Dinler Urgup

... area was a thriving Christian region. As we hiked today down the Ihlara Valley, which really is more of a canyon, we saw little church after church along the canyon wall, a testament to the importance that Christianity played here. Take some time to read about the Cappadocian fathers, and you'll see that out of this place came some of the most important theological work of the early church ...

... and realised that Ý have no co-ordination or balance and it was only going to end ýn tears, so Ý jumped on the back of Lee's instead. We had the scooter for 2 hours, but it started raining about 20 minutes after we got them and was freezing, so we lasted an hour. As soon as we returned it though, out came the sun! Our last day in Turkey today. Taking the overnight bus to Antakya and then tomorrow morning well head into Syria.

... Ilhan, Hawke and Keira wanted to stay and dance. Everyone else was really tired cod no one else had slept on the bus and some had to be up at 5 for a hot air balloon ride. Today was a great day though. We started by going for a walk which took us into a valley and we saw pigeon houses which are used to collect manure and they are cut into the rock and there were fruit trees planted everywhere. There was one point that you could tell was where they had filmed parts of Star Wars episode 4 ...

... but unfortunately without my glasses I couldn;t see the numbers. It took me ages to open the damm thing by feel but now I think I may take up a new career of safe breaking. When once I had got into the tent i just flopped exhausted onto my bed and got the giggles. A day in the life of Victoria Hadley!! Part 3. I have definitely saved the best till last. This morning i got up at 4.30 for a very special reason. I have been on my first hot air balloon flight ...

... shops, ooh, big step, change some of the practical old streets into sexy, colourful pedestrian malls, next up a whole row of souvenir shops, I don't think I can take much more....and that brings us to today. And from today forward we foresee a sudden and unstoppable decline in overall enthusiasm. Within a few months instead of "Kas was awesome" it will be "Yeah, Kas was great, but I have to get up kinda early so I better get going." By Christmas it'll be ...

Today everybody was rested and excited to see the world!! Breakfast was the best I had ever had! We sat on the patio of the hotel with the view of most of Urgup. After that, we went to the coolest museum I have ever seen. It was an outdoor museum with about 30 churches in the same area at the top of a valley. Before the churches were there it was home to ancient troglodites. Troglodites were like cavemen. But, the troglodites didn't have any religion, so ...

... up the cliff. The snow and wind meant the walk up and along the cliffside required concentration. It was only on the way down that our friendly and knowledge guide told us that on a recent tour one of her group had fallen off the path to their death below. The church contained deteriorating frescos on the ceiling and walls. The windows gave an excellent view of the nearby town and the falling snow. There were three non-historical stops ...

... the Turkish music and turned on the blue lights inside the bus as we sped along the road. Afterwards, everyone was pulled into the dance and we danced from inside to outside and finally back inside the complex. Everyone participated: Christians, Muslims, everyone. The next day, we hiked the Red Rose Valley in Cappadocia. The geological formations ...

... visible in the ceiling. After Derinkuyu we headed to the Ihlara Valley, a spectacular rock canyon with a river running through the middle that stretches for several kilometres. It is most famous for having several early Christian churches from around the eleventh century hidden in caves carved in the cliff face, many with frescoes and carvings still visible. Driving toward the valley we passed through several small towns, the last of which was Belisarma ...

... smurf villages dotted amongst these. We were in Kapadokya! After arranging the tour for two days we would take for 20 million TL per day, we were picked up from our hotel, we first stop at the Fairy Chimneys, our tour guide has the pleasure or maybe displeasure of first talking to us 'karasik yabanci' mixed foreigners and then in Turkish to a group of middle aged Turkish women who had escaped their ritual house chores in Ankara we learned later.