Burcu Kaya Hotel Urgup

We woke up in Goreme to snow! Not to be deterred, Chris and I rented a car in order to avoid having to take a tour bus/group. Jumping in our Hyundai, we headed down the highway stopping to see the snowy landscape and the nearby and towering Uchisar Castle. Our first destination was the ancient underground city of Derinkuyu, which dates back as far as 4000 years and the 7th century B.C.! This is where the locals ...

... level 3 means the stone is white or black, level 2 is grey to light green and level 3 is the bright green. We were then shown to the show room where the difference in turquoises was explained and I realised that the ring I bought in Dalyan probably wasn't the real thing. The we were let loose. I skipped all the gold and went straight to the silver. Ended up buying a turquoise ring and necklace - very mild for me I know! We then went to the pottery demonstration where they made a fresh ...

From Goreme we drove along the famed Silk Road, with "han" or caravanserai every 30 km or so. One of the best known is at Sultanhani. Here the caravans could rest for up to 3 days, while doing business and buying insurance from the Sultan. Turns out that they also make rugs in Sultanhani, which they "age" by having cars drive over them.

The Ihlara Valley is found in central Turkey in what is known as the region of Cappadocia. Cappadocia was settled in 1800 BC, but that's not the most interesting fact about the area. What is interesting in the unique ways that people lived here - they were cave dwellers. They built what amounts to entire cities into caves and in underground areas. The area also became a refuge for Christians during the Roman ...

... named after an ancient Seljuk prince named Hasan... the Dag part is Turkish for mountain... thus... Hasan Mountain... Kind of cool... but It gets better... The volcano erupted around 6,000 BCE... leaving behind a 5 kilometer caldera in the middle of the top... cool... well it looks very cool when standing on the top of the mountain... especially when you realize that this is the part of the mountain that ...

Today we woke up and had the same great breakfast. Then we drove to pigeon Valley. It was called Pigeon Valley because the ancient people made houses for the pigeons. They did this to collect the droppings as fertilizer. We hiked down the valley who directed us to where we needed to go. On the way we went through a five or six story ancient house. The thing with the house was that it lacked boundaries. Once we were ...

... on my researched list of recommended dining anyway (as were all of Suha's other recommendations - clearly this man knows where to go!). The meal was sumptuous and so reasonably priced we felt so lucky to be there. After eating our fill we staggered back up the hill (20 mins), the girls with an ice cream in hand. Although it was early we sank into our luxurious beds and fell asleep quickly.

... and there were 5 couples, a guide, (Nevruz, who is very knowledgeable and funny) and driver, (Ahmed, who is married to a lady from Coventry!) and we had 4 nights in 3 hotels over 5 days. The weather varied from warm sun to snow and very heavy rain with strong winds and I must admit that I wasn't prepared for such cold weather!! Luckily Peter had a spare pair of socks but we could both have done with thicker coats. Apparently this weather is not normal ...

... that Cappadoccia is famous for is a series of underground cities used by the Troglodytes between 1900 BC and 1200 BC, mostly as refuges from invading armies. Only five have been excavated so far, and Derinkuyu is the biggest, able to house about thirty thousand people for six months at a time. The city is totally invisible from above ground, but extends about 55metres below ground over about 8 storeys. It was just incredible - I couldn't believe the ...

... successful hot air balloon ride the next morning where I got to pull the gas thingys (some sort of control type device to make the balloon go up and down - ha ha ha - insert maniacal laughter here) Despite my best efforts however, I was unable to do much damage. Then a personal tour of the underground city (K - something - sorry for the lack of detail, I'll add it later when I have my book) and back on the bus to Ankara to arrive at 5:30 pm and depart that night at 11pm for Antalya.