22 December - Bayramoğlu
Morning of our first day in Turkey!! But first, getting here. Left on Saturday morning from SFO - had a tight connection in NY but made the plane... too bad my bag didn't. Luckily I was going to Alex's first so I could borrow some clothes, so in the end it was great - didn't have to carry the bag all around London. Took the Picadilly line to S Kensington and met Sibyl - went to her office to drop off bags. She works in the Imperial College library which is closed and locked up on Sundays. She had a pass key to get in, but the firedoor locked on our way through. So for a while we wandered around thinking we were locked IN. I finally did the credit-card through the door trick and set us free. Had a quick crepe lunch, then to the photo exhibit at the Natural History Museum - wildlife photo of the year. Very good, with interesting pics. Then to Harrods (overwhelming!), Liberty, and Fortnum & Mason (where I stocked up on tea.) Then back to Cambridge. Next day went to Lab and Christmas lunch at Westminster College. Christmas crackers, Christmas pudding, and all.
After lunch, went to a pub, a converted brothel, next to Magdalene - pronounced Maudlin - College, with some of the people from the lab. Walked back to lab through Trinity, then home to get my bags. They delivered it promptly, so it ended up being a good thing!
The next morning, got up late and went in to London. Walked through the park to Buckingham Palace, then to Westminster Abbey. Went in for just a short time, but saw poet's corner. The memorials are packed almost on top of each other! and some that are on the ground are so worn down they can't be read anymore. Next, walked past Big Ben/Parliament down by the Thames and then tubed it to the British Museum for a few hours. Saw the Rosetta Stone, Elgin marbles, Egyptian Mummies, etc. Pic of Platform 9 3/4 at King's Crossing, then back to Cambridge for dinner with Alex and packing.
Yesterday, spent the morning getting ready and left the house around noon. We made it to Istanbul around midnight and drove for almost 2 hours to Bayramoğlu (east of Istanbul). When we left the city we needed to pay a toll at the bridge - I had old Turkish Lira (they revalued it in January 2005 and removed two zeros) that the Smileys had given me, but the toll man didn't want to take it. But he didn't speak English and we didn't speak Turkish, so after some back and forth, he got fed up and just waved us through.
This morning we drove for another 4.5-5 hours to Safranbolu, a UNESCO World Heritage site and ancient Ottoman town where the houses date back to the 1600s. The town itself was settled over 5000 years ago. We checked into the Havuzlu Asmazlar Konaği, an old mansion with pool that was converted to a hotel. The room is large and in the old ottoman style, with bench seats around the side of the room.
Walked down into the square past the Cinci Hamam (bath house) and up the hill, where we had a view of the city and some of the houses. They reminded me a lot of the old tudor houses, with white walls and brown beams showing through. A lot were fairly run down, and its hard to imagine anyone living there now in the cold, let alone hundreds of years ago.
Went in to the Kamakamlar Muze Evi, and old house turned museum that wasn't as nice as our hotel. Then went next door to a little hole in the wall for some tea and biscuits. Stopped on the street for bread (0.25 YTL) - still warm from the oven - mmm! and walked around town. Stopped to look at metalworks and ended up in the back of a guy's shop - talked nonstop, but bought some hooks.
Started getting really cold... had dinner at a restaurant near the mosque in town center - meatballs and yogurt soup - then walked back to the hotel. It is way below freezing right now - there is ice and snow on the ground, and I'm wearing 2 pairs of socks, long underwear, 2 cashmere sweaters under my fleece - and I was still freezing! Now we're back at the hotel for some tea - its pretty dark and feels late even though it is probably only around 7. But it gets dark early, so we'll just get early starts and get to bed!
23 December - Boğazkale
Woke up this morning to the sound of the call to prayer-chanting from the nearby mosque. Got up an hour later to snow - lightly falling and about 2 inches on the ground. Uh oh! Cars were sliding around - so we decided not to walk around anymore and get snow chains. Had breakfast downstairs, then asked the non-english reception man to help, and it ended up that they had them delivered to us for 50 YTL. Nice! As we were wiping the snow off the car, a van on the street drove by and slid all over the road. We didn't use the chains but it was reassuring to have them.
Took some pics at the top of the hill, then drove through Ankara to Boğazkale. Stopped at a roadside little market for cookies and bread (ate a loaf for lunch) but otherwise came straight here. Got in around 3 and checked in - it is COLD here and the pipes are frozen, so there's no running water.
