Istanbul to Goreme

  Istanbul, Turkey
Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Sunday 25th May 2008                 Sydney-Singapore-Dubai-Istanbul
            Go over to Adam's about midday, but he's not home.  Arrives shortly after - been held up at Touch Football.  Gives us lift to airport, and in return gets to keep the car for the next two months.
            Our flight leaves at 3.30pm. We're flying to Singapore with Singapore Airlines on the new A380, which is enormous, with an upstairs and downstairs, and holds over 600 passengers.  Each seat has its own large, "on demand" movie screen with a big choice of movies, and there is plenty of leg room.  There also seems to be plenty of staff,as all meals are served quickly.  Definitely a good experience.  Get into Singapore just before midnight.  Have to transfer to another terminal, but have nearly two hours before our next flight, so no problem.
            Our next plane is fine, but definitely not up to the same standard as the brand new A380.
Have a seven hour flight to Dubai - manage to get a little sleep during it. Have an hour in Dubai. Murray stays on the plane, but Dianne goes to the transit lounge to get some exercise. Have a half kilometre walk in - stop at duty free and buy a litre of gin for US12.50, then walk half kilometre back to our  gate.  Have a ten-minute wait, then time to board.  Murray was happy to see that I got back OK. Another four-hour flight, and we're in Istanbul about 7am, local time, 23 hours after leaving home.
Monday 26th May                                   Istanbul
            The new us (the ones that spend money on luxuries, rather than always taking the cheapest way) get a  YTL30 taxi to the Hotel Nomade which is in the centre of Sultanahmet. When we get to Sultanahmet it is obvious that he doesn't know where the hotel is, although he had sounded confident when he approached us. We give him the address, and he asks a number of people, and we drive around and around, which is not easy as there are lots of narrow one-way streets, and streets with the trams taking up most of them.  Eventually he stops a policeman, and he hops out and has a long discussion.  Gets back in - he's now confident he knows where it is, and promptly reverses a few hundred metres.  Can now see the hotel across the street and down a side street, so we hop out.
            Hotel is expecting us.  Room is not ready yet (it's only 9am), so leave our bags and head out to have a look around.  We're staying just up from the "Pudding Shop" which was famous on the "Hippie Trail" and which we ate at in 1976, and again in 1977, on our way home through Asia on public transport.  Recognise the location, but the interior has changed, although they have lots of photos from that era.  Lots of streets are now cobble-stoned, whereas they weren't before - definitely a lot more "boutiquey" than before, with a nice atmosphere.  The main drag, Divan Yolu, now has a modern tramline running up the middle of it.
            Back to the hotel about 10am, but room will be another "10 minutes" so we go up to check out the hotel's roof garden, which has wonderful views of the Blue Mosque, Aya Sofya, and as far as the Bosphorus, which is one of the reasons we chose this reasonably expensive hotel (162.5 YTL per night, after discount for cash).
            After another short walk, room is finally ready about 10.30am, so up to unpack, and have a couple of hours of much-needed sleep.
Afterwards head up into the labyrinths of the Grand Bazaar, where there are over 4,000 shops and several kilometres of lanes. This has not changed much in 30 years.  Follow the main thoroughfare, then out into the surrounding streets and down through the Spice Bazaar,

01. Spice bazaar

before coming out at the Galata Bridge.  Buy a fish roll for 4 YTL from the ornately decorated former fishing boats, complete with large hotplates, a far cry from the simple fishing boats of 30 years ago, that sold the same fish rolls, cooked in a large pan, the contents of which sloshed from side to side in the wake of the boats.

21. Upmarket fishcooking boat

22. Dianne with fish lunch

Walked across the Galata Bridge, then a long hot walk up to Beyoglu, detouring to see the Galata Tower.

02. Galata Tower

Continue along Istiklal Caddesi, the main street, stopping for a drink (and rest) in a small shop, then back to get the funicular to "Tunel", then tram back to Sultanahmet.
Rest for a while, then out to walk around Hippodrome with the Obelisk of Theodosius, the rough-stone obelisk, and the Spiral column.  Then around the back of the Blue Mosque to the Hotel Spina, the meet-up place for the tour tomorrow.  Lots of nicely renovated older places around here, with a good atmosphere.
Go past Blue Mosque on way back, and find the Sound & Light show is in English tonight at 9pm, so wait around for it.  Take some good pictures of the mosque lit up, though the lit-up signs in fairy lights don't improve it.

04.Blue Mosque at night

05. Aya Sofya at night

Back to the Pudding Shop for a medium dinner, then home for a well-earned rest.

