2011 - Oasis Overland (Part 13 - Goreme, Turkey)
A few days in the Cappadocia region of Turkey.
Wednesday 30 March 2011 - Friday 1 April 2011
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2011 tiki tour
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Wednesday 30 March - After the decision was made to leave Syria early, we had an early start to cross the border into Turkey. It took about two hours to get all the paperwork done and through the border.
From there we drove all day up and over the mountains to get to Goreme in the central Turkish region of Cappadocia. We arrived at the camp site in the middle of town late and then went straight to a carpet shop for dinner and a lecture / sales pitch on the various types of Turkish carpets.
Thursday 31 March - It was very cold overnight in my tent.
Given that I was up early due to the cold, I managed to get a few photos of the many hot air balloons that fly over the town and surrounding countryside every morning.
Hot air balloons over Goreme.
More hot air balloons over Goreme.
We had an organised tour around the region looking at some of the more interesting landscapes and villages. The rock formations can be suggestive to say the least.
The tour included the fairy chimneys at a couple of sites, a deserted Greek village, an underground city, a bit of wine tasting, a nice lunch in the town of Avanos and generally touring around the area.
A Korean tourist on a bactrian (two humped) camel.
A flock of sheep.
A Turkish sheep dog.
The deserted Greek village.
The modern village.
More big knobs.
The modern village.
More fairy chimneys.
A spring blossom.
The main mosque in Avanos.
Is it a turkey? Or is it a camel? You decide.
Turkish night. This is a very touristy but very fun night out and involves Turkish food, Turkish dancing, and unlimited Turkish drinks, especially the raki. The belly dancer is the best bit of the show given that she is gorgeous and has a habit of picking member of the audience to accompany her in dancing. I did not take my camera with me so there are no photos.
Friday 1 April - A day off, doing laundry, wandering around the town, having lunch, catching up on stuff.
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