We flew - you can catch an overnight or all-day bus from Istanbul to Goreme, or you can fly to one of the nearby airports. After doing some research and seeing the cost of the bus and the cost of the plane was virtually the same, we elected to fly - it meant paying for an extra night's accommodation but it would be far easier and shorter to travel, plus it gave us an extra potential morning for the balloons. We flew out of the same airport with the same airline we arrived with - Sabiha Gocken, and Pegasus. We caught the Bosphoros ferry across and caught the bus to the airport, the reverse of what we had done when we arrived. Checking in at the airport was a bit of a trial - security screening as soon as you enter the terminal, where we got hauled out because Sasha's camera was in a checked luggage bag (they were concerned about the battery, but decided it was ok); then the guy behind the counter didn't like the camera being in the checked bag and also didn't think he could count the big purple backpack as one bag with the little bag zipped onto it like we've done for many flights, but relented.
After all this I had a bit of a silent hissy fit I guess its fair to say in the airport - not only was the checking in stressful, but it dawned on me that for the next 4 months all the stress was going to be on me for all the transport links and accommodation details because I had all that information and it was all in my name. I hadn't had a chance to relax or unwind since finishing work only a matter of days ago and I didn't like the idea of being in a semi-permanent state of stress for the next 4 months having to keep on top of all our next moves. Sasha and I talked it all over and we're going to take turns at it all wherever possible, so that makes me feel better!
We had McDonalds before boarding the plane as we didn't know when we might be able to get dinner (got a Kofta Burger!), but it turns out our super cheap airfares came with a provided sandwich roll which looked fairly substantial (we kept it for later as we were still full!). The flight took us over Ankara (could see it from the air) and we flew to Kayseri, one of two airports relatively near Goreme and as we landed there was a huge mountain visible next to the city. The place we were staying at had offered to arrange a shuttle for us from the airport to our accommodation in Goreme, and we had said yes but had not been sure if it would be there. It was, and it took us and a minivan-load of others to Goreme with ease.
Goreme was one of the few places that we were prepared to splash out a bit more to stay in somewhere a bit nicer than a hostel - in particular, we wanted to stay in a Cave suite as Goreme (and Cappadocia in general) is well known for its Cave Hotels. It took some research, but we found an actual cave room (not just one made of stone blocks) for what seemed ridiculously cheap at a place that had no reviews. A little unsure we booked it - and as we discovered, the reason the place had no reviews when we booked it was the Hotel had been only been open for a month or two when we booked. This was also the reason we also got the ridiculously cheap price.
This place was amazing - the bed half of the room was hewn into the rock, while the entrance and bathroom half was mostly built up with stones. We got breakfast provided each morning, the location was great, but above all was the staff. The hotel manager Jay was super talkative and also super helpful, as was his cousin Mohammed. Nothing was a problem, they would go out of their way to help us and as the days went on we got to know both of them really well. They even let us check out later than the normal time, and they even offered to let us have showers if we wanted before we departed in the evening after we checked out that morning. No question that the Hotel, Jay and Mohammed really helped make our trip - it was almost a polar opposite to our accommodation in Istanbul. Guess what? both places virtually cost us the same!
Our whole entire reason for coming to Goreme was to do the Hot Air Ballooning. Sasha had done it once before, but I had not - the reason we wanted to do it in Goreme was because not only was it one of the 'cheaper' places to do it, but that a huge number of balloons went up each morning so you'd get a view of more balloons also. Sasha did all the research into the companies - there was a lot, but she zeroed in on Butterfly Balloons because they had a good reputation, took off away from other balloons for increased safety, and had fewer people per balloon basket than most which did mean they were not one of the cheapest options, but seemed a very good option when all things were considered. Because the hotel offered to do the booking for us, we decided to let them book through Butterfly for us. A few weeks out from the trip our hotel told us Butterfly had increased its prices (by a relatively substantial amount), so Sasha emailed Butterfly to see if something could be done - because Sasha had enquired previously they said they would honour the original pricing they had indicated, so we booked directly with the company. Sometimes the ballooning gets cancelled because of the weather conditions (we know someone who was on a tour and missed out on the ballooning because the one day they had for it, it was cancelled) so we booked it in for the first morning we were in Goreme, and decided we"d stay for a few more days in order to give ourselves some back-up mornings.
But it was go the first morning we were there! We got picked up just before 5am, picked up others around Goreme and then headed to the Butterfly headquarters. We checked in, paid, and then had a fairly substantial breakfast (we'd heard the breakfast was pretty nothingy but that wasn't the case with our company!) before we headed to the vans that would take us to our respective balloons. On the way there we saw a number of balloons from other companies being blown and lit up already - I mentioned to Sasha that we shouldn't expect screeds of balloons in the sky this morning because it was not peak season, a comment to which Sasha didn't take kindly as part of the appeal was to see a sky full of balloons also. Arriving at the take-off site, we watched our balloon being lit up and other balloons taking off before we hopped into our basket. The basket is a rectangle shape, divided into 5 compartments - a middle compartment where the pilot and fuel tanks sit, and 4 compartments (2 each side of the middle compartment) which hold 4 people each. Once the other balloons around us had taken off, our pilot gave us a quick safety briefing and we lifted into the air with a slight sideways lurch but then we floated gently upwards.
Absolutely magic. I would definitely recommend, and would do it again.
We'd pretty much left the rest of our first day free following the ballooning - but our Hotel Manager Jay suggested that perhaps we could go do some of the Red Tour attractions by ourselves (there were 