06. Pudding Shop 31 years later

07. Blue mosque at night from rooftop

Tuesday 27th May                       Istanbul
            Have a wonderful Turkish breakfast of fresh bread, tomatoes, cucumber, cheese, dried fruits, cherries and watermelon in our roof garden, with views over the Bosphorus, the Blue Mosque and Aya Sofya. What a wonderful start to the day.

20. Breakfast at our hotel, Istanbul

03. Blue Mosque from our rooftop

08. Blue mosque from same spot as 1977

Go for a walk a little to the West of Sultanahmet area, which is more a locals area rather than a tourist area. End up on the waterfront for a while, then back up into Sultanahmet.

09. Still to be repaired-Istanbul

10. Repaired buildings-Istanbul

Go into the Blue Mosque,

11. Interior Blue Mosque

which was constructed between 1606 and 1616, has six minarets, and is enormous inside, with wonderful stained glass windows, and four huge pillars holding up the dome.
Out and walk across the path to Aya Sofya, which was orginally completed in 537 to show the greatness of the Roman Empire.  It was converted into a mosque in 1453, and then a museum in 1935.
The enormous main dome has lots of scaffolding which reaches from the floor to the ceiling.  Quite a few old mosaics, and an interesting upstairs gallery.

12. Inside Aya Sofya

13. Fresco in Aya Sofya

14. Gardens and Aya Sofya

Head across the road to have a look at the Baths of Lady Hurrem, which were originally part of the mosque complex, and were built in 1556-7.  They are now used as a carpet shop, but all the marble fixtures are still there.
Back to our room for a rest, then out later to walk along Divan Yolu as far as the University, then down to Suleymaniye mosque.  Unfortunately most of it was closed for renovation, so continued walking till we found a lovely sunken garden,

15. Sunken Garden cafe

where we stopped for a drink.
Afterwards headed home through the Grand Bazaar,

16. Grand Bazaar interior

17. Grand Bazaar interior

18. Grand Bazaar interior

heading into the areas we hadn't seen yesterday, just as it was closing.
Had a so-so dinner at a cafe on the main street.  Food looked quite good in the pans, but it had obviously been sitting for quite a few hours, as the egg on top of the mince had a texture of plastic, which we couldn't even cut with a knife.  Later buy a good, but expensive (4.5 YTL) rice custard.  Could have eaten it at the upstairs roof garden, but after having a look at the good view, decided against it as it was quite cold, and we were pretty tired.
Wednesday 28th May                                Istanbul
Down to Hotel Spina about 9.30am for our 10am meet-up with  our tour. We're happy to see another person waiting for the tour, as the hotel still knows nothing about us, and they say we're not booked in. Six of us eventually turn up, but no sign of any guides or other passengers, though nearly an hour after our meet-up time. Spend the hour comparing notes on the incompetence of the girl  in the Dragoman office, who had not sent anyone the correct information unless they hassled her continually, and not even then in some cases.  
Our guide turns up after nearly an hour.  He and the others had been at the Istanbul Hostel, which was the meet-up place shown on the most recent information sheet.  The Dragoman office had forgotten to update the information for the rest of us.  As there had been so many of us we weren't particularly worried, but would definitely had been more of a worry if we'd been the only ones.
Our guide and driver (Jim and Dan) tell us they have been doing the South American route for Dragoman, and they haven't been to Asia before. Also tell us that the truck is 25 years old and has been in West Africa for a while, and has just gone back to London and had lots of work done on it.  Not enough apparently, as they'd arrived in Istanbul yesterday in a cloud of smoke and spent the day chasing up a 'turbo', as they think this is the only thing it could be. We set off tomorrow at 6am for a 13 hour drive to Goreme.    
Meet all our travelling companions - there are nine of us
in their 20's and 30's we have Kathryn an occupational therapist, Nick who's just finished an economics degree, Rob a pathologist, Paul a civil engineer, and Natalya who's just done a photography degree.
In her 40's we have Jerri who is a writer specialising in cooking, textiles and travel.
In their 50's and 60's are the two of us, and Fulvio, who has lived in Australia for nearly 40 years, but was originally from Italy.
Arrange to all meet up at the hotel for dinner, then we're out for more exploring.
First stop is the Basilica Cistern which was built in AD532, and is 65 metres wide and 143 metres long. When we were last here, you could  walk down the steps and peer into the dark and see columns disappearing into the distance. Now you pay 10 YTL each, and walk down onto a platform which has been built above the water, which enables you to walk the whole length of the cistern.

