Ataman Hotel Goreme

... inched closer and closer, the air becoming colder and colder. Our view was completely obscured by clouds for a few minutes, the sun becoming brighter and brighter, and then the clouds were gone, and in it's place a clear, bright blue sunny sky. It was an amazing sight, and both exhilarating and kinda terrifying all at the same time. One other unique moment was the shadow of our balloon cast on the clouds below with a rainbow ringing the basket shadow. So rare was this our pilot gave ...

... the chimneys. The rooms were cave like, and smelled a little musky, but the sandstone kept the rooms cool during the hot afternoon.<br><br>After a nap, we went to explore the valleys. First we went to the open air museum. Early Christians in this part of Turkey carved their churches and monasteries into the rocks to hide them from enemies. It was very cool to walk through small doors in the rocks and see churches and homes. <br><br>Then Sarah, Brittany and To went for a ...

We've made it to Cappadocia, and I feel like death. Tired, sore, sweaty and a little bit delusional, I rested in the back of the van while Chris and Damo tracked down some kebabs. Found a very scenic spot to park, ate stale sandwiches and went to bed.

... passangers up front. He loved talking to us.<br><br>It was a great drive.<br><br>In the Ilhara Valley we went for a group hike. Thankfully we would be getting some excercise in Cappadocia after all. Had we had more time we would have gone on a number of great hikes in the area, but due to time constraints we opted for quicker methods of transport to see more.<br><br>The Ilhara Valley is very pretty, it's more of a canyon than a valley and there are old caves on each side ...

... Cappadocia. It was their eruptions some thirty million years ago, covering the former plateau of Ürgüp in ash and mud, that provided the region's raw material: tuff. This soft stone, formed by compressed volcanic ash, has been worked on ever since, by processes of erosion, to form the valleys and curious fairy chimney rock formations. The stages in the creation of these extraordinary scenes can be clearly seen in many places: a block ...

... standing tall in a small basin. Not many people are there since the weather is bad and the path is muddy. Just before heading back the room, we sidetrack uphill to a small Byzantine church. The guard waves us up to his sparsely decorated cave dwelling. He kindly offers us tea. We chat with him using our guidebook&#8217;s language section. It&#8217;s very limited and our pronunciation is bad, but it works out. We get ...

... Although the mood on the bus in the morning was a bit stiff, our excellent  and knowledgeable guide was nimble at loosening up everyone with charm and wit in several different languages.  By the time we got to our second destination, a 4 km hike along the Red River to visit 2000 year old churches and monasteries carved into the rock, little groups of "new friends" had formed.   (Denis here now)  This valley is called the Ilharra ...

... you are stepping on holy ground because people before you worshipped and practiced in secret for fear of persecution. That was the best 50 lira spent on this whole trip to Turkey... not only did the tour include admission to all of the places that we went, but it also included transportation, food, etc. we made friends with the tourguide and driver... i think they thought we were a little crazy... haha :-) Sunday was a bit more laid back... i went with my friend Erin to ...

... beds for the f&#305;rst t&#305;me &#305;n aeons...) are carved &#305;nto the rock. Henry's b&#305;rthday was mental- we went to a 'Turk&#305;sh N&#305;ght' (all you can eat and dr&#305;nk for a f&#305;xed pr&#305;ce... We got our moneys worth...) where we were enterta&#305;ned w&#305;th Wh&#305;rl&#305;ng Derv&#305;shes and trad&#305;t&#305;onal Turk&#305;sh dances, as well as some belly danc&#305;ng! All very cool unt&#305;l I was dragged up on stage to follow ...

... bus to Cappadochia. We have been in cities for too long. We yearn to escape. We are going to live in a fairy chimney (hopefully) !<br><br>September 6th, Goreme, Turkey.<br><br>I am writing this literally sat in a cave whilst a dust storm rages outside. I'd better bring this journal up to date and explain.<br><br>We took the early morning bus from Ankara after successfully finding a bus company that would bring us to Cappadocia out of the hundreds on offer. The journey here took around ...