Once we rejoined the rest of the group we headed back to the Goreme area for a hike through Goreme Valley. Now I got to see the formations up close as we walked along the valley floor. The valley had lots of wild fruit trees - at least plum, cherry, apple and oranges that I saw, as well as small tended farm plots. In the middle of the valley a guy had set up a small rest stop where he sold fresh orange juice - probably from oranges picked in the valley. It was a neat place to chill out. There were also numerous pigeon holes carved into the rock. The pigeon holes are made to attract pigeons, and then the droppings left behind are used as fertilizer.
At the end of the hike we came out in a small village that had this amazing cliff full of dug out rooms. As the others waited for the bus I immediately took off and found a route up to the cliff, and eventually managed to climb up to the top level of rooms. Everything is abandoned now, and the interiors are pretty barren, but when it was inhabited it must have been such a unique place. Even empty I find it gorgeous.
All this, and it wasn't even noon yet. Through the rest of the day we visited the Fairy Chimneys, a handful of Christian churches (again carved into the stone) with frescoes painted on the walls and ceilings near Goreme, Uchisar castle - which is a town around a big hill of sandstone - more rooms carved out on the top, and probably a few other minor stops I'm forgetting.
We finally got back to the hotel, and the remaining 3 others in my group headed off to fly home a few days early to go get back to work - leaving me as the only person left on the tour along with the guide and driver. Even more awkward, not only was I the only person left on the tour, but also we were the only people left in the entire hotel. I have no idea how many rooms the hotel had, but the dining room sat 250 at the same time, so having an entire hotel basically just supporting me felt a bit strange.
1 comment:
What an fascinating couple of days you've had, the balloon ride looks amazing! We're still in N.S.,actually in Cape Breton tonight, some pretty amazing views here too. It must feel really weird to be the only ones in the hotel, and you the only one left on the tour. You must be getting to know the guide and driver quite well.
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