Göreme

I slept episodically in the bus. Sometime between episodes I noted the brief stop at Konya, one of the larger cities of central Turkey. I had however decided to leave it out this trip.

In the cold dawn I found myself in the small village of Göreme trying to stay warm in my jacket while waiting for my backpack to be unloaded from the hold. Quite a change from warm Antalya. It was a short walk to the Köse Pension where I had a reservation. Everything is close by in this small village of a couple of thousand. The Pension was neat and cozy. I had a non-Turkish breakfast here for a welcome change, then napped a bit to reduce my sleep deficit.

Göreme lies in a national park and the main attraction here is the fairy chimneys. Dawn, the proprietress, recommended a walk through Rose Valley. The valley is an open air museum and an admission charge is levied. I entered from the top and walked downhill. The trail was a bit treacherous due to the loose sand particles and I slipped a couple of times. But it was great to breathe fresh air.

This area was once the site of ancient volcanic eruptions which laid down layers of soft tuff and harder basalt. The hard layer protected the soft tuff underneath from rain erosion, while wind erosion carved the soft tuff. The result is other-worldly formations shaped like cones, mushrooms, etc. Caves can also be easily excavated in the soft tuff to form troglodyte dwellings which are remarkably comfortable because they stay cool in summer and retain heat in winter. In fact some hostels and hotels in area offer the novelty of staying in caves.

The region has a climate suitable for growing grapes and this is one of the major wine producing regions of Turkey. On my walk I passed vineyards.

I took a beer break at a restaurant on the trail. There were a group of French tourists having their lunch there. A couple of Slovenian girls walked past while I was quenching my thirst. I later caught up with them on the trail and we chatted about Australia and Slovenia. Their hometown was near the border with Italy. We exchanged email addresses at the end of the walk. One of the girls was Irena. For the next year or two we corresponded sporadically, then lost touch. In my blog of my 2007 trip to Slovenia, I have already set down how I was tempted to visit her hometown while driving around Slovenia.

If I'm not mistaken, this is a church carved in the rock near the town. This area was settled in the Roman period and Christianity was the prevailing religion then.

Back at the Pension, after a nap, I eyed the swimming pool in the now hot day but decided to let the day cool a bit and the water warm a bit. It didn't make any difference: when I tried the water it was chilly so I had a quick dip and gave up. By this time it was evening, so I took a walk around the village. There wasn't much action except the tourists around the souvenir shops and a small farmers' market.

Dinner at the Pension was excellent because the produce was fresh. At the table were a Kiwi couple, a couple from Brisbane, an English family and a Scotsman. Much of the talk was about travelling around the Middle East. I must have had a tiring day because I went out like a light when I hit the sack.