19. Basilica cistern

Two interesting columns at the back with upside-down Medusa heads.
Out to walk back down to Galata Bridge, where we have another fish roll, and then catch a ferry to wherever it takes us, which turns out to be Uskudar further up the Bosphorus on the Asian side.  Not much to see there, so get another ferry back to Kabatas on the European side.  Look at Valide Sultan mosque, and the gardens of Dolmabahce Palace, but decide against going in.

23. Dolmabahce Palace on Bosphorous

24. Dolmabahce Palace

Take the metro to Taksim Square,

25. Taksim Square

then walk along Istiklal Caddesi, back towards where were on Monday. Lots of people, and modern boutiques - this is modern Istanbul.  Wander along Cicek Passage (Flower Passage)

26. Flower Passage

and the neighbouring lanes, and stop to look at a fancy church.
Get the funicular back to "Tunel", then the tram. Back at the hostel, Murray has a rest, and Dianne goes for a walk to find the "Empress Zoe" hotel, which is very boutiquey.  Whole area has been restored with tourists in mind. Photo of Four Seasons Hotel, which used to be the infamous Sultanahmet Prison featured in Midnight Express, and is now Istanbul's swankiest hotel.

28.Old jail now a hotel

Have our first dinner with our fellow travellers,

27. Introduction dinner Istanbul Hostel

then to bed (we pay extra for our own room, the rest are in one dorm).
 Thursday 29th May                     Istanbul-Goreme
   Not much sleep in the night, either wind or upstairs restaurant moving furniture, frame for the fairy lights clanging against our wall, the glass in the next-door room smashing from the wind, uninvited guests opening our door, or MP with tummy trouble meant we were up before the alarm, and were packed ready to roll at 7am. And roll we did, all nine of us and one guide, up the hill to the tram stop up from our old hotel, just missing the first tram.
We had been expecting to be picked up from our hotel, but the truck is parked on the outskirts of town, so we had to get public transport to get to it.
   Our packs were particularly bulky with the daypacks attached, and had trouble sliding them under the turnstiles, but all onto the second tram ok, with plenty of room in it, for the long haul through a dozen or more stops to the end of the line at Zeytinburnu. More turnstile trouble to transfer to the metro for the 4 stops to Yenibosna. Thoughtful transit officer made sure we didn't go to the next stop, the airport. Windy, dusty haul over rough roads to the truck park for our first look at Daphne,

29. Meeting Daphne

our trusty steed. Not a pretty sight, but definitely robust. Load our bags in the back locker, and off through peak hour traffic towards the most northerly of the Bosphorus bridges, generally in multi-lane roads through industrial and dense high-rise residential areas.
   The long tram and metro rides west through commercial, industrial and residential areas, then the truck ride across the whole city to the east showed the incredible size of the city, which has a population of between 10-16  million, depending upon which source you rely. From the road, which was generally elevated, on the hillsides at the edge of the city, you could see back into the city area, with thousands of high rise residential blocks, and the city proper on the skyline.

30. High-rise leaving Istanbul

   Interesting exchanges with toll keepers, in choked traffic, then onto the bridge. Because the truck is so high, had excellent views down the Bosphorus

31. Bosphorus Bridge and fort

to past the second bridge, and of the forts on the banks at either side.
    More clumps of high rise apartments on the Asian side, a lot new, and apparently unoccupied.  After a short section of rural scenery, rejoined the Sea of Marmara, with industrial and port towns along it. Leaving the coast we proceeded through green, but scruffy rural scenery up a long valley toward a mountain massif. It is a new autostrada, sometimes on elevated viaducts toward what has to be a tunnel. Can see trucks toiling up the switchbacks on the old highway to the south. The Turbo, which has been making squealing noises which are both annoying and alarming has settled in a bit, but there is still a lot of hissing of air going the wrong way when full power is applied.

32. Lots housing in countryside

33. Still some farming in countryside

   The road is now in the mountains, with deciduous forest giving way to pine, and then we emerge into the plateau area of grass and wheat, with broad vistas from the road which sticks mainly to the high slopes of the valleys.
  Stop regularly at servos to change drivers, and for passenger comfort. Confrontation at one Metro bus station, where security contests our drivers' claim that we are an Otobus, not a truck. The truck stops all have good loos, mainly free, and restaurant facilities.
   Stop for a sandwich lunch at a picnic spot attached to a restaurant, which has a rustic fountain and fish pond full of trout.
   Take the ring road south of Ankara, which is on our left for about 20kms. Again, the road sticks to the hills so we get good views. Another amazing collection of greenfields, residential, both high and low rise. Most appear to be empty.

