I've had no signal since Friday, and my Turkey experience is coming to a close. Unique topography called fairy chimneys decorates the Pasabag Valley.
A photo to show you their size. How strange, that this formation stands almost alone.
Mushrooms come more to mind. Some fairy chimneys were made into rooms, and houses, barns and stables, hundreds of years ago. Now this one serves as a modern office.
As we hike the terrain changes. We find ourselves in the same valley we flew over in a balloon earlier in the day.
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We enter a natural cave.
Usla demonstrates by climbing up a the steep back wall of the cave where some unknown hand has carved foot holes in the rock.
Owen gives it a try and realizes it is easier to climb up then down. His butt turned white from sliding on the chalky surface of this kind of stone.
We hike farther and now you can see the "rose garden" we were photographing from the balloon ride. The area looks less dramatic then it did from the balloon.
Higher, we climb.
It is a gentle climb, and fun, too.
Owen tops a crest and behind him...
...you can see the rim of the volcano that formed this valley. And, the obvious topography we flew over in our balloon. You can double-click, once, then again for a better view of the valley.
We press on and find a series of houses, some with ordinary doors and windows. A gentleman drives his car near us and we watch as he makes the long hike to his doorway with an armload of what appeared to be groceries.
It is difficult to reach this cave house, if anyone lives in it.
It began to rain and we took shelter in this cafe and gift shop under the umbrellas.
The shower lasted only a few minutes and we didn't stay for tea.
Everyone noticed the ad mentioning viagra which lead us to ask Usla how Turkish men and women feel about birth control and family size. He told us the government is very interested in limiting population and encourages the use of condoms and other forms of birth control. The people are very responsive to that.
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A vendor offers camel rides.
Even the camel wears a God's eye.
After lunch, we visited the underground city. During the Hittite era, armies swept cross Asia Minor and this underground city was built to be a very defensible community. Some "houses" are eight stories high. I stayed above ground, drank a fresh squeezed orange juice and caught up on my journal. Owen visited but didn't bring his camera that day. The passageways are narrow, often sloping but the rooms are well ventilated by air shafts to the surface. Underground cities have cisterns and this one has homes with enameled food storage places, next to kitchens. Other areas serve as stables. The underground city is no longer occupied but at one time thousands of people lived in the place.
For a slide show of our balloon trip and hike, click the picture below:
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| 2014-Turkey-5-3-Cappadocia-Balloon,UndergrundCity,FairyChimneys Hike |
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