The hotel owner, Mustafa, came with us to Yazilikaya (meaning 'inscribed rock'), the site of 13th century BC (whaaaaa??) Hittite stone carvings - an ancient temple. It was very snowy but pretty. Hard to see some of the carvings because they were so worn down, plus it wasn't great light. But amazing how old they are!
From there we drove to Hattuşa, just to see it a bit. Back to the hotel for tea, then dinner made by Mustafa's mom. All the restaurants here are closed - definitely not tourist season. Good food - lentil soup, chicken with chickpeas, moussaka, rice, and salad. Came upstairs to a freezing room that we are heating with 2 portable heaters. I'm sleeping in all my clothes and covering my head - not taking off my long underwear because I'm not exposing any body part to the air! It's only about 7pm now but we'll go to bed early because of the cold - can't do anything anyway... Yesterday's hotel was 100 YTL and today's is 35.
24 December - Göreme
What a cold night last night! Today's pension is much better, though my bath is still cold. Was wondering how the Hittites did it 4000 years ago, and Sibyl said they didn't - they just all died in the winter. It was SO cold! Had to "flush" the toilets with a bucket of water that ended up freezing overnight, but I'm sure all the pipes were frozen anyway. Woke up several times throughout the night, which was OK since I went to bed around 8 anyway. Again heard the call to prayers this morning - the cool chanting, but didn't get up til close to 8.
Breakfast again downstairs with Mustafa - Turkish breakfast of bread, hard boiled egg, cheese, tomato, olives, and tea. Went to Hattuşa, the ancient Hittite City. There was a big temple, with the strange green rock that didn't look like it belonged. Can see SO many old houses or temples - they are all now just the rock foundations, about 1-2 ft. high walls.
It was so pretty with the snow, and we were definitely the only tourists there. Saw Lion's Gate, which lead to the road to Mesopotamia and Sphinx Gate, with 75 meter tunnel through the hillside. The entire back side was "paved" with rocks - it looked like a giant pyramid. The sphinxes are now all gone, taken to museums in Ankara, Istanbul, and Berlin.
Hieroglyphs looked really nice with the thin layer of snow, making it easy to see. It started getting colder and was lightly snowing the whole time, so we headed out. Dropped Mustafa back at the hotel and drove out through what seemed like rural backroads down into Cappadocia.
Left at around noon, made it to Göreme around 4. It's definitely more of a touristy town - already saw a few more tourists. LP map is terrible, but we called the hotel and someone met us at the mosque in town square. He drove us up a steep hill - very icy and Alex later asked him to drive it out and park it in the square since it was so icy and we'd never make it back down.
The hotel is built into the side of the hill and lots of the rooms look like caves. Mine is nice but not *quite* warm enough, especially since the bathroom is outside the main bedroom and is right where the door to the outside is - and that door is full of holes to the outside, so the entryway and bathroom are freezing. I may try to change rooms tomorrow but only if it is easy for them - we have 2 more nights here so I might as well by comfortable. Walked down to town for dinner - restaurant was in a 750 year old house - a historic building, with traditional food of the area - I had lentil soup, aubergine stew, and a salad. Came back to the hotel for some apple tea (yum! Like hot apple cider) and played some cards. Tomorrow, the open air museum and xmas!
25 Dec - Göreme
Happy Christmas! Spent the day exploring Cappadocia. Had breakfast in the hotel - again, traditional Turkish breakfast, though I'm not that fond of olives in the morning - a bit too strong. Switched rooms to one across from Alex's - much bigger, and more importantly, much warmer. yesterday's was cold even under extra blankets and my mummy bag, and the bathroom was awful. Much happier now!!
Went in the morning to the Göreme Open Air Museum - a lovely park with lots of churches cut into the rock. Very pretty with the snow, and not that many tourists. Max visitors is around 300 each day, as opposed to more than 3000 during the summer.
Best was the Dark Church - an extra 5 lira to get in, but really lovely frescoes. Because little light gets inside, the colors of the frescoes stay vivid. While Alex was taking pictures, Sib and I went back out and started chatting with the guard, Sami, who invited us into his little room for some Nescafe.