34. High-rise outside Ankara

35. More highrise!

There is a story here we will try to sort out.  Certainly different to our diary entry for our last trip, where we say we saw LOTS of water buffalo between Istanbul and Ankara.  Turkey has certainly changed in 30 years, and now has a modern economy, rather than a peasant one.
Take a leg to the south here, toward our turn at Aksaray, passing into a fertile area of wide flat fields, with no obvious farm facilities anywhere to be seen. Looks like a massive agribusiness operation. This leads into the Tuz Golu ( salt Lake)which is reasonably full, with a rim of dry salt a couple of hundred metres wide. About here we telephone ahead with our evening meal order, and confirm we are booked into the camping area at Goreme.Take photos of Hasan Dagi, 3268m,

36. Hasan Dagi from near Aksaray

with a bit more snow than in '77. Now starting to get dark. Fully dark by the time we get to Nevsehir, but can see the high-rise rash has spread to here. Closer to Goreme, can see some of the massive new troglodite-themed hotels.
   Now 9pm. Unpack the truck, have a quick tent-pitching demo, then pitch our tents and lay out our bedding. It is getting pretty cold, soglad we brought one thick sleeping bag as well as the two thin ones.
   Have Turkish pizza in the carpet shop attached to the camp office. Not a lot of socialising, too tuckered out, so to bed for a pretty good sleep, after a bad night and a long drive. Dianne is snug under both sleeping bags, MP marginally cold under one and a half, but not enough so to get more gear on, or fight for more bag. Pretty quiet in the night, a little traffic on the road 20 metres away, no close snorers.
   Friday 30th May                                Kaya Camping, Goreme
   The sun is surprisingly high in the sky at 7am. Jim says there is a fantastic view from the camp perimeter, so MP gets the camera and takes morning photos of the valley.

37. Scenery near Kaya Camping area

38. View of Uchisar from near Kaya Camping

Later joined by DP at the rock outcrop which looks over the Goreme valley. Dan and Jim do breakfast to show how it is done, with sliced bread a bit of a let-down after all the Turkish bread we have smelt cooking on the way. The kitchen is quite functional, if a bit big for 11 people.

39. Our campsite at Kaya Camping

   There is wi-fi at the office, but DP is unable to get connected. Secure our valuables so we can get around unencumbered, and wait for our tour to turn up at 10.
   In the meanwhile we go for a walk down to the rock church in the valley just near the camping area. It is a pretty little valley, with  church which has been a tourist trap, but now looks deserted. Can see in through old mesh grilles. Take photos in the valley.
   Our tour is in a newish Mercedes van, about a 14 seater. We have a taciturn driver, our guide Farouk, and a blonde girl trainee. Our first stop is in the direction of Urgup,  the Fairy Chimneys, mainly two chimneys tapered to a point, with flat rock protecting the tops.

40. Mt Erciye viewed through two Fairy Chimneys

 They are on a high point of the valley rim, with views of the Erciyes Volcano to the northeast. Next stop is Imagination Valley,

41. Cones in Imagination Valley

where we stop at a viewpoint and walk down, at first along the road, then in among the cones. Take photos of some improbable climbing foot-holes to a rope from a cave, then climb up into a cave with a tunnel. The climb up was pretty scary,

42. Looking towards cave we climbed up to

with a steep slope, no footholds, and loose sand and gravel. DP had a particularly bad time in worn-out sandals, but managed better barefoot. Photo of some interesting formations, which with "Imagination", could be given names.

43. An unusual rock formation

   Next stop was the Zelve open-air museum, a valley which split into 3 higher up, with a lot of large caves, with kitchen, winemaking and storage areas, and mangers for animals, with holes bored through the rock for tying tethers.

