Goreme Open Air Museum
We had time for another instant coffee at the Konya bus station, then it was three hours or more to Goreme, with a brief break in Aksaray. (The bus station there has its own turkey/chicken coop/aviary, but is otherwise not very distinguished).
The view from the bus was pretty flat, with only some distant mountains, but it became dramatic as we dropped into the valleys carved into the plain. (Cappadocia was originally a lake, which filled with volcanic ash creating a huge volume of tufa, a soft volcanic stone which has eroded to form the fantastic chimneys and columns.)
The Arch Palace rooms are comfortable but a bit dark, though with the
glorious rooftop terrace there's not much reason to spend any time in
them. (The only drawback was that the hotel wifi didn't reach anywhere
outside the tv room downstairs, but fortunately one of the neigbours
had an unsecured access point that was reachable from the rooftop.)
The Goreme Open Air Museum is a valley full of rock-cut churches, many of them dating to around the 12th century.
Though many of the church frescoes are damaged, there are some that in really good condition — we paid extra to go into the "Dark Chapel", where the lack of light and access has protected the paintings.
