Goreme had been our final destination from the ill-fated night before. This ancient city has the most amazing scenery and many cave homes carved out of the rock formations (often referred to as Fairy Chimneys) - some dating back to the 4th century. We were staying in one such room cut out of he stone. Outside snow was falling all around.
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| The Hotel Rooms |
The day was spent exploring some of this amazing scenery including a 4 km hike through Rose Valley. After lunch we visited an unground city, one of many in this region. It was amazing how rooms and tunnels had been carved underground on different levels with ventilation shafts, places for animals to be kept, food storage, churches, large food preparation areas, living areas etc. As these cities were built as protection from invaders, there were large round stones to be rolled into place to lock off the entrances. Further protection was provided with traps such as holes and random windows which could be used to spear or kill with boiling oil, unwanted visitors.
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| See the holes in the rock? |
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| People used to collect pigeon poo in those holes |
In the evening, we took the opportunity to visit a nearby Caravansari which was the equivalent of a caravan park for travelling traders in the 1200s. On this occasion, we visited briefly to experience the religious dance of the Whirling Dervishes. After an errie introduction of music and solo singing, five men in large white skirts and a master wearing a black cape started a rythmic bowing to each other and then with one hand raised in the air and the other pointing down, expressionless, they spun around in circles for about 30 minutes. Some looked like frozen spinning dolls while others looked a bit intoxicated!
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