44. Zelve open-air museum

45. Dianne inside one of the caves

The highlight was a transit of a pitch dark tunnel, with only DP's torch and assorted cameras and phone lights. The tunnel included a steep, narrow stairway. Met some Germans coming the other way, using only a phone for light. Warned them of the steps. One of the crew was claustrophobic, and went around the outside. Other highlight was the pillared chamber, with architectural, not structural pillars.
   For lunch, we combined ordering take-away pizzas with a visit to a pottery shop. Quite an interesting tour, including a white-clay platemaking demo, on an electric wheel, and a red clay bowl throwing on a kick wheel. DP volunteered to have a go, got conned into producing something distinctly phallic,

46. Dianne the potter

with hand motions to suit, and the guides commentary not helping. DP broke up completely, found it difficult to turn this into a bowl.
   All managed to resist buying pottery. As usual, the product was ok, but very busy and intricate, not needed in a minimalist apartment. The shop manager remained polite, and allowed us to use the terrace probably reserved for potential buyers.
   After lunch, headed out to Kaymakli underground city, via the panorama point overlooking Goreme, and the flash hotels of Uchisar, on the way to the plateau above the Red River Valley. Kaymakli was a tourist trap extrordinaire, with bus park, market, food stalls and restaurant, and the city proper accessed from the side of an outcropping rock face. The underground city we remember was accessed through a hole in an otherwise bare paddock. The city was a lot more extensive than we remember, with good lighting, smooth, if narrow pathways, and full headroom in many places. The whole thing was quite spacious, with connecting rooms, relatively thin partitions, and little of the claustrophobic feel of the Vietnam tunnels, for example. The whole city was well ventilated, with one shaft said to be 55 metres deep. A drop test with a squirt of water confirmed this.
   The usual mangers, kitchens, wine presses and food storages were present. The guide reckoned the population of individual cities more like 2000 than 20,000, but there were multiple cities. Archaeological work has all but stopped, even though there are more than the 5 levels so far excavated,as almost no artifacts or frescoes have been found, and there is little prospect of them, as the cities were abandoned in an orderly fashion, not sacked. This may have been due to the ingenious wheel doors and ambush points.
   Head back into Nevsehir, the main town for a visit to a bedding shop, as several of the team needed warmer doonas, towels, etc. Passed through a number of small towns on the way back, down the hill through Uchisar and Goreme, which looks pretty good, then past the open-air museum and Unesco- listed churches, up the steep, winding hill we avoided with the truck on the way in.
Thank our guide, who had been most helpful, and had English good enough to give believable information. Decided to use some of his information to get around tomorrow.
   Time for a quick shower before tucking into a big curry and rice provided by Jim, with watermelon provided by DP from an impulse buy at a shop in Goreme during a stop for stamps for others.    After tea, sit around talking, wishing we had a fire, putting on increasing amounts of clothing, although Dan seemed to be handling it alright in shorts and thongs.
   Another bitter night, but better prepared, even though we left the mosquito net cover rolled up.
  Saturday 31st May                                Goreme
   MP up early again for photo session from the rock outcrop. Up to 24 balloons up, some high, others right down in the gullies. One goes straight over the camp, and balloonist hails Fulvio on the ground.
    Breakfast of fresh Turkish bread, cornflakes, coffee. It's a free day, and party heads in different directions -us back toward the rock church, then branching off down the valley towards Goreme.

47. Walking down valley towards Goreme

48. On our walk to Goreme

The path is pretty well defined by irrigation canals and terraces, with steep paths between terraces. At times the valley narrows to a slot, with water channels sometimes tunneled through the rock. See a number of carved cisterns receiving water running down the rock face. The cisterns have a number of plug holes at different heights, plugged with pointed timber poles.
   Halfway down, we find ourselves diverted up the slope, so have to backtrack to find a steep path to the valley floor. Excellent photos on the way down, past a group of people on a ledge. This is the Unesco-listed Goreme open air museum. Our path takes us right through to a public road. Decided we might look at it later, and head on into Goreme town.

49. Town of Goreme

50. Town of Goreme

51.

52. Town of Goreme

After passing the interestingly named Ufuk Pension, head on right up to the top of the escarpment to a viewpoint over the town and valley, seeing some interesting adaptions of caves and conical towers for houses and hotels. Take lots of photos of Goreme and up the valley to Uchisar. Down to the bus station, in good time for the bus to Uchisar,

53. Uchisar

on the half-hour, but it is the weekend, hourly only. Walk the streets, then sit in the hot bus till it leaves. Ask for the castle, and get dropped off at the turnoff at the top of the hill. Buy bread for the hot walk uphill to the base of the castle. To the top in easy stages. Stay for a while, resting and taking photos, but there are rowdy gangs of teenagers spoiling the tranquility, so, having sussed out the way to Pigeon Valley,