Finished walking around the museum - lots more little rooms that seem to be randomly cut into the rock. A few had long tables/benches carved in - look like bathtubs with the middle still in it - and lots had little alcoves and random holes in the walls to... hold candles? Bought 20 postcards (2YTL) then drove back into Göreme - stopped at a little market for some snacks for lunch, then went out to the underground cities.
First went to Derinkuyu - really deep (6-7 stories) where the villagers could live for 6 months at a time. They would live aboveground during times of peace and go down when being attacked. In some of the corridors there were big circular rocks that could be pushed into the corridor to block the way. Lots of interconnected rooms and corridors on all sorts of mismatched levels. Someone nailed it on the head when they described it as walking through giant Swiss cheese.
After Derinkuyu, went to the second underground city, Kaymakli, on the way back to town. Its more spread out than Derinkuyu, but we couldn't go down quite as deep. When we came out of the city it was sunset and for the first time there was a bit of sunlight - very pretty against the rocks! Drove back to Göreme (saw a fox run across the road! Grey, but distinctly pointed face.) Stopped for great panoramic view looking at the lights down in Göreme Valley. Stopped back at the hotel for just a bit (since it was too early for dinner), then walked down into town for dinner.
Ate at Göreme Restaurant - nice atmosphere - sat on the floor with shoes off. Had a beef mixture cooked in a clay pot that they had to break to get the food out - good but had bits of clay in it. Also had lemon tea (ok, not great) and lentil soup. As we were finishing up, some live musicians started playing - one on spoons, one on a stringed instrument - then another joined on drums. Ali started talking - Ali gave us some glass beads - evil eyes. Then another woman offered us mulled wine, so we stayed to talk. Another couple came in - visiting professor from Colorado on a Fulbright. Chatted for a bit - nice to smell the mulled wine - very Christmas feel. Came back to the Kelebek for another apple tea, then to bed!
26 December - Göreme
Last day in Cappadocia! Woke up to bright sunshine and blue skies poking through the clouds! Leaving breakfast, we met a solo traveler - Jerry King, who seemed really nice - just spent a week in Syria, so we invited him to come along. Drove up to Paşabag where we saw the fairy chimneys, then went south - randomly found a monastery on the side of the road which we wandered through. We were clearly the only ones there since the snow was untouched.
Then drove to Mustafapaşa where we thought we'd get lunch, but there are so few tourists that everything is closed. We drove around town for a bit, then continued on. Stopped for pictures every so often - once stopped in front of a school and all the kids poured out and wanted their pictures taken.
Drove down to Ihlara Valley on some pretty snowy roads - got there around 3 (got a bit lost finding the valley entrance) so we didn't start down until about 3:30. The valley is really beautiful - just a gorge cut into the rocks, with lots of churches cut in the sides. We saw about 5 of them - very snowy and pretty on the valley floor with a river running through it.
After about an hour, hiked back up the almost 400 steps to the top - then couldn't get the car up the hill as it was -9°c and all the melted snow had frozen over! We tried a few times to get up, then finally put on the chains (thank goodness we had them!! And thank goodness Jerry was there to help).
Drove back to Göreme and treated ourselves to dinner at the Orient Restaurant - a posh place on the edge of town - most expensive meal yet, but good. Pumpkin soup, steak that was served flambe with lots of veggies. Very good food. But of course by then we were all cold - especially our feet since all the snow had melted and our socks were wet. So came back for a hot shower. Jerry was nice - travels a lot, and on his own - had good Alaska story about hiking with a friend who broke his leg in a prairie dog hole and had to be airlifted out via Blackhawk helicopter. Since they were well prepared and it was an accident, it was all free from the National Guard - otherwise, it's a $50K operation!
Tomorrow, off to Konya.
27 December - Konya
We're still in Central Turkey, now in a very conservative town called Konya - home of the Mevlani Sect of the Sufis - known for the Whirling Dervishes. Left Göreme this morning and drove out on the old Silk Road caravan trail. Stopped at two of the old "hans" - shelters that were like hostels for the passing caravans that were funded by the taxes paid to the sultans. Saw Ağzikarahan Caravanserai in Aksaray, built in 1231-1239, and then Sultanhani Caravanserai (1229) in Sultanhani - the largest in Anatolia. They were all built by the Seljuks in the 13th century.
Caravanserais were built as 'roadside inns' by the Sultans for the traveling merchants going along the Silk Road. They generally had two sections - one opened and one covered. The open courtyard was used in the summertime, and the covered was for winter. Around the open courtyard are the kitchens, dining rooms, restrooms, living, and sleeping rooms.
