As we turn north again I am beginning to think we are mad?!? The winter sun that we thought Turkey might afford us is missing these parts and those vanlifers down on the South coast have been hit with more rain perhaps than even they anticipated. But we have a Hotel booked for four nights over Christmas and we are determined to get there, so North we must go!
The weather radar is showing snow, again and as we park up at Derinkuyu I ensure Graeme no snow is forecast tonight. How wrong can you be when we retire to bed there is a good covering and settling well. In the morning we are pleased to see that it isnt too deep so we make our way to Derinkuyu Underground City which amazingly was discovered in modern times when a man found a hidden room behind a wall in his home which, after further digging was revealed it lead to an ancient 18 stories deep. Likely first established around the 7th or 8th century BC, the massive was built by the ancient population of the time to provide protection against invading forces. And what a defense
it became. Continually growing since its inception, and significantly expanded during the Byzantine period centuries later, the hidden city is thought to have been able to protect 20,000 inhabitants for long periods of time thanks to a number of surprisingly advanced, if crudely implemented innovations. The city descends 18 stories underground, deeper than any of the other found in the area and is fitted with thousands of ventilation shafts and water ways that would have provided fresh air and water to each level of the site. There were rooms for stables, churches, lodging, storage, and of course a winery, lest the citizens bored during a siege. The city was protected by doors made of massive stone wheels that could be rolled in from of an entrance.
Next we visit Kaymakli another and the largest of the underground cities in this region only 4 of its 8 floors are open to the public so we again wander this labarynth of living quarters which amazingly has a very different feel to Derinkuyu.
Back to the van and we are heading to our Christmas venue Cappadocia. This region is on every travellers to do list and the snow
appears to be playing ball as we head to the biggest of its 4 towns, Goreme. We want to park close so we can get into the town to eat at a restaurant my cousin has If it werent winter and Covid I think we may have struggled but we find a bit of scrubland next to the main road, its good enough for 1 night. We take a short walk above us and get our first real glimpse of this amazing landscape, Its extraordinary geography was formed as a consequence of three volcanic explosions, with the remnants spilled across hundreds of kilometres, and with of erosion and extreme weather conditions over time thrown in the mix, Cappadocia has a surrealistic scene, littered with dusty orange chimneys, valleys, and rock formations. We are here for 4 days so plenty of time to get to see some of this amazing scenery. The following morning I rise quickly armed with my camera to see one of its unique sights, and Im not disappointed. Rising all across the landscape are Hot Air Balloons all at different altitudes and rising from different areas of the landscape, today we
Before we head to the Hotel we visit Love Valley, they all seem to have names, Red, because its red, Piegon, because of the holes in the rocks that the piegons roost in, swords, no idea?!? well this one we can only assume is named such because of the huge rock formations which look well like a mans member?!? Or is it because of the heart seats that litter the cliff edge, whichever its a bit tacky so we move onto the Hotel.
Travelmates near
