| Mid-June, 2005, we were in Cappadocië, for four days For this trip, the flight was booked via Travelintermediair and the hotel, via Internet. The hotel was Kelebek Suites, in Göreme. Click here for the picture gallery. We (my wife and I) left on Thursday, 16 June, from Amsterdam to Cappadocië. We flew with Turkish Air, via Istanbul to Kayseri. We had booked a direct flight but this was cancelled at the last moment and so we had to fly to Istanbul and had to transfer there. That was of course inconvenient, but it did have an advantage: we now departed 12 hours earlier than was originally planned. Consequently, we arrived 10:30 p.m., local time, at the hotel. That would have been in the very early next morning otherwise. So, now we had a normal night's sleep Hotel:
The owner (Ali) is a collector of antique objects, such as jugs, vases, windows,
old tools, donkey-carts, etc.. These were scattered hither and thither in the garden
and other areas. The entrance to these (separate) Via various levels, you arrive at 2 terraces. Not large, but what a breath-taking
sight! The hotel is situated at the top of the Göreme Valley. Consequently, there
is a panoramic view, no matter where you look. Particularly at sunset, pretty colours
here. You also hear all sorts of sounds from the surrounding area, clear echoes,
like cockcrows, cows, dogs and. The prayers from the mosque. There was here also
a remarkable practice, of broadcasting, a few times a day something over the public
address system. Such as a
Day 1 (Friday): The first full day here. After we first explored the hotel property, we went to the village. To put it another way: down the steep little cobble stoned road. The village of Göreme has the title of being the tourist centre for Cappadocië. But there were not a lot of tourists to be seen. Were we too early? Had the downturn in the economy had its effect here too? I don’t know but it was very sleepy here. There were, indeed, some souvenir shops and travel agencies, but none of them had any customers and they did also not address us. All very relaxed, after e.g., Alanya or Bodrum. The most “activity” was due to the fact that the centre of town was a crossing of two roads, but this activity was only relative. Apart from that very little to report about this village, for as far as we could see, because we had only four days available in Cappadocië and then one has to make choices.It is the case that Göreme is a village, which has been built between unusually formed rocks, from which it derives its ‘fame’. Here and there, in the middle of the village, one finds the characteristic rocks, most of which are 20 metres high. Most of them have been hollowed out to make room for a home or a shop. Many are also empty and look like ruins, but that does make it here picturesque and in that sense Göreme is certainly an attractive and unique village. That is indeed the reason why you go there. A little about the inhabitants: what struck me was the very western clothing. The youth of the village looked like ours, here in our own Zaandam, only here there were no tattoos and/ or piercings. Also among the adults here no, or very few, veils and such. Just western. Outside the villages, mainly many elderly people: toiling older women, in the fields and older men sitting in the out-door cafés (‘terraces’). Anyhow, we walked on, through the village, out the other side, in the direction of the Open Air Museum, because THAT is indeed the only other attraction here. After having walked for a number of kilometres, in the heat, and under a clear blue sky, we saw to the left of the road, the “Valley of the Swords”. A collection of strangely shaped rocks, with clearly visible caves / holes, but the whole of Cappadocië has those. It does make a difference, from valley to valley, how they look: colors and shapes are quite different. That is what makes it here so fascinating. 