Then drove to Konya and down to see Çatal Höyük - known as the oldest known "town" in the world, dating back 9000 years. During the Neolithic times, it was one of the largest settlements on earth, with up to 8,000 people living in it. People could raise crops and animals, as well as hunt and gather in the vicinity.
To see it, we had to ring a bell at the entrance and a guard comes out and walks us around the site. The outdoor ones are all covered in snow so they can't really be seen, but there are 2 with permanent tent/hut things built over to protect them. The city had no 'roads' - they had multiple levels and walked on roofs to go from one place to another. And no windows. Guess they hadn't been invented yet!
Drove back to Konya but not in time to see the museum. Will go to dinner soon...
28 December - Pamukkale
Went yesterday night to dinner at a popular restaurant that had lots of locals - Kösk Konya Mutfaği. Had Okra soup, lamb on aubergine, salad. Had an interesting dessert - höşmerim - a warm mix of sesame oil, flour, and syrup with pistachio sprinkled on top. Very good. Walked back in the COLD to the hotel and went to bed early so that we could get an early start. Alex wanted to wander around the city in the early morning to take pictures, but it was so hazy and too cold so we didn't get up until 7:30. Had breakfast (had some good chicken-like veggie soup too!) and went to the museum around 9.
Celaleddin Rumi came to Konya in 1228 and was known as Mevlana (meaning Our Guide). His followers were the brotherhood of the Mevlani, the Whirling Dervishes. The tomb is in the museum.
Across from the museum is a large mosque - the Selimiye Camii, built in 1567. The caretaker inside, Ali, was really friendly (lots of hugs and kisses.). Drove out of Konya - hard to find the way but made it out, on the southern (wrong) road. So we went on a small backroad to get to Beyşehir, but it was nice and drove us through a small village.
Drove into Beyşehir at noon, right during call to prayer, so we wandered around the outside then poked our heads into the Eşrefoğlu Camii, a beautifully restored mosque built by the Seljuk Turks in the 13th century. Inside was cedar wood, pillars and carvings. Again, really nice guys showed us around and one sang the call to prayer for us.
We continued driving and made it to Pamukkale before dark. Staying in the Allsgau Pension - the owner is cooking dinner for us.
Just came back from dinner and walk. The hotel owner, Umi, made it for us and we ate in her house, on the 1st floor of the hotel. Her 2 daughters were there, ages 5 & 8, and were obviously very used to strangers. Very open and liked to show off. Dinner was very good - meatballs, salad, rice, and soup.
After dinner, we went up to the travertine pools that are open 24 hours and lit at night. Can't see too much though, and since we're at the bottom, it's hard to see what the pools are actually like. Have to be higher up to actually see INTO the pools. On the way out we stopped to talk to the entry guard, Fazul, who like to talk and invited us in for tea. He bets on horses and makes thousands - bought his car, TV, and laptop with his winnings. Stayed and talked to him for almost and hour and had some tea. He liked to talk and was obviously bored as we were the only visitors for the night
Generally, it seems the guards here are really friendly, especially I think because it is the off season and there aren't too many people coming though. Its interesting just talking to random people and I think now (this time of year) they are more likely to take the time to chat.
Tomorrow we'll go back to the travertine pools (Fazul put tomorrow's date on our entry tickets so that we could use them again - so nice!)
Morning of our first day in Turkey!! But first, getting here. Left on Saturday morning from SFO - had a tight connection in NY but made the plane... too bad my bag didn't. Luckily I was going to Alex's first so I could borrow some clothes, so in the end it was great - didn't have to carry the bag all around London. Took the Picadilly line to S Kensington and met Sibyl - went to her office to drop off bags. She works in the Imperial College library which is closed and locked up on Sundays. She had a pass key to get in, but the firedoor locked on our way through. So for a while we wandered around thinking we were locked IN. I finally did the credit-card through the door trick and set us free. Had a quick crepe lunch, then to the photo exhibit at the Natural History Museum - wildlife photo of the year. Very good, with interesting pics. Then to Harrods (overwhelming!), Liberty, and Fortnum & Mason (where I stocked up on tea.) Then back to Cambridge. Next day went to Lab and Christmas lunch at Westminster College. Christmas crackers, Christmas pudding, and all.
