Goreme

This is one of the reasons I came on this trip, to see places I would never have considered going to otherwise. Goreme is a small town in the Cappadocia region of Turkey, surrounded by some of the most unique countryside I have seen. Apparently formed as a result of volcanic activity millions of years ago, along with water erosion afterwards, the landscape is surreal and Star Wars in equal measure. The ancient inhabitants carved their homes out of the rock, adding to the impression that a strange alien is just about to accost you to try to sell you a carpet.

First we all went on a bus tour for a day, our local guide Faruk telling us all about the history of the region in encyclopedic detail, in excellent English. We visited several landmarks, including an underground city, a town cut out of the cliffs, a church inside a pillar of rock, and even a wine shop. All this was very interesting and impressive, but pales in comparison to my next day's chosen option, a hot air balloon ride.

Twelve of us decided to pay the high hundred-odd pound fee for one and a half hours of ballooning, this meant that we all went in the same large balloon. The downside of this activity is getting up at 5am for it. Those who know me, know that I am not a morning person and that I don't like heights, but I can honestly say that this was one of the most memorable experiences of my life. Floating above an alien landscape with literally dozens of other balloons, the silence punctuated by blasts from the gas burners, is awe inspiring. Definitely one of the hundred things to do before you die.

Back to earth, and one of my companions, Denis, and I walked from the campsite to Goreme town centre to investigate hiring bikes and quads. He hired a bicycle, and I decided to wait til the next day. The owner of the shop then insisted on giving me a lift back to the campsite on one of the hire scooters. At high speed, on switchback cobbled roads. This was also an exhilarating experience but for totally different reasons. Needless to say, safety equipment consisted of holding on for dear life, and prayer.

The weather put paid to my planned quad excursion, so an easy day of wandering around town was had. In the afternoon I managed to display my almost total lack of fire lighting skills in the campsite's underground cave bar, where some of us were trying to dry our clothes, since it was raining outside. One smoke filled cave bar later, my work was done.

The pictures are mostly from the hot air balloon, with one taken at a church carved from a pinnacle of rock.