| Home |
|
19 |
|
20 |
|
21 |
|
22
Balloon |
|
22 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| דף הבית |
טיסה בבלון |
|
October 19th in Cappadocia
| We landed in Nevsehir airport at
08:30 of Oct. 19th. At 9 we were out of the terminal and Mr.
Faruk Keles, our host and owner of the Kismet Cave
House Hotel was
waiting to take us to Goreme. We asked his advice about dropping us off at Uchisar on the way so that we would visit the castle and then trek over to Goreme through Pigeon valley and then visit the Goreme Open Air Museum; he advised that we should do that with one small change - as soon as we get into Goreme we should go to the hotel for a cup of tea and a short rest after which he would drive us over to the Open Air Museum. We should have taken his advice, it would have been far less tiring. If any of you other travelers get any advice from Faruk, I strongly recommend that you listen to him. We ended our day at the "Nazar Borek Gozleme" restaurant for a greatly appreciated meal. |
נחתנו בשדה התעופה של נבשהיר ב
אוקטובר 19 בשעה 08:30. בשעה 9 יצאנו מהטרמינל ומר פאקרוק קלש המארח שלנו
ובעל מלון קיזמט המתין
ללקחת אותנו לגודמה שאלנו את עצתו באם אפשר שיוריד אותנו בדרך באוצ'יסר כדי שנבקר בטירה שם ונמשיך ברגל לגורמה דרך עמק היונים ולהמשיך למוזיאון הפתוח של גורמה: עצתו הייתה שנעשה זאת בשינוי קטן - כשנגיע לגורמה שנלך תחילה למלון לכוס תה ומנוחה קצרה ולאחר מכן הוא יסיע אותנו למוזיאון הפתוח חבל שלא הקשבנו לעצתו, זה היה הרבה פחות מעייף. אם מטייל אחר מקבל עצה מקארוק אני מאוד ממליץ שיקשיב לו סיימנו בארוחת ערב במסעדת "נאזאר בורק גוזלמה" - מומלץ |
Uchisar
אוצ'יסר
This is Uchisar and its castle - dug right out of that big hill at the highest point in Uchisar
Close up view of Uchisar castle from the parking lot
The old cave houses surrounding Uchisar castle
More of the old cave houses surrounding Uchisar castle
As we climb up the castle we stop half way for a view of the surroundings
As we climb up the castle we stop half way for a view of the surroundings - more old cave houses
Another half way up view of the surroundings - Uchisar
More of Uchisar
Another half way up view of the surroundings
In this view to the east we see the majestic Erciyes mountain - an extinct volcano almost 4000 meters high - towering over its surroundings
We reach the top of Uchisar Castle
On top of Uchisar Castle
View from the top of Uchisar Castle
Another view from the top of Uchisar Castle
Another view from the top of Uchisar Castle - this is called a "fairy chimney" and the caves are still lived in
Another "fairy chimney" with caves
More "fairy chimneys" with caves
Another view from the top of Uchisar Castle
Another "fairy chimney" with caves
Looking back at Uchisar Castle as we leave for Pigeon Valley
Looking back at Uchisar Castle as we leave for Pigeon Valley
Uchisar Castle on the right and "fairy chimneys" on the left
Uchisar Castle on the right and "fairy chimneys" on the left
Fairy chimneys with caves
Last look back at the castle
Shops near the castle
Shops near the castle
Fairy chimneys and caves on our way to Pigeon Valley
Fairy chimneys caves and Yael on our way to Pigeon Valley
Pigeon Valley
עמק היונים
More fairy chimneys with caves as we enter Pigeon Valley
More fairy chimneys with caves as we enter Pigeon Valley
More fairy chimneys with caves as we enter Pigeon Valley
More fairy chimneys with caves as we enter Pigeon Valley
More fairy chimneys with caves as we enter Pigeon Valley
Fairy chimneys and cliffs with caves as we enter Pigeon Valley
Looking up from Pigeon Valley at Uchisar and its Castle
We trek through the valley land see its unusual landscape
At this point we get a clear view of Uchisar and its castle
Same view a few moments later
Interesting looking fairy chimney
Pigeon Valley landscape
As we get further away from Uchisar, the view back becomes more interesting
As we get further away from Uchisar, the view back becomes more interesting
and even more interesting
Pigeon Valley
Pigeon Valley
Pigeon Valley
We go up one side to go back down
Pigeon Valley
Pigeon Valley
Pigeon Valley
Pigeon Valley
Pigeon Valley
Pigeon Valley
Someone lived here sometime
People still live here
At the end of Pigeon Valley close to Goreme
The Goreme side of Pigeon Valley
The Goreme side of Pigeon Valley
The Goreme side of Pigeon Valley
The Goreme side of Pigeon Valley
These cave houses make you believe in fairies
Hard to believe, but these are real cave houses and people live in them
The Goreme side of Pigeon Valley
Call this a fairy house
More of these houses
The Goreme side of Pigeon Valley
The Goreme side of Pigeon Valley
The Goreme side of Pigeon Valley
The Goreme side of Pigeon Valley
Goreme Open Air Museum
המוזאום הפתוח של גורמה
On the road to the Goreme Open Air Museum
On the road to the Goreme Open Air Museum
On the road to the Goreme Open Air Museum
On the road to the Goreme Open Air Museum
At the Goreme Open Air Museum
Part of one of the many ancient cave churches there
Fairy Chimneys with caves
A closer look
This large complex of caves at the museum was closed to the public when we were there
Another ancient cave church
Inside one of the ancient cave churches - notice that the cave has been dug out to look like it has been built with vaulted ceilings. Since flash photography is not allowed this photo and all the others inside the cave churches were done using very long exposures
Again this is painted on the inside of a cave - not a building
Again this is painted on the inside of a cave - not a building
The landscape viewed from the museum
Yael taking a short break
Another cave church - again cut out to look like a vaulted ceiling with a fresco
Another cave church - again cut out to look like a vaulted ceiling with a fresco
Another cave church Tokali Kilise (Buckle Church) - again cut out to look like a vaulted ceiling with a fresco.
