Cappadocia: Hiking Around

Okay, enough about Goreme Open-Air Museum. You probably get the point by now, that churches were built into rock cliffs and painted with frescoes 800 years ago.

After spending the morning at the Open-Air Museum I decided to explore one of the trails around town. Close to town is a trail in what is called the Honey Valley (at least that is what it is called on the map I was given). The guy at the hotel where I was staying said, "Walk up that road (he points) to the top of the hill and you will see the trail." "Is there a sign for Honey Valley?" I asked. "Yes," he said.

So I start walking and get almost to the top of the hill, but had yet to see a sign. I stopped at Panorama Camping Company. The guy who runs the place brought me to the office and shows me a map (different from the one I had). He points to the Love Valley trail. I told him that I want to go to Honey Valley. However, he shakes his head and says that he hasn't heard of it, so he points again to Love Valley. I grab his map to see if I can find Honey Valley on it. It's getting pretty awkward, two strangers talking about Honey and Love. He's talking Love, I want Honey...

Finally I agree to go to Love Valley since it is close and he says it is really nice. He gives me directions to the trail head, but of course I don't know what he is talking about. So he shows me the way instead, literally having to help/drag me up a steep slope. At the top he tells me to follow the road down into the Valley.


I start walking along the road and come across a side road which leads towards the valley. I follow it but it ends in a cliff. I can see a trail below in the valley but no obvious way to get to it. I walk back the way I came and continue to follow the first road I started on. Unfortunately the map only has one road on it but there are a number of other roads that dead end at the cliff. I try them all with no luck. I keep walking.


While walking I encounter wildlife. This tortoise was far more scared of me than I was of it. I tried to keep my distance and not disturb the little guy too much. I think he had a goal and I didn't want to distract him.


This is an example of the heterogeneous landscape in Cappadocia. I talked about tuff in a previous entry. Here it lies on top of harder basalt rock forming one type of fairy chimney.



In the distance is the town, Uchisar. Uchisar is distinctive with it's high rock outcrop in which Uchisar castle is carved.


More tuff.


In the distance are more fairy chimneys but these are a bit different. Here a basalt rock layer lies on top of the tuff protecting the tuff underneath the basalt cap from erosion.


More fairy chimneys.


These cliffs line the sides of Love Valley.




Finally, I see a cleared area and the road inclines. I'm sure that this is the road that heads back to town. It isn't. The road is actually a U heading back the way that I came. I walk to the bottom of the U (which is the top of another cliff). Below is Cappadocia. I can see a road to Cavusin but no easy/fast way to get to it. Even if I did find a way down the cliff, I would still have to walk along the highway back to Goreme. A dangerous option considering the way the Turkish drive.


So I am standing at the edge of the cliff trying to motivate myself to walk back the way I came when the afternoon prayers start playing over the loud speakers. It is amazing because the three towns visible from my vantage point are playing the same prayer at the same time, but the sound had to travel different distances to reach me. The prayers echoed through the valley. I could hear the prayers start at Uchisar (behind me and to the right), clash with the prayers coming from Goreme (on my right) and then end at Cavusin (in front of me and to the left). It was incredibly moving to hear the prayers echoing through the valley. Very spiritual. I felt like the only (almost) person on earth.


Goreme, seen in the valley.