Goreme hikes

Sunday 30th May

I was up early enough to catch the masses of balloons in the air.

Gabi had gone to a concert the night before in Avanos, and had noticed a lot of pottery shops. So after having breakfast and admiring the sky full of balloons, that's where we headed.

Mustafa gave us a lift to a pottery workshop where one of his relatives worked. (You really could get around Turkey being handed from relative to relative and friend to friend, as described in Turkish Reflections.) There was a kick wheel being demonstrated, and Gabi had a go at that herself. She also bought some tiles and a "Hittite"-style toroidal jug. Then one of the staff drove us to Pasarbag.

Pasarbag has some of the most striking rock formations, and there's wheel-chair accessible path and stalls, etc. From there we tried to find the track across to Cavushin, but ended up following a dirt road instead. In Cavushin we visited a rock-cut church, which is not so exciting, had a drink, looked at the ruins of Old Cavushin, and had lunch.

Then we walked up Rose Valley and back together, then Gabi went back to Cavushin to get the bus to Goreme, while I kept walking. I went up the ridge to Hacli Church (where there's a "Flintstone Cafe") and almost to Sunset Point, before dropping back down Red Valley.

Coming back toward Goreme I found myself on a good wide track which headed into a canyon, where it came to a 1.5m high rock shelf with hand/foot-holds. After some back-tracking to check there were no alternatives, I hauled myself up that — only to find an even higher face, with more widely spaced holds... At which point I bailed and went back down the first shelf, getting covered in mud as I did (there was a small waterfall down the middle of it). This was the only time I felt at all nervous while walking, and that only because I was by myself and it was getting late.

That evening we were wandering off for dinner when we ran into Shamsi outside the carpet shop, and he suggested the newly opened Seten restaurant. This was some way up the hill, part of a posh hotel, and not easy to find, so he drove us there. And it turned out to be our poshest meal of the trip — I had a superb lamb and eggplant kebap.

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