This cave church is particularly large - it is outside the main Open Air museum complex, but the ticket is good for entry here too.
Tokali Kilise (Buckle Church)
Goreme
גורמה
We walked all the way up to the observation point at the top left
Nitza & Yael
Lots of hand made carpets for sale
Towards sunset we set out to the observation point - this is what we saw on the way up, most of what is seen are boutique hotels
Panning to the left
Close up of one of those hotels
The dovecotes - a symbol for Goreme - these were used so that the local farmers could collect the pigeon droppings and use them as fertilizer (local farmers claim that that is the reason why their fruits are so sweet) the practice died out around the 1960's when chemical fertilizer made it unnecessary
Lots of caves in Goreme - used and unused
The lower part of this fairy chimney is part of the hotel
We are still on our way up to the observation point
Going up further we see more caves and boutique hotels
View as we climb up
We still are not at the observation point - but we get a wonderful late afternoon view of Goreme
Still climbing - behind me is the remnant of a fairy chimney and you can clearly see the dovecotes carved into the wall
More unused caves
There are doors here so the caves may still be in use
This is the "Legend Cave Hotel"
Looks good doesn't it - typical combination of cave and building
We reach the observation pint and can look at Goreme below
The hill provides a panoramic view with Goreme to the west and north (you can even see Uchisar and its castle on the western horizon). On the west and south you see the valleys that surround Goreme
Walking to the edge of the hill on top of Goreme and we can photograph the valley towards the south
Close up of the valley
The west side of the valley is still in the sun. The large rocky outcrop on the horizon is the Ortahisar Castle
Zooming in on the Fairy Chimneys of this valley
Zoom in on the large rocky outcrop on the horizon is the Ortahisar Castle
We came back to this spot on the 22nd - this time there was a strange cloud formation on the horizon right on top of Erciyes mountain; it towers so high above the surrounding plain so no wonder it has its own weather system
Again
And again
Back to the photos from the 19th
Panning left we can just see on the east side the well cared lawn of the Tourist hotel
West side in the shade
The east side of the valley is still in the afternoon sun
Zoom in on to the east side of the valley to see all the caves and fairy chimneys
See the caves?
Same view as before but with a very wide angle
The Fairy Chimneys
More caves and chimneys
More Fairy Chimneys
Panning left (to the north) and Goreme enters the frame
More - well there are so many and so many different colors and shapes
Panning further left (to the north) we see even more Fairy Chimneys and their caves
Zoom out and panning even more to the left and we are looking down at the hotels that we saw earlier on our short climb
Zoom out further and we see the east side of the valley where the Open Air Museum is
Anther view of the same hotels (Oct. 22nd)
New hotels being built by existing caves
Panning left even more we see the rest of Goreme
Continuing to pan left we see more of Goreme with the town center next to the big parking lot at the top
Goreme
Goreme
The setting sun
The setting sun
The setting sun - now you can see Uchisar to the left of the setting sun
We go back down to the center of Goreme
Refik Çiftçi - our host at Nazar Borek Gozelme (all good food)
On the left is Mustapha the chef on the right Golbahar, the multilingual multi talented cook and hostess
We eat hear every evening except the last - we should have eat here every evening
Photos from the Kismet Cave House hotel - grape vines beyond the small parking lot
Photos from the Kismet Cave House hotel - grape vines beyond the small parking lot
Kismet Cave House hotel - the small parking lot and the fairy chimney in which the hotel's three cave rooms are
From left to right: Aaron, Faruk Keles, Nitza on top, Yael below, and Yakov
In front of the hotel
It maybe October but the sun was shining!
|
| Home |
|
19 |
|
20 |
|
21 |
|
22
Balloon |
|
22 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| דף הבית |
טיסה בבלון |