After lunch, went to a pub, a converted brothel, next to Magdalene - pronounced Maudlin - College, with some of the people from the lab. Walked back to lab through Trinity, then home to get my bags. They delivered it promptly, so it ended up being a good thing!
The next morning, got up late and went in to London. Walked through the park to Buckingham Palace, then to Westminster Abbey. Went in for just a short time, but saw poet's corner. The memorials are packed almost on top of each other! and some that are on the ground are so worn down they can't be read anymore. Next, walked past Big Ben/Parliament down by the Thames and then tubed it to the British Museum for a few hours. Saw the Rosetta Stone, Elgin marbles, Egyptian Mummies, etc. Pic of Platform 9 3/4 at King's Crossing, then back to Cambridge for dinner with Alex and packing.Yesterday, spent the morning getting ready and left the house around noon. We made it to Istanbul around midnight and drove for almost 2 hours to Bayramoğlu (east of Istanbul). When we left the city we needed to pay a toll at the bridge - I had old Turkish Lira (they revalued it in January 2005 and removed two zeros) that the Smileys had given me, but the toll man didn't want to take it. But he didn't speak English and we didn't speak Turkish, so after some back and forth, he got fed up and just waved us through.
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| The houses of Safranbolu |
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| Dining room of the Havazlu Asmazlar Konagi |
Walked down into the square past the Cinci Hamam (bath house) and up the hill, where we had a view of the city and some of the houses. They reminded me a lot of the old tudor houses, with white walls and brown beams showing through. A lot were fairly run down, and its hard to imagine anyone living there now in the cold, let alone hundreds of years ago.
Went in to the Kamakamlar Muze Evi, and old house turned museum that wasn't as nice as our hotel. Then went next door to a little hole in the wall for some tea and biscuits. Stopped on the street for bread (0.25 YTL) - still warm from the oven - mmm! and walked around town. Stopped to look at metalworks and ended up in the back of a guy's shop - talked nonstop, but bought some hooks.Started getting really cold... had dinner at a restaurant near the mosque in town center - meatballs and yogurt soup - then walked back to the hotel. It is way below freezing right now - there is ice and snow on the ground, and I'm wearing 2 pairs of socks, long underwear, 2 cashmere sweaters under my fleece - and I was still freezing! Now we're back at the hotel for some tea - its pretty dark and feels late even though it is probably only around 7. But it gets dark early, so we'll just get early starts and get to bed!
23 December - Boğazkale
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| Turkish breakfast |
Took some pics at the top of the hill, then drove through Ankara to Boğazkale. Stopped at a roadside little market for cookies and bread (ate a loaf for lunch) but otherwise came straight here. Got in around 3 and checked in - it is COLD here and the pipes are frozen, so there's no running water.
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| Hittite stone carvings at Yazilikaya |
The hotel owner, Mustafa, came with us to Yazilikaya (meaning 'inscribed rock'), the site of 13th century BC (whaaaaa??) Hittite stone carvings - an ancient temple. It was very snowy but pretty. Hard to see some of the carvings because they were so worn down, plus it wasn't great light. But amazing how old they are!
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| Yep, that's me in my fort, trying to keep out the cold. |
24 December - Göreme
What a cold night last night! Today's pension is much better, though my bath is still cold. Was wondering how the Hittites did it 4000 years ago, and Sibyl said they didn't - they just all died in the winter. It was SO cold! Had to "flush" the toilets with a bucket of water that ended up freezing overnight, but I'm sure all the pipes were frozen anyway. Woke up several times throughout the night, which was OK since I went to bed around 8 anyway. Again heard the call to prayers this morning - the cool chanting, but didn't get up til close to 8.
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| What's this random green rock doing here?? |
Breakfast again downstairs with Mustafa - Turkish breakfast of bread, hard boiled egg, cheese, tomato, olives, and tea. Went to Hattuşa, the ancient Hittite City. There was a big temple, with the strange green rock that didn't look like it belonged. Can see SO many old houses or temples - they are all now just the rock foundations, about 1-2 ft. high walls. 
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| Behind the Sphinx's Gate |
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| Lion's Gate, the road to Mesopotamia |
It was so pretty with the snow, and we were definitely the only tourists there. Saw Lion's Gate, which lead to the road to Mesopotamia and Sphinx Gate, with 75 meter tunnel through the hillside. The entire back side was "paved" with rocks - it looked like a giant pyramid. The sphinxes are now all gone, taken to museums in Ankara, Istanbul, and Berlin.
