Cappadocia

Staying in one of the cheaper hostels in Göreme, I met Tony, a Frenchie from Savoie. His traveling began three months ago, as he set off à pied to traverse the Alps, as far as the Italian/Slovenian border. The next couple of days were spent with him as we rambled around the volcanic-formed valleys of this part of Cappadocia, exploring caves & the rock-cut houses whilst picking quinces, apples & grapes.

The valleys are immense, the landscape like nothing else I’ve seen before. There was some dodgy climbing going on to reach some of the dwellings carved into the rock, as well as some tight squeezes to fit through some of the passages! After having hiked up onto the big plateau which borders the edge of the region, a tactically placed cart provided tasty tasty pomegranate & orange juice on the road below. Further down the valley, amongst the labyrinth of these fingers of volcanic rock, a farmer had set-up a little make-shift café, where his dried apples provided the base for the most delicious apple çay I have ever tasted.

Come evening, we were happily chowing down on the local börek - pastries filled with roasted aubergine & peppers, or spinach and the Turkish feta.

We tried hiring mountain bikes to get out a little further, but within half an hour, two bikes had four flat tyres. A ramble up to the caves & castle of Uçhisar provided a picturesque alternative.