D57 Turkey - Konya to Cappadocia

A Snapshot of Our Day

Photo 1 - We stopped briefly for a loo stop on our way to Cappadocia and apparently it is Independence Day! We witnessed part of a formal ceremony (we didn’t understand a word but they were all very enthusiastic presenters!) and then possibly the most underwhelming marching ceremony ever. Mete said that it’s only because the police were asked to march...and in comparison to the army soldiers they’re a bit clueless. While we waited for the others to finish drinking tea we made valuable use of our time by chasing another puppy around.

Photo 2 - Mums, we thought you would appreciate this shot; bearing in mind your appreciation for all things blue tinted glass!

Photo 3 - Our first glimpse of the “Fairy Chimneys” of Cappadocia! I can’t wait to see them up close!

Photo 4 - 2 minutes into our valley walk and we were already harvesting the fresh fruit; we saw pear, fig and apple trees as well as low lying grape vines and tomato crops. The pears were just ripe and we had to pull ourselves away before we gave ourselves stomach aches.

Photo 5 - Brent thought it necessary to climb up a steep hill and explore a hole in the rock. He may have cursed once or twice on descent.

Photo 6 - A few members of the group exploring one of many valleys in the area, which was amazingly fertile. Some of the land is privately owned by locals so occasionally we would walk past someone selling orange juice from a small shack. While we walked a 5km loop the other guys decided they wanted to enjoy the valley on horse back!

Photo 7 - One of several old churches that were created inside the volcanic deposits. The inner layers of rock are apparently very soft in comparison to the harder exterior, so it was very easy for people to carve them out and create rooms to reside, or in this case worship in.

Photo 8 - We were able to have a brief walking tour of the Turasan Winery, and were invited to sample 3 of their wines; a rose, a white and a red. Most of us purchased a bottle afterwards as we were gearing up for wine and cheese night at sunset! I purchased one of their dry white wines (a variety called Emir) which went down very well with the crew.

Photo 9 - Mete had been to the local supermarket to buy bread, breadsticks, cake, chips and nuts, a variety of cheeses and some cured meat. He very kindly arranged it all on plastic plates and we all poured the wine and dug in; Mete had prime position for dinner and didn’t move an inch the whole time we were up the mountain! Genius.

Photo 10 - It was such a majestic way to see the Rose Valley, and so it was no wonder that we saw not one, but two bridal parties having their sunset photos taken.Read more