D59 Turkey - Cappadocia to Darende

A Snapshot of Our Day

Photo 1 - I got up at 6am to see this hot air ballon phenomenon; it’s hard to imagine that they do this pretty much daily!

Photo 2 - On the road again....our driver Mehmet picked us up from Konya and will be with us until our final day. He’s a much calmer driver than some we’ve had, has the shiniest black shoes you’ve ever seen, and him and Mete don’t stop chatting as we go from location to location. He’s like the newly appointed grandfather of the tour and we love him!

Photo 3 - As the landscape has changed drastically in the last couple of days from lush green fields to dry and barren hills, we were really confused to find ourselves at Gokpinar Golu Dogal Yasam Park, a picture perfect lake in the middle of nowhere. The park complex was really busy with locals setting up their family picnic areas, and with a clear and freakishly blue lake to paddle in nearby we could see why it was a hot spot!

Photo 4 - No one was swimming in the lake but there were a few locals hiring paddle boats to improve their afternoon in the sun.

Photo 5 - Lots of room to have a picnic with the family! We were really gutted as lunch today had been an unromantic pitstop at another petrol station, and the thought of setting ourselves up here with snacks would have been perfect. It’s hard not to be jealous of people when the smell of grilling meats and vegetables is wafting everywhere!

Photo 6 - After the Lake we stopped at Gurpinar Selalesi; a small flowing waterfall, which was quite sweet and very popular again with picnic goers and photo takers!

Photo 7 - This restaurant was about 50m downstream from the waterfall and diners were tucking into beautiful fresh fish and other delicious looking dishes. Up in the car park there were shops selling dried apricots and a local chewing gum, which didn’t sound incredibly appetising. I’m good with my PK, thank you!

Photo 8 - I can’t remember what was so funny, but it may have been to do with some of the poses people were pulling with the waterfall in the background.

Photo 9 - Darende is really just a stop over town, and there is nothing to see except the small park that we visited for dinner. There was a brand new mosque built above the river and a few small restaurants lined the banks. Unfortunately we were all pretty unimpressed with dinner that night, as there were few options available and the service was really slack. At least the relaxed setting and company made up for it!

Photo 10 - Is it bad that this was one of the coolest things about this town? Well that and the hamam in our hotel...Read more