Soganli Valley, 1

After Zelve, we drove back down south again, through Uchisar, then Moustafapasa (where a few Greek families still live and where there is an annual Turkish/Greek friendship event), up and down valleys and canyons, on to the high ridge, and then down to Soganli. We spent the night in the parking lot outside the local tourism office, which looked closed for the season, but came back to life the next morning. Soganli is off the major tour bus route, although we saw a few independents, including two from NYC, and a couple of more adventurous maxitaxi loads, Germans. We pretty much had the valley to ourselves for a couple hours. The ruins there are mostly churches, monasteries and the like, 10th-11th century, but absolutely un-restored. Even as defaced as they are, they are still interesting and sometimes moving.

En route to Soganli, cliff dwellings

Soganli Calley, right fork; the structures are low down

Karabas Church

More Karabas

Ceiling

Detail

Yilanyi Church--Snake Church or St. George Church

"Onward Christian soldiers..."

Ms. Sherouse was last seen entering hall 17
on level IVa

Interior, looking out, Yilanyi Church

There's St. George, on horseback, the

snake/dragon below

St. Fruitus de Loomis

I Could Have Whirled All Night

I could have whirled all night, and still have begged for more. I could have spread my wings, and done a thousand things, I'd never done before...

OK, we're going to leave the dervish thing for next time;
or maybe the time after that...

Zelve

Zelve is another one of the Capadocian centers, actually two: a village at the head of three valleys, which we skipped, and a collection of picturesque mushroom and other figures just below.

Zelve Open Air Museum, from the outside

Ditto



Zelve cat

Zelve mushroom features

Ditto

Vicki demonstrating proper down-climbing

technique, returning from, well, a chapel that

wasn't all that great

Obligatory camel, found at all tour bus-worthy sites,

available for weddings, bar mitzvahs, christenings,
birthdays, circumcisions...

Typical Zelve structure





We were not alone



Three-humped Zelve camel

Devrent Valley

Another popular stop on the Cappadocia tour is Devrent Valley. The "fairy chimneys" come in a variety of sizes and shapes, some spires, some mushrooms, some, um, other things. Devrent features "the camel" as well as many other structures. You can make up your own names for them if you like. It's part of the fun.



Ortahisar

Tuesday, after departing Camping Kaya, we spent the day mostly in scenic driving, walking, gawking, etc. Fortunately, all the relevant sights in Cappadocia are pretty close together. Unfortunately, low-sulfur diesel in Turkey is now well over $8 per gallon.

First up was the village of Ortahisar, famed

for its "castle," a huge spire carved up into

a variety of chambers, terraces, etc.

Parking with the big dogs; despite the appearance,

Ortahisar is one of the least touristy of the sights; the buses

roll in, park on the square, everyone runs out and snaps a

few pix of the castle, buys a half kilo of dried apricots, and

hops back on as the bus continues its rounds

We liked our parking spot so well we stayed a couple hours,

walked the main drag, did some grocery shopping, had

lunch in the camper, and watched as--for once in our

experience--the call to prayer occurred, shops and cafes

actually closed, and the men walked to the mosque (the

women stayed home preserving their modesty, no doubt);

there were many other manifestations of traditional,

unaffected village life to see, some of interest, some pitiable

Preview of upcoming "cats of turkey" post

View from the top (of the castle); another castle

Air Show

Tuesday morning I was up sufficiently early to witness the lift-off of the Cappadocian air flotilla. There are perhaps a dozen firms operating out of Goreme that do early morning hot air balloon flights. At one point I counted 33 balloons, but could not picture them all. The small gondolas carry 12, the large ones 20. Flying tour buses. They all launch from the canyons just below our campground. We pondered doing this--it is much more affordable here than in the US or elsewhere--but then the weather closed in, low clouds, and we decided to try it next time.

Meskindir and Rose Valleys

Monday we took a long walk from our campsite down into the Meskindir Valley, through it to the Rose Valley, and then back up a long ridge to the campground above Goreme. These are uninhabited valleys nowadays but give a good glimpse at the terrain and at the work done at various times to make them habitable.

In the Meskindir, really more a canyon than a valley

Typical Meskindir terrain

Cliff dwellers

We passed through numerous arches, natural bridges, and

tunnels in the rock, most natural, I think

Opening out into the Rose canyon now; note sophisticated
signage

The Three Sisters; wait, no, it's the Three Musketeers...

The Howling Dog, or maybe the Howling Cat...

Spiro's Spires

The Organ Pipes; yes, I am making this all up as I go

Now atop the ridge that took us back to the campground, a

view of the Rose Valley; for days now, we have been

amazed at how much central Turkey looks like the American

West; but no cowboys nor Indians, nor rodeos, nor Mint
Saloons, however; minarets in the distance, calls to prayer,
figs and dates, pistachios, rugs, more rugs, camels, tour
buses...