The dining room at Kirkit Pension is carved out of the tufa stone which famously forms the landscape of Cappadocia, and it was here we were welcomed to a wonderful meal after travelling by bus all afternoon from Ankara.
The gypsy duo -zither, drum – joined by Osman drumming.
Breakfast at the Kirkit was superb: lots of crispy fresh bread, tasty white cheese, green and black olives, egg, strwberry and aprocot jam, delicious strawberries and a lovely sesame spread, plus endless tea from a steaming stainless steel samovar. Thus fortified we commenced our five day hike through the carved landscape of Cappadocia.
We arrived in Avanos via Nevsehir and Goreme, the latter the famous backpacking Mecca with its fairy chimney houses. Particularly taken by the mosque carved into the rock (see below).
Goreme mosques; in the background, towers and high rise at Nevsehir
First a slippery descent into Pigeon Valley, lots of pigeon houses carved into the cliffs. Lunch at Goreme.
Then a steep climb up to Uchisar, and a welcome beer on the terrace of Pension Uchisar, stunning view across to the volcano Erciyes. Next we tackled the Kale just above our pension:
The Kale is the ancient fortress of Uchisar and dominates the landscape, a maze of windows and tunnels dug out the rock.
From the terrace, a view across the landscape:
Goreme is nestled in the middle ground
many, many houses in Turkey have affordable solar hot water, leaving Australia for dead…
It’s a big concrete rectangle shaped as a mausoleum, and the 4 walls are a relief of rows of books with their spines inverted, so you can’t see what they are. Stories which won’t be told.
