Rock Valley Pension Goreme

... progress, what is "shameful" about it. But to the tourist or perhaps the ex-pat, she was from North England she told me, the "authentic" is the ideal. "Authentic" though, it seems, always operates independently of the tourist. I mean, Goreme is and always will be Goreme... But somehow the Goreme of 10 years ago was more authentic, or at least that's what the woman was implying, and less "touristy." The more "touristy" the less "authentic," which is such an irony when one ...

... I was impressed. The landscape ýs surreal, simýlar to Drumheller - but bigger, crazier, and wýth extensive underground cities dating back thousands of years. Even the cýty of Göreme is partýally made out of the rock, wýth hotels and such inside. Later we had a walk through the Rose valley and the Red Valley. Then a free afternoon that I spent in a coffee shop eating baklava because it was pouring rain.Oh, and I will never be able to eat baklava ...

... thin green and yellow lines! The way the rocks have eroded reminds me of the waves in gelatodisplays or sand dunes! It's fascinating! I walked up to 2 churches, but 1 was closed and you had to pay to enter the other so I skipped it. Then walked on top of the valley looking down at the beautiful landscape on both sides. I got a bit lost but managed to make it to Casvin where you can see the remains of a lost city and some beautiful fairy chimneys. They ...

... one of my favorite places. Along the way we stopped off at Aspendos- to see an old Roman theater- books say it is the best example of ancient theaters in the world. It was built in the 2nd century AD. We got to Kaþ later than we expected to and headed to our hotel. Caner had arranged a place for us to stay. We went out to dinner and to look around. The electricity kept going off- about 5 times. Dinner was ok- I had a visit from a cockroach ...

... a stable and a chapel. The next stop was the Ihlara valley, where Donna and myself acted as kids once again and explored the hills and caves despite the tour guides distaste. Ironically, our next stop was another city carved into the mountains where Donna and I heard that there was some secret passages. Well like a red rag to a bull, we saw it our challenge to find the secret passageways. Whilst exploring the caves, a local boy encouraged us to follow him ...

... like champs. <br><br>I'm off on an overnight bus to Antakya near the Syrian border tomorrow. Only a brief stay there to check out the mosaics in the museum before crossing over to Aleppo! <br><br>Stuff <br>*I keep forgetting to mention that I sold my house. !!! Closing on June 2nd. <br>*Melissa Birdsong gifted me a travel pack of Burt's Bees products at my leaving do and they ROCK. Thanks again Melissa! <br>*Today is my one-month anniversary on the road. Can't believe how fast it's going.