2006.05.09_White Valley

After a brief rest, we ventured out to tour Cappadocia for the last time. This time, we headed towards the romantic White Valley. It wasn't a easy walk. There were places where we needed to climb and jump and cross farming fields.

At 20:15 in the evening, we left Goreme for Kayseri, where we switched to another bus which departed for Hatay (Antioch or Antakya) at midnight.

2006.05.09_Pigeon Valley

The weather was poor when we get up. We didn't head out until 11:00am. MC decided not to hike with us this morning. Instead, she stayed somewhere in Goreme waiting for us. The rest of us walked southwest from Elifstar to the Pigeon Valley. We hiked through the Pigeon Valley in 1.5 hour, passed through a number of manmade caves, pigeon holes and spectacular landscape. It began to rain again as we reached Uchisar. We had no choice but to stop at a cafe. After the rain, we hiked back to Elifstar.

2006.05.08_Sunset in Cappadocia

Magnificent sunset to end the day.

2006.05.08_Caravanserai and Fairy Chimneys

After Yaprakhisar, the tour bus took us to a pottery shop. HC had his chance to try out pottery making using the turntable. He made nothing but a donut shape mold. A brief stop at the nearby Agzikarahan Caravanserai. The ancient complex was built in the 11th century as a travel establishment for Silk Road caravans.

Lastly, the bus brought us to the final destination, which was a site full of fairy chimneys. The guide Shalif described the formation of those mushroom-like rock towers as a product of volcanic actions and rain erosion. Surreal curvatures under the late afternoon sun. A photogenic place it was.

2006.05.08_Underground City, Ihlara Valley and Yaprakhisar Village

At 09:30 we joined a local bus tour called the Greenline. The first stop was the famous underground cities of Derinkuyu. With 11 levels and roughly 85m at its deepest, Derinkuyu is the deepest underground city in the region. The guide explained that since the periods of Hatti and Hittite, people in Cappadocia had recognized the softness of the volcanic rock tufa and began to dig and carve to build. In many cases like the Derinkuyu, the underground cities were gradually developed over many generations and greatly expanded to the current scale during the Byzantine time. Ancient citizens often stayed underground for months during wars. Ventilation shafts, food storage, kitchens, and other essential amenities were provided, and so as underground church. We stayed at the underground city for about an hour.

The tour continued to the 1.5 hour hike at Ihlara Valley, a lush green gorge carved out by a stream. It was a pleasant walk along the stream. Along the cliffs on both sides, caves and pigeon holes could be seen everywhere. At the end of the hike, we visited a cave church, and then headed our way to a local restaurant for lunch. After lunch, we arrived at the village of Yaprakhisar, which is often mistakenly recognized as the filming site of one of the Star Wars movie. Local women and shepherds sat on the slope. Stone houses and caves dotted the hill slope, topped with some bizarre looking rock formations that remind people the landscape of a faraway planet.

2006.05.07_Goreme

After the Open Air Museum, we decided to visit the Rose and Red Valley. Soon enough, the weather changed dramatically and we found ourselves walking in a thunder storm. We ran into a wooden shelter near Goreme, where a large group of football (soccer) players were also sheltering from the rain. Luckily the storm didn't last long. We gave up the hike and returned to Elifstar to get change. Rested for a short while, MC discovered that she'd lost her watch, probably at the wooden shed where we sheltered from the rain. SH and I went to the shed with her. Fortunately she found her watch at the shed. On our way back, the three of us walked up the hill to the lookout we visited in the morning. It wasn't the most beautiful sunset. Though after the rain, everything seemed refreshing and delightful. By the time we returned to Elifstar, dinner prepared by Jacky was almost ready.

2006.05.07_Open Air Museum, Goreme

We continued to head north to our second destination of the day, the Goreme Open Air Museum, a site of many cave dwellings and cave churches. There are a few fine example of Byzantine cave paintings well preserved. The site was really crowded with student groups and local tourists. Many secondary school students were curious about us and wanted to take pictures with us. It was pretty fun to chat with them in simple English.

2006.05.07_Love Valley

A short walk to the east from Goreme brought us to the "Love Valley", a little valley with really bizarre fairy chimneys, earth towers capped with basalt. We pretty much had the valley by ourselves, except a few hikers occasionally walked by.

2006.05.07_Elifstar

Our bus arrived in Goreme at around 08:00. Surprisingly the bus went all the way to the village centre, instead of otogar at Nevsehir. Arriving in the area of Cappadocia in early morning felt like waking up on another planet. Cave dwellings here and there. A few tourists and some souvenir shops. Minimal traffic and occasional herds of sheep. But it was the bizarre rock formations, some of which towered straight up to the sky that captured everyone's attention.

We checked in at our hotel Elifstar, another fun of Cappodocia: to stay in cave dwellings. The owner Jacky and her cat were both very friendly. Jacky pulled out a map and showed us various hiking routes around the area, and recommended a lookout spot. It did offer a fine view of the village of Goreme.

2006.05.06_Hierapolis

Behind the pools lies a Roman ruins of Hierapolis, which included Roman houses, public buildings, baths, theatre and a large necropolis. In Roman times, people believed that the hot springs in the pools possessed healing power. A town was gradually formed behind the pools as the healing centre in the region. Though judging from the extensiveness of the necropolis (cemetery), the hot springs obviously didn't heal all the patients who came from every corner of the empire. We toured around the Roman ruins for about an hour. HC, AK and I decided to leave the site via a narrow path that winded down the valley. It was a cool short hike. It felt like walking in midair.

We stopped by the garden below Pamukkale, and then killed some time at an Internet cafe, before hopping onto our bus bounded towards Denizli, where we transferred to another bus for Cappadocia.

2006.05.06_Pamukkale

Three hours of bus ride took us to Pamukkale. Like everyone else, we came here for the spectacular travertine pools. As we hopped off the bus, we were immediately led to purchase our bus ticket for our next bus trip. Along the path to the pools, we stopped by a small Asian shop for a bowl of spicy Korean noodles. Hundreds of white travertine pools against the hillside was a spectacular sight, while the barefoot uphill hike was quite a torture to AK and me. Shoes are simply not allowed when stepped into the pools, which makes perfect sense, though it really hurt. We were a little disappointed when we saw most pools were drained. Some said the spring has been diverted to some resort spas in the area. Anyhow, distant views towards the valley down below were quite amazing.

2006.05.06_Selcuk

Farewell Homerous.