Turkey (May 2009)
Sometimes the pilot took the balloon high and sometimes low into the valleys. Here's a view toward the Uçhisar Castle in the distance:
We were up in the air for about 1 hour, and flew over the most-photographed rocks in Cappadocia "Three Beauties of Cappadocia" and landed near the town of Ürgüp.
After returning to the hotel, I had a late breakfast and started walking toward the Göreme Open-Air Museum, located 1.5 km ( 1 mile) outside the town - definitely suitable for walking and enjoying the sights along the way. The museum is a collection of over 10 cave churches from the Byzantine era, and many of them have frescos dating back to 900 to 1200 A.D.
This is a 6-story Nunnery in the museum. It housed as many as 300 nuns at one time. There were Christians in Cappadocia as early as 200 A.D., and originally they practiced religion in churches in cellars and caves to hide from the Romans. Even after the rise of the Byzantine Empire, Cappadocians continue to hide churches in caves because of the threats of invasions from non-Christians from the east. Thus, there are numerous cave churches in Cappadocia.
I found the frescos in the Dark Church to be the most impressive features of the museum. These fresco were fairly well-preserved because they had been covered with pigeon droppings!
Click here to view a few more fresco photos.
We were up in the air for about 1 hour, and flew over the most-photographed rocks in Cappadocia "Three Beauties of Cappadocia" and landed near the town of Ürgüp.
After returning to the hotel, I had a late breakfast and started walking toward the Göreme Open-Air Museum, located 1.5 km ( 1 mile) outside the town - definitely suitable for walking and enjoying the sights along the way. The museum is a collection of over 10 cave churches from the Byzantine era, and many of them have frescos dating back to 900 to 1200 A.D.
This is a 6-story Nunnery in the museum. It housed as many as 300 nuns at one time. There were Christians in Cappadocia as early as 200 A.D., and originally they practiced religion in churches in cellars and caves to hide from the Romans. Even after the rise of the Byzantine Empire, Cappadocians continue to hide churches in caves because of the threats of invasions from non-Christians from the east. Thus, there are numerous cave churches in Cappadocia.
I found the frescos in the Dark Church to be the most impressive features of the museum. These fresco were fairly well-preserved because they had been covered with pigeon droppings!
Click here to view a few more fresco photos.
On the way back from the museum, I walked by a beautiful ranch. By the way, Cappadocia means "land of beautiful horses."
I stopped by a road-side restaurant outside of the town for a late lunch. I had a simple but delicious stew that was slow-cooked in a clay pot. They break a pot for each customer! It's a good thing that there was a clay pottery shop right on the other side of the road.
Before returning to the town, I explored meadows and fields, enjoying beautiful wildflowers that were abloom. I guess May is the best time to view wildflowers in this region.
Day 13:
It's time to say good-by to Cappadocia and, in fact to Turkey. I took a late morning flight back to Istanbul - this time from Nevsehir instead of Kayseri. Nevsehir Airport is somewhat closer to Göreme than the one in Kayseri. After a short wait in Istanbul I connected to another Turkish Airlines flight to Athens, where I would spend the next three nights. In-flight services were superb: They served a great snack even though this was only a 1.5 hr. flight.
Visiting Turkey was a fantastic experience - both of historic and archaeological attractions and of incredible natural wonders. People I met were all warm and friendly, too. I highly recommend a trip to Turkey. ... but watch out for the terrible drivers in Istanbul!
Please visit the Photo Galleries and Video Galleries for more photo and videos from this trip as well as from other trips.
I stopped by a road-side restaurant outside of the town for a late lunch. I had a simple but delicious stew that was slow-cooked in a clay pot. They break a pot for each customer! It's a good thing that there was a clay pottery shop right on the other side of the road.
Before returning to the town, I explored meadows and fields, enjoying beautiful wildflowers that were abloom. I guess May is the best time to view wildflowers in this region.
Day 13:
It's time to say good-by to Cappadocia and, in fact to Turkey. I took a late morning flight back to Istanbul - this time from Nevsehir instead of Kayseri. Nevsehir Airport is somewhat closer to Göreme than the one in Kayseri. After a short wait in Istanbul I connected to another Turkish Airlines flight to Athens, where I would spend the next three nights. In-flight services were superb: They served a great snack even though this was only a 1.5 hr. flight.
Visiting Turkey was a fantastic experience - both of historic and archaeological attractions and of incredible natural wonders. People I met were all warm and friendly, too. I highly recommend a trip to Turkey. ... but watch out for the terrible drivers in Istanbul!
Please visit the Photo Galleries and Video Galleries for more photo and videos from this trip as well as from other trips.
