Turkey 🇹🇷

Today was the only day of our stay that was forecast to be clear and sunny. And it didn’t disappoint! We woke up to a crystal clear sky with no wind. We left early for our usual sunrise pilgrimage and about halfway up to the ridge, through a gap between some fairy chimneys, there it was! The first Balloon rose from its launch pad behind the ridge! Although neither of us cared to go on a hot air balloon, we had been hoping to see them at least once while we were here.

To get clearance to operate the conditions need to be clear with no wind, and today was perfect. We raced to the top of the ridge and watched as probably about 100 balloons rose over the landscape. With the temperature currently -4C we were thankful for the sun finally rising. (But at the same time curious how cold it would be in one of those balloons right now?!)

Our hike for today was planned to be another loop departing and returning from Goreme. We set off after breakfast and within only minutes found ourselves distracted exploring an abandoned cave home. Besides the Open Air Museum Churches, we hadn’t been in any of the homes. From a distance, we had seen various rooms sporadically in cliff faces but hadn’t had the chance to properly explore the rooms and staircases concealed within the rock. It was mindblowing to try understand how these rooms had been carved into the rock and who, when and why people had lived in them.

Eventually, we moved back to the track and continued up the valley. We were heading for Rose Valley which is named after the prominent shade of colour in the rock. I had downloaded the Alltrails app before leaving which provides trails and GPS. Following along on a pre-marked track I noticed a feature up ahead called the “3 cross church”. We arrived at the spot marked on the map and could see a half-exposed cross-section of a room in the cliff above us. With a bit of a scramble, we eventually made it up into the open aperture and passed through into the next room beyond. The room had a vibe straight out of an Indiana Jones film. It opened up to a large hall with 3 massive crusader-style crosses carved in 3D relief across the entire ceiling. And then as if that wasn’t enough the next room was covered in frescos of Catholic-style paintings. And not a person in sight!

Thinking that was one of the most incredible mysterious places I’d ever seen, we continued up the track. We came across a random juice stall and a very enthusiastic owner who was very happy to sell us a fresh pomegranate, grapefruit and orange juice. When I mentioned the previous cross carvings in the ceiling he told me there was an even better one just up the valley. After treating ourselves to a juice, we set off to find this next hidden gem.

We found the wooden bridge that he had told us was the marker and crossed over and into a small open doorway. He had said it was called “the column church” and now I knew what he meant. The inside opened up into an enormous chapel complete with large arched columns presenting like the inside of a cathedral. If any of the other places left me speechless then this place took the cake. It was unbelievable!.

Honestly, the history of this place and the mystery of its origins is so hard to fathom. Truly a must-see destination.Read more