 To
the right, opposite that valley, the entrance to the “Open Air Museum”. Here, also,
very peaceful, although the number of tourniquets around seems to be evidence of
a different scene. It is not very big but you could easily spend between 1 and 2 hours here. It is a collection of highly unusually shaped rocks, with grottoes and caves and particularly hewn churches. Of those, in fact, there are not many left. You often do see the beautiful remains of decorations. Here, again, it is special, fascinating, beautiful “ pictures “ wherever you look and … warm! As clarification: I am not providing here any historical or geological facts. For those I refer you to all the information available in bookshops and via the Internet. These are only my own experiences. Back to the village, where we ate shish kebab for lunch, in a little restaurant (It was by now 2 p.m.) Here also, very nice people and also again very relaxed. We were to return here one more time. After that back to the hotel and nice and peacefully sat in the beautiful garden to continue reading the “Da Vinci Code”. In the evening, dinner on the terrace, at about sunset. That is important here. Earlier than “at home”, and not because of the one-hour difference. Resulting in beautiful colours across the valley. We ate here, purposely “Turkish cooking”. The menu was not very extensive anyway. Unfortunately I have not remembered the names (of the dishes) and the composition, but most tasted fine to us. That evening, early to bed, because an early and unusual day awaited us… Day 2 (Saturday): The big moment has come: our flight in a hot-air balloon!!I had booked that at home, via the Internet. In the morning, at 4:30 a.m., out of bed. At 5:00 a.m., collected by a bus, belonging to Göreme balloons. It was still cold, so jackets on. At 5:15 a.m., we were on a field, somewhere outside of Göreme. Meanwhile, it was getting light. Once arrived, it turned out that there were a lot of people there. To my surprise, a man who was part of management welcomed us. It turned out to be the man with whom I had had email contact and had made the reservation with. We were given a cap straight away, which was for sale to the others. It was part of a discount package deal, which I had made with him. This personal touch made an impression on me. But our attention turned off course, after that to the gigantic balloons, which were being “pumped up”. Some were already up. Others were still lying flat on the ground. Because of the emotions at the time (really!) I forgot to count them but there must have been about 6. How big those things are up close. The baskets hanging beneath them differed in size, intended for from 6 to 20(!!) people where we ended up. I believe that “ours” was the second to take off. Climbing in was not easy for everyone, but was nothing compared to getting out… There were a few extensions sticking out of the basket on which you could put your feet, to climb inside. You would have expected a little ladder. There were quite a few elderly people there. By the time it was our turn there were already 18 people, plus the pilot seated in the basket. First Gon had to enter from one side and I had to climb in from the other. As a result we were not standing close to each other but far apart. I hardly saw her because there were so many people in the basket. People had to enter alternately from either side to keep the basket balanced.  …
And then we VERY calmly came away from the ground. Very soon already, you could
see, below you, the activities, associated with the blowing up and the climbing
in of the other balloons. Around you, more and more balloons, against a rising sun between the rocks. It was so peaceful and calm, that I truly had tears in my eyes from the emotion. All the balloons had different colours and designs. It is really impossible to describe what you saw. The sun soon rose, throwing beautiful colours on the rocks and across the fields. Sometimes hard to photograph (took 96!) because of the sometimes strong contrasts, which appeared to be these days a problem. Resulting I believe, from the greater height. The pilot sometimes provided commentary regarding the area that we were flying over. Thus we flew over the “Pink Valley”, the Göreme Valley and the “Pigs Valley”. This, of course, with all the unusual rocks, with nicknames, like “fairy Chimney”, “Gnome’s Cap” and “Penis Rock”. The only sound that you heard was the firing of the flame, which provided the hot air to the balloon. And…. you certainly felt that!!! At a certain stage we were very low down, in a valley. There turned out to be no wind, at that stage. VERY slowly, we touched the tops of low trees and after that even the wheat on the field. After that I was even able 
to photograph a strawberry plant, close-up. This took a while. A shame about the
time, but that’s “all in the game”. We had a flight of 45 minutes that was to become
an hour. After some time, the pilot was able to ascend again, but now we drifted
slowly, again towards a (pointy) rock. Well, we only just cleared it. I think by
less than 2 metres…. Phew! For a moment I did not know whether to keep looking at
the nearing of the rock or not. In the event, I continued to “cold-bloodedly” photograph
