Canyon View Hotel Goreme

... all business cards requesting we email him our photos of the phenomenon.<br><br>We began the inevitable descent, all going reasonably smoothly until we got back to ground level. The balloon had drifted a bit further off course than anticipated due to our high climb. As we reached about 10-20 metres above the ground we were met by the sight of five men running desperately after our tow ropes, trying to tie them to a tree to stop us from being dragged into a crevasse. We were told to ...

... in red and rose valley. We wanted to hike to the church of the 3 crosses. When we got there, there was a shady man selling water out of a cave who wanted to charge us money to get into the church. He definitely did not look legitimate. Tom sneaked into the church, and said it was a lot like the other churches we had seen earlier. <br><br>That night we went back to our hostel and sampled the BBQ there. We sat with 4 British student and then moved to the Flinstone bar ...

... The wildflowers are terrific, and our 7 km walk was a very pleasant experience...except...<br><br>For the Aussie girls...<br><br>We met three pairs of Aussie girls in Turkey. Two pairs were great, one pair was...well...dreadful.<br><br>These two were traveling for 6 months. They'd been on the road for about as long as we have.<br><br>They are the greatest world travelers ever!<br><br>EVER!<br><br>There has never been a deal that they haven't gotten. They have never stayed ...

12th June - Olympos to Goreme<br><br>A massive 12 hour trip today down the coast and then inland to Cappadocia (a mountain range in central Turkey). Once we went inland the road followed the ancient Silk Road that used to wind its way through Turkey all the way from Beijing. We stopped and visited a camel stop (caravanserai), which were ancient pit stops placed along the road every 30kms (which was as far as a camal could go in a day). The Turkish Sultan built theses rest ...

... hard rock that resists erosion, usually basalt, is left standing alone as the tuff around is worn away, until it stands at the top of a large cone. Eventually the underpart is eaten away to such an extent that it can no longer hold its capital: the whole thing collapses and the process starts again. To this day people still live in these "hobbit-like" stone mounds and have windows, doors, etc. installed in their home. We have explored ...

... to our pension at dark and are we just in time for a traditional dinner consisting of Turkish specialties. They are serving chicken stew, spicy eggplant, fresh crisp salad, a sort of rice pilaf and crusty white bread. We eat in the communal room which is actually a rock cave. In the center is a massive wood burning stove and all around are big pillows, low tables, traditional woven carpets and wall hangings, all very cozy ...

... and is surrounded on both sides by little carved out dwellings and churches. One of these churches had a series of crumbling frescoes showing biblical stories as well as the evil eye which in this part of Cappodocia is from an Antatolian tradition.  It came from the Egyptian and then was co-opted by the Christians an then co-opted again by the Muslims.  The valley also featured the "babbling brook" and copses and copses of poplar trees ...

... Open Air Museum which is a whole bunch of preserved churches that have been carved in to the rock. Again, very impressive. I got some good shots of the terrain and interiors of some of the churches. i didnt caught with using the flash until the end of my visit - see, i know how to fight the system sometimes. it took us another 12 hours to get back to istanbul, and i couldnt have been happier to be back. i was so tired that all i wanted was to climb in to my bed at the ...

... 305;t &#305;n front of a room full of people! I'm told that I actually d&#305;dn't embarrass myself, but I'm not so sure...! So anyway, &#305;t was a great n&#305;ght, and as always Hot Rock managed to make qu&#305;te an &#305;mpress&#305;on on everyone present... Good t&#305;mes! Goreme &#305;tself &#305;s amaz&#305;ng- the whole of the surround&#305;ng landscape &#305;s covered &#305;n 'fa&#305;ry ch&#305;mneys'- natural rock format&#305;ons wh&#305;ch are fa ...

... hours and passed through scenery that was mostly uninspiring (dull brown low hills) although contrasted by a gigantic salt lake. The occasional miniature-cyclone swirled dustily on the plain and eagles soared over the dry earth. Cultivation started out as miles and miles of stubbly wheat fields but eventually turned greener as we went south and was given over to sunflowers and melons. Concrete channels sided the fields so it was probably some sort of irrigation project.<br><br>The ...