for me.
At some point while we were underground, my camera died, so I will do my best to explain the beauty of the valley hike. Someone along the line a smart person decided to put a set of steps along the wall at the halfway point of the valley. This was the start of the journey. The stairs we steep and after the time in the underground city my legs were not real happy with me. I fought through the aching and tried to keep up with our energetic guide. It was at this point I was wishing that she had a little less spunk, but I guess when you do this day in and day out for tours, the hike was just like walking to the corner store for her.
The valley was a decent size with a small stream running the length. With lush green trees, and natural rock formations, you could spend hours enjoying the scenery around you. With houses and churches carved straight out of the rock, the valley has been inhabited for a long time. Now home to birds, and passing tourists you can enjoy the quiet serenity is offers, if your guide will give you the moment to stop and relax.
To be bluntly honest, one of the things that kept my aching legs moving was the promise of a delicious lunch waiting at the end of the trail. Set next to the stream, down in the heart of the valley was our restaurant for lunch. I dug in and enjoyed fresh bread, delicious savory meat and vegetables served in traditional pottery fashion. Thankfully the hike concluded that days adventure and I returned to the hotel happy to be able to rest up for more exploration the next day.
The next day was only a half day tour because that night we were getting on a plane and heading to Izmir, but before we get there I want to talk about Imagination Valley, and the Pottery and Rug Places that we were able to visit.
Imagination valley is called such because of the various shapes and images you can create out of the rock formations. Any your imagination can come up with, you can see formed from these natural rocks. As you wonder around you can see how the wind, water, and shifting of the earth has slowly eaten away the surface over time. Further into the valley you can see old houses that are built into the rock. No one lives there today, except this one dog. He followed around as we explored the valley and when we went inside somewhere he dutifully stood guard.
The pottery place was the last stop. All I can say is BEAUTIFUL. I spent too much money and could have spent more. To see people still put some much work and art into something like that was really nice to see. each piece was unique and hand-made. A nice change from the factory duplicates that you see in stores.
Fairy Chimneys
The guard/guide dog.
Though I had already gotten a brief history on Turkish rugs, I had not seen them made, or the process which they get the silk for the carpets. Thus, the trip to the rug store/factory was actually one that I enjoyed. The other three times we had to sit through the history and types of rugs, well lets just say they really want you to come home with a rug. Before you ask I didn't, but I am getting off topic. The Turkish rug is the only rugs that use the double knot technique and are still made by hand to this day. As I mentioned, they also harvest a weave their own silk as well. Except for the fact that a dead silkworm was currently inside all the little white cocoons, it was an interesting process to watch. All and all it was a really nice relaxing way to end our time in Cappadocia before moving on to the next and last stop in Turkey.
The night we arrived we got in too late to explore at all. We barely made it in time to get dinner. After a good night's rest, we set off the next day to explore the region. I really enjoyed the tour guide that we had for this leg of the trip. The one in Istanbul was talking more to hear himself speak. Ranya, the one in Cappodocia, was spunky and full of energy. She gave us enough information to know what we were looking at, but didn't make us listen to a bunch of meaningless details.
The first stop of the day was a valley along one of the major roads. From there we were able to see some of the fairy chimneys that make the area famous. Then came the first test of the day, the underground city in Derinkuyu.
Used as a place to hide from invaders, the city can hold up to 3,000 people. Apparently, very short of stature because for most of the tour underground I had to walk bent over, sometimes crouching as well. It was a true test of how strong the muscle of my back were. Through a maze of stairways and sloping tunnels, the people of Turkey built an entire city. By storing food and water ahead of time, they would be able to remain hidden underground for months, as enemy armies lay siege to the ground above. Though not somewhere I would want to spend an extended amount of time, with the amount of invaders coming through the area throughout history, its existence makes complete sense.
After "crawling" my way through the underground city, it was time to enjoy some open-air on an easy grade hike. Well, at least easy grade was the term that the brochure used. I don't think I would have done the same. The sad fact is that we only really hike about half of the entire length of the valley, but that half (4km) was plenty for me.
At some point while we were underground, my camera died, so I will do my best to explain the beauty of the valley hike. Someone along the line a smart person decided to put a set of steps along the wall at the halfway point of the valley. This was the start of the journey. The stairs we steep and after the time in the underground city my legs were not real happy with me. I fought through the aching and tried to keep up with our energetic guide. It was at this point I was wishing that she had a little less spunk, but I guess when you do this day in and day out for tours, the hike was just like walking to the corner store for her.
The valley was a decent size with a small stream running the length. With lush green trees, and natural rock formations, you could spend hours enjoying the scenery around you. With houses and churches carved straight out of the rock, the valley has been inhabited for a long time. Now home to birds, and passing tourists you can enjoy the quiet serenity is offers, if your guide will give you the moment to stop and relax.
To be bluntly honest, one of the things that kept my aching legs moving was the promise of a delicious lunch waiting at the end of the trail. Set next to the stream, down in the heart of the valley was our restaurant for lunch. I dug in and enjoyed fresh bread, delicious savory meat and vegetables served in traditional pottery fashion. Thankfully the hike concluded that days adventure and I returned to the hotel happy to be able to rest up for more exploration the next day.
The next day was only a half day tour because that night we were getting on a plane and heading to Izmir, but before we get there I want to talk about Imagination Valley, and the Pottery and Rug Places that we were able to visit.
Imagination valley is called such because of the various shapes and images you can create out of the rock formations. Any your imagination can come up with, you can see formed from these natural rocks. As you wonder around you can see how the wind, water, and shifting of the earth has slowly eaten away the surface over time. Further into the valley you can see old houses that are built into the rock. No one lives there today, except this one dog. He followed around as we explored the valley and when we went inside somewhere he dutifully stood guard.
The pottery place was the last stop. All I can say is BEAUTIFUL. I spent too much money and could have spent more. To see people still put some much work and art into something like that was really nice to see. each piece was unique and hand-made. A nice change from the factory duplicates that you see in stores.
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