it all. See the picture on the right. Well: we had cleared it then. But after that we drifted in the direction of………. A high-tension wire! We also cleared that excruciatingly slowly and after that it was time to land. In the photos, taken after the landing, you can clearly see those wires in the background. The landing was just about just as smooth as the take-off. That was a relief, because at that stage of the trip I had not been looking forward to the landing. The pilot had already, in advance, notified, via walkie-talkie, where we were going to land and we saw, below us, already a tractor with a semi-trailer approach across the field. It was the one who had assisted us before, as I had seen. The assistants, who accompanied it, pulled at the basket, to manouvre it into the correct position, as we happened to be located above a ditch. Heavy work, it seemed to me.  …And
then, disembarking: people had a problem with that, including Gon, my wife. Namely,
you had to push yourself up and in this way climb out of the basket and then make
a small leap. I myself, had no problem with that, but I can understand how for some this was quite an adventure. Gon had become quite emotional because of it, but still did not regret having experienced this adventure. Getting out also had to be done alternately from one side and then the other and one at a time. Otherwise the balloon would rise up again. After the landing we immediately received a glass of “champagne”. That is a tradition in this sport. And after that our certificate. Our proof of participation. Next we took a few more photos. I had thought that a group photo might have been organized but things were a bit chaotic. I believe because of lack of time. The balloon basket was being filled again with other people, who earlier had come from another balloon. So, a transfer. I think that these people might have had a longer flight. We went in a car, driven by two girls who apparently studies for courier, which was being taken to the hotel. An unforgettable experience was at an end…. It was then only 7:30 a.m. I had an unreal feeling about what we had already done, at that time of day. Just went to bed for another hour because it was too early for breakfast. After breakfast, we went to Göreme, to catch a bus, direction Zelve, where there was also an open-air museum. This was about 5 km further on. After some time the driver said we had to alight. It turned out we were standing at the corner of a side-road, and a sign, indeed, indicated that this was the way to the museum. But, apart from that, there was nothing!! So there was nothing to it but to start walking, along a deserted, hot asphalt roadway. It did not look very hopeful. Luckily, after some time a car stopped, driven by an older man who sensed a way to earned some extra money. Well, we certainly did want to go with him, even though it turned out to be a relatively expensive trip. We were dropped off at the museum. Later it turned out that we had completely passed another beautiful place of interest, without noticing it. This museum was even more deserted than the one in Göreme. The price of admission was, here too, something rather symbolic. It was also, again, very warm, with a clear, blue sky. Here too many contrasts, also because of the shadows cast by the rocks. This museum could be divided into three valleys. The first was half closed because of subsidence. The second was most-visited. The third a lot less. Why, I don’t know. We still entered the first one. Much climbing. Many grottos, sometime with (decayed) churches in them. Very attractive scenery and colours, but WARM! Gon again had problems with it. At a certain point you could not go any further and had to turn back.  After that a little way through the second and after that not gone into the third one. Gon was too tired… So, back to the exit. But then……….how could we get back to Göreme? I could see the storm coming (there were no taxis there yet). At a certain moment a man who saw us looking concerned addressed us. He would be able to take us back and worked out for us what it would cost. Very likely that man had been standing there for that purpose. So that is what we did and soon afterwards we were dropped off, at our request at the restaurant in the centre of town, where we had had lunch previously. And, anyhow…the fare was, by our standards, still cheap, even though I knew I had paid too much. I would not have liked to have walked back instead and the man knew that… In the restaurant, Gon again chose a shis-kebab and I ordered an Iskander-kebab. I did not know what it was. So, a surprise. But that it certainly was, a quite spicy dish that seemed like a Pilav version. But well served up, on a food-warmer with little hot coals beneath it. Nice and delicious! Afterwards we strolled through the village. Simply because we had lost our way so we had something to drink on a terrace, where exclusively elderly men were drinking tea (Where were all the tourists?) The a little old man showed us the way to the hotel (although, via an alternative route… . Back to the hotel and into the garden to read. It did become rather windy. We had arranged something for the evening. We would be fetched at 9:30 p.m., for a trip to the Saruhan karavanserai, where there would be a Dervish show.  Whirling
Dervishers belong to a religious community, which is known for its whirling dancers
in white ‘dresses’ and high hats. Their origins are in the city of, Konya, just