Hieroglyphs looked really nice with the thin layer of snow, making it easy to see. It started getting colder and was lightly snowing the whole time, so we headed out. Dropped Mustafa back at the hotel and drove out through what seemed like rural backroads down into Cappadocia. Left at around noon, made it to Göreme around 4. It's definitely more of a touristy town - already saw a few more tourists. LP map is terrible, but we called the hotel and someone met us at the mosque in town square. He drove us up a steep hill - very icy and Alex later asked him to drive it out and park it in the square since it was so icy and we'd never make it back down.
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| The view from our hotel |
The hotel is built into the side of the hill and lots of the rooms look like caves. Mine is nice but not *quite* warm enough, especially since the bathroom is outside the main bedroom and is right where the door to the outside is - and that door is full of holes to the outside, so the entryway and bathroom are freezing. I may try to change rooms tomorrow but only if it is easy for them - we have 2 more nights here so I might as well by comfortable. Walked down to town for dinner - restaurant was in a 750 year old house - a historic building, with traditional food of the area - I had lentil soup, aubergine stew, and a salad. Came back to the hotel for some apple tea (yum! Like hot apple cider) and played some cards. Tomorrow, the open air museum and xmas!
25 Dec - Göreme
Happy Christmas! Spent the day exploring Cappadocia. Had breakfast in the hotel - again, traditional Turkish breakfast, though I'm not that fond of olives in the morning - a bit too strong. Switched rooms to one across from Alex's - much bigger, and more importantly, much warmer. yesterday's was cold even under extra blankets and my mummy bag, and the bathroom was awful. Much happier now!!
Went in the morning to the Göreme Open Air Museum - a lovely park with lots of churches cut into the rock. Very pretty with the snow, and not that many tourists. Max visitors is around 300 each day, as opposed to more than 3000 during the summer.
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| Dark Church |
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| In the Dark Church |
Finished walking around the museum - lots more little rooms that seem to be randomly cut into the rock. A few had long tables/benches carved in - look like bathtubs with the middle still in it - and lots had little alcoves and random holes in the walls to... hold candles? Bought 20 postcards (2YTL) then drove back into Göreme - stopped at a little market for some snacks for lunch, then went out to the underground cities.
First went to Derinkuyu - really deep (6-7 stories) where the villagers could live for 6 months at a time. They would live aboveground during times of peace and go down when being attacked. In some of the corridors there were big circular rocks that could be pushed into the corridor to block the way. Lots of interconnected rooms and corridors on all sorts of mismatched levels. Someone nailed it on the head when they described it as walking through giant Swiss cheese.
After Derinkuyu, went to the second underground city, Kaymakli, on the way back to town. Its more spread out than Derinkuyu, but we couldn't go down quite as deep. When we came out of the city it was sunset and for the first time there was a bit of sunlight - very pretty against the rocks! Drove back to Göreme (saw a fox run across the road! Grey, but distinctly pointed face.) Stopped for great panoramic view looking at the lights down in Göreme Valley. Stopped back at the hotel for just a bit (since it was too early for dinner), then walked down into town for dinner.
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| Christmas Dinner! |
Ate at Göreme Restaurant - nice atmosphere - sat on the floor with shoes off. Had a beef mixture cooked in a clay pot that they had to break to get the food out - good but had bits of clay in it. Also had lemon tea (ok, not great) and lentil soup. As we were finishing up, some live musicians started playing - one on spoons, one on a stringed instrument - then another joined on drums. Ali started talking - Ali gave us some glass beads - evil eyes. Then another woman offered us mulled wine, so we stayed to talk. Another couple came in - visiting professor from Colorado on a Fulbright. Chatted for a bit - nice to smell the mulled wine - very Christmas feel. Came back to the Kelebek for another apple tea, then to bed!
26 December - Göreme
Last day in Cappadocia! Woke up to bright sunshine and blue skies poking through the clouds! Leaving breakfast, we met a solo traveler - Jerry King, who seemed really nice - just spent a week in Syria, so we invited him to come along. Drove up to Paşabag where we saw the fairy chimneys, then went south - randomly found a monastery on the side of the road which we wandered through. We were clearly the only ones there since the snow was untouched.  |
| Police station |
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| Ilhara Valley |
After about an hour, hiked back up the almost 400 steps to the top - then couldn't get the car up the hill as it was -9°c and all the melted snow had frozen over! We tried a few times to get up, then finally put on the chains (thank goodness we had them!! And thank goodness Jerry was there to help).