54. View of Pigeon Valley

55. View of Pigeon Valley

head down, buying dried apricots 5TL per half kilo, and some sort of coated nuts. Walk about a km toward the group of tourist buses at the top of the valley, past a flash hotel, then are directed down a steep side path to the bottom by a helpful vendor.
   The surface of the paths was generally loose gravel on a dusty base, very chancy on MP's worn boots, and not much better on DP's new runners. Quite cool and pleasant down the bottom, with trees and a breeze, along a trickle of water, which became a small creek further down. The creek had formed tunnels large enough to walk through in places.
   As we descended the valley,

56. View in Pigeon Valley

57. View in Pigeon Valley

58. View in Pigeon Valley

the walls became cliffs. Had to cross a deep section of the creek on an improvised log bridge, About here the track on the East side ended in a cliff. Told to go back by a group of two locals and two tourists on the other side. On their side, were invited to share tea, but carried on. About a hundred metres past, the track just about petered out as it rounded a bluff, with a 20m drop below. MP in the process of bumming his way down a particularly steep section with a lot of side slope when DP noticed that the path was between scary and just impossible ahead. MP was in the process of backing up, with difficulty, when we are hailed by one of the locals. He tells us it is too difficult, but he knows a safe way. It is obvious there is money involved. Don't take him up on it immediately, but scout around. No obvious way out apart from going back to one of the more obvious tracks up to the top. Beat his TL15 gambit down to 10, and accept. He leads us back 50m, then up a side path, passing through a narrow tunnel,

59. Narrow tunnel in Pigeon Valley

60. Mt Erciye

and up over the spur which was the cause of our trouble. Down the next valley, still fairly steep, but possible. Pass an area where he has been clearing ground, possibly for a garden and tea kiosk.
   He is 52, looks 70, says gardening is only an old man's occupation now. We get back to the valley just 50m below where we nearly got into trouble. Took photos, which look suitably scary, and carried on with him until we could see the wider track. Paid him the agreed 10, although he was probably hoping for more. Took his photo against the backdrop of the dangerous section, then headed on down. The track widened into a road, complete with a combined creek/road tunnel. Long, hot walk through the streets of Goreme, looking for a likely spot to catch the infrequent bus back to Kaya Camping.
   On the road to Kaya, spot a girl who look like she is waiting for a bus. She turns out to be an Aussie from Byron Bay, on her way to a nanny job in Istanbul with a rich Turkish family.
   Bus up the hill passes Paul and Kathryn slogging up the hill on foot. DP goes for a swim, MP does diary and charges batteries. The pool is quite nice, but pretty cold.
   Get ready for an 8pm pickup to go to the Whirling Dervish show (35 YTL each). The minibus goes a long way around to end up at the top of Pigeon Valley, in Uchisar. The venue is a cave dug into the ground, possibly with the roof added later. There is a circular dance area, with tables and seating radiating in 4 or 5 directions. Our group are first to arrive, and find our table covered with small oval dishes of entrees - Russian salad, sausage, pickled vegetable, pickled beetroot, granular cheese, aubergine and bread. Were warned there would be no alcohol till later, then served drinks, including sodas, cherry juice, and red and white wine. Tried not to pig out on these too much, but then served a second course of the same dishes. Half bottles of Raki then turned up. Very strong alcohol with an aniseed flavour.
   Between courses, the Whirling Dervishes arrived, four men in black cloaks, with tall Fez caps. The chief proceeds across the floor to a spot-lit shaggy sheepskin, and bows. One by one, the others come forward and bow to the skin, and to each other. They retire to the side, take off their cloaks to reveal white long robes, brilliantly lit by the UV light on the ceiling.

61. Whirling dervishes

   After more bowing, the music starts, and the dancers start to whirl. It is quite a stately whirl, not at all frenzied. One looked pretty unsteady for a while, but all settled down to steady whirling. Interesting enough, but the first 5 minutes of whirling is all you need. We were strictly instructed "no cameras", but the group across from us couldn't help themselves.
   The next act was a group of 4 couples in folk costume doing a stylised courtship and marriage, with the men doing Cossack like dancing, the women a dance more like the Irish style. At the end of the dance, audience members were co-opted into the dance, ending in a conga-line up the entrance ramp, and out to a fire in the courtyard. Back below the same way.
   The next course was a cheese filled pastry roll, then a main course of rice and lamb. Enough to fill, but not too exciting.
  A number of folk dances in different costumes followed, with the 4 men dancing with linked arms and circling at high speed the most spectacular.
   The final act, which kept us from leaving, was a belly dancer. Seemed to know her stuff. Invited audience participation, with Dan and Jim giving a good account of themselves.
   Back to the camp about 11, set alarm for the morning balloon ride, then into the tent for a surprisingly good sleep.