outside Cappadocië. The karavanserai was big and attractive. Inside three grandstands were set up in a gallery. In the centre was a space for the dancers. Well …..we were very disappointed. For quite some time there was a very sleep-inducing recitation of an incomprehensible story or prayer. Followed by a lot of bowing by the gentlemen and after that the dancing commenced. But that too disappointed me because of the monotony. “Luckily” it only lasted an hour. Only during the last five minutes it was permitted to take photographs. But that did not work for me very well because it was rather dark and the distance was too great for my flash equipment. In the courtyard, we were offered a warm spicy drink, which we put back after one sip. But, on the positive side: it did look to me very authentic; so not tourististy. After that back to the hotel and bed. Still another interesting but tiring day. And then, we did not know that what would happen the next day… Day 3 (Sunday): For this day, we had booked a day-trip. We were fetched at 9:30 a.m., by a little bus. With just 3 other people, also from our hotel, and a tour-guide, we departed, destination Ihlara Valley. Thus, in fact, a private tour. Very pleasant this way…First stop was Derinkuyu, one of the best-known underground cities in Cappadocië. This one is about 16 –18 levels down. For tourists it is “only” accessible down to the 6th level. About 100 000 people could ever find shelter here, in times of war. There were about 600 entrances here, mainly hidden under houses. Now, however, there is one central entrance. This “city” impressed us greatly. It was explained to us very well, HOW people lived there. But it was still very hard to imagine what it would be like. I took some photos there, but the circumstances were not very suitable. Apart from that, after a while, it all looks the same.  After
that, away to the
Ihlara Valley. It is really a crevice in the earth’s crust, at the foot of a huge volcano. Second in size. The highest (3800 metres) is visible from the hotel terrace. The eruptions of these two volcanoes happened 20 million years ago, and were responsible, together with resulting erosion and earth movements, for the current landscape. Something that is hard to imagine is that those eruptions lasted 10 000 years (.). In a village, at the edge of this crevice, we could take climb down stairs to the bottom. There were a lot of steps. At these spots also beautiful sights and (thus) beautiful photos. But, here again, the beauty is almost impossible to capture. At the bottom of the stairs, a little church, hewn out of the rocks, at least, what it once was. There are many of these in this crevice, but have just left the others alone. After that followed a walk of about 3 km to a fast flowing little stream, among shrubs and bushes, over rocks and stones, with to the left and to the right steep rock walls, with holes in them and beautiful colours. In short: really breathtakingly beautiful, but sometimes quite a tiring walk. The crevice is 15km in length. During our walk we passed a Turkish family, having a barbecue and fishing. Apart from that just pure nature, many birds and butterflies. At the end of the walk (Gon was close to exhaustion…) there was, to the right, a little bridge, and across the bridge, on the other side, a little restaurant by the water’s edge. As we had seen the previous years, of Alanya, terraces at the water’s edge and built in the water. A wonderful spot to catch our breath and to have lunch. It was, by now, 2 p.m. Afterwards, again in our little bus, which was waiting for us, our trip continued.  After
some time, we arrived at
Selime. That
is the name for a collection of gravestones in holes. These were, however, accessible
after some climbing. Gon had given up and had stayed at ground level. So I continued
with the others. Here also: beautiful panoramas. And so, a lady from Indonesia and
I took a photo through a hole in the rock face. We turned around and everybody was
gone. Oops! In these locations you can easily lose your way. So, a small fright! We climbed around a bit before we found our guide again. But then, that does bring people closer together. We exchanged visitors cards…. She is planning to come to the Netherlands next year and I have offered to show her the Zaanse Schans. After that we continued on to a Karavanserai. This one was less attractive than the one we visited to watch the whirling Dervishers, on the Saturday. More was in ruin. But still impressive. Now this trip was really over and at about 6:30 p.m., we were back in the hotel. It had been a trip with many highlights. Day 4 (Monday): Our last day in Cappadocië. We wanted to take it easy today, as the night was going to be short because of the return trip to Holland. After some discussion with our driver from the daytrip, he would give us a private tour. For a fixed price the tour was pre-planned but we could indicate ourselves, on the way, where we wanted to stop and for how long. It was a trip of a few hours. That had been agreed. At breakfast I met our Indonesian lady, who had just come back from her balloon flight. She had no further plans for the day. I suggested that she come with us. Then the costs could be shared too. She thought this was a good plan. So, everyone was happy. The first stop was just outside of Göreme, on a mountaintop. Here a beautiful panorama across the Göreme Valley. We had seen people standing on mountaintops before, from the terrace at our hotel and had wondered how they got there. Well: this was the spot. The next stop was a collection of rocks, just before the open-air museum of Zelve. So this we had simply passed unnoticed, on the Saturday. It was a little away from the roadway, hidden behind some souvenir stalls. These rocks are well known because of their beautiful shapes. They looked like three-pronged candleholders and therefore that is their nickname (candle rocks). This spot is called: Pasabagi, but written with a Turkish letter that is not on my keyboard. Very beautiful but today the weather was disappointing. It wasn’t only cooler and windier but also, every so often quite dark clouds. So it was here. Unfortunate, because a number of photos would have been much better, if there had been more sun. 