Drove back to Göreme and treated ourselves to dinner at the Orient Restaurant - a posh place on the edge of town - most expensive meal yet, but good. Pumpkin soup, steak that was served flambe with lots of veggies. Very good food. But of course by then we were all cold - especially our feet since all the snow had melted and our socks were wet. So came back for a hot shower. Jerry was nice - travels a lot, and on his own - had good Alaska story about hiking with a friend who broke his leg in a prairie dog hole and had to be airlifted out via Blackhawk helicopter. Since they were well prepared and it was an accident, it was all free from the National Guard - otherwise, it's a $50K operation!
Tomorrow, off to Konya.
27 December - Konya
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| The main entrance to Sultanhani Caravanserai |
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| Sultanhani Caravanserai |
Then drove to Konya and down to see Çatal Höyük - known as the oldest known "town" in the world, dating back 9000 years. During the Neolithic times, it was one of the largest settlements on earth, with up to 8,000 people living in it. People could raise crops and animals, as well as hunt and gather in the vicinity.
To see it, we had to ring a bell at the entrance and a guard comes out and walks us around the site. The outdoor ones are all covered in snow so they can't really be seen, but there are 2 with permanent tent/hut things built over to protect them. The city had no 'roads' - they had multiple levels and walked on roofs to go from one place to another. And no windows. Guess they hadn't been invented yet!
Drove back to Konya but not in time to see the museum. Will go to dinner soon...
28 December - Pamukkale
Went yesterday night to dinner at a popular restaurant that had lots of locals - Kösk Konya Mutfaği. Had Okra soup, lamb on aubergine, salad. Had an interesting dessert - höşmerim - a warm mix of sesame oil, flour, and syrup with pistachio sprinkled on top. Very good. Walked back in the COLD to the hotel and went to bed early so that we could get an early start. Alex wanted to wander around the city in the early morning to take pictures, but it was so hazy and too cold so we didn't get up until 7:30. Had breakfast (had some good chicken-like veggie soup too!) and went to the museum around 9.
Celaleddin Rumi came to Konya in 1228 and was known as Mevlana (meaning Our Guide). His followers were the brotherhood of the Mevlani, the Whirling Dervishes. The tomb is in the museum.
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| Tomb of Rumi |
Across from the museum is a large mosque - the Selimiye Camii, built in 1567. The caretaker inside, Ali, was really friendly (lots of hugs and kisses.). Drove out of Konya - hard to find the way but made it out, on the southern (wrong) road. So we went on a small backroad to get to Beyşehir, but it was nice and drove us through a small village.
Drove into Beyşehir at noon, right during call to prayer, so we wandered around the outside then poked our heads into the Eşrefoğlu Camii, a beautifully restored mosque built by the Seljuk Turks in the 13th century. Inside was cedar wood, pillars and carvings. Again, really nice guys showed us around and one sang the call to prayer for us.
We continued driving and made it to Pamukkale before dark. Staying in the Allsgau Pension - the owner is cooking dinner for us.
Just came back from dinner and walk. The hotel owner, Umi, made it for us and we ate in her house, on the 1st floor of the hotel. Her 2 daughters were there, ages 5 & 8, and were obviously very used to strangers. Very open and liked to show off. Dinner was very good - meatballs, salad, rice, and soup.
After dinner, we went up to the travertine pools that are open 24 hours and lit at night. Can't see too much though, and since we're at the bottom, it's hard to see what the pools are actually like. Have to be higher up to actually see INTO the pools. On the way out we stopped to talk to the entry guard, Fazul, who like to talk and invited us in for tea. He bets on horses and makes thousands - bought his car, TV, and laptop with his winnings. Stayed and talked to him for almost and hour and had some tea. He liked to talk and was obviously bored as we were the only visitors for the night
Generally, it seems the guards here are really friendly, especially I think because it is the off season and there aren't too many people coming though. Its interesting just talking to random people and I think now (this time of year) they are more likely to take the time to chat.
Tomorrow we'll go back to the travertine pools (Fazul put tomorrow's date on our entry tickets so that we could use them again - so nice!)