 Then
on to the Devrent Valley. This location
is known for the rocks in the shape of rocks with a horizontal stone on top, which
seems to wobble. A natural phenomenon, as a result of erosion. This valley has the
nickname: "Valley of the fairy chimneys". Earlier here we came upon a group of rocks, which, with some imagination, you could see to be shaped like animals. There was one, which was not difficult to imagine, namely a camel (animal rocks, camel rock). Here, luckily, the sun shone again and it was possible to take beautiful photographs. We continued on our way to Mustafapasa. This old village is particularly well known because of its ancient Greek architecture Until 1926, in fact, there were many Greeks living here, who had to move to Greece, as a result of a peace agreement between Greece and Turkey (forced population exchange). We were in a restaurant, which, indeed, looked very Greek (and old). Here I took some fine photographs. Now, on to the last stop: Ortahisar. This is a village that was built on and against a mountain, but certainly in a special manner. It looked like a fortress and there was one, at the top. It 
reminded me
a lot of a place
from "Lord of the Rings". Beautiful!! Now back to the hotel. The rest of the afternoon we ‘lounged’ on the terrace. Finished reading the Da Vince Code. So, now I can sleep easy again. The alarm will go off at 2:30 a.m. At 3:00 a.m., we are taken to the airport in Kayserie, where we arrive at 4 a.m.. Our plane to Istanbul leaves at 5.00 a.m. Arrival in Istanbul at approximately 6.15 and we depart again, direction Amsterdam, at 7.45 a.m.. We arrive at 10.45 a.m., local time, at Schiphol and are home at 11.45. Phew!! Those were interesting days! Unforgettable and recommended to anyone who wants to see something special. "Whit special thanks to Jo Mulholland in Sydney,
Australia, for translation from this travel report, from Dutch to English".
Of course, you can always send me an
e-mail
with additional questions. |
Hotel
Kelebek
hotel suites was formed by a gate with an old wooden door (many wooden bolts). The
bar/restaurant/reception area/ terrace was in the ³ordinary² hotel. To reach it,
we had to go through the gate; turn left; and go through another gate. On the whole
property, there were very many levels. Thus many slopes and stairs. The hotel lay
high up, at the top of a narrow and steep little road, made of cobblestones. Not
a place for people with walking difficulties. Generally, Cappadocië, lies at an
elevation of 1100-1200 meters. 
wedding
announcement, as someone said. Reminded me of an old TV series about a British holiday
camp. More about those terraces: One was intended to be a place to ³lounge². So,
Turkish lounges to relax on. Also very much in the ottoman-style, with old rugs
on them. From here, again, a beautiful view. There was also a stone fireplace with
BBQ facilities. Large parasols. The other terrace lay a few steps higher. Here more
view. This was also the terrace where you could eat. Here we had breakfast and dinner.
For lunch we usually went elsewhere. On this terrace there was also a kind of elevated
area under cover, with under it, yet another lounge covered in rugs. This seemed
like an eagle¹s nest. THE place to relax, in the shade and read a book. Via this
terrace you entered, where the bar was and there, also, you could eat. Further back
was an attractive room, like everything else here, old-Ottoman decoration, which
served as reception/lounge/office for the owner. Everything was small-scale, so
when I describe, ³eating inside², then I am referring to three or four tables. But,
during our stay, it was not particularly busy, and there was always room. Everyone
here was certainly very relaxed. Below this level were a number of hotel rooms.
Same furnishings as ours, but these were not suites and a little less luxurious,
so, no Jacuzzi and such. At this level, there was also access to two rooms, which
were definitely "cave-rooms". These were hewn from two typical pointed rocks, about
20 metres high. These had no private washing/showering facilities or toilet. They
were in the building opposite. In fact, the whole hotel was built between, against
and on that rock-wall, with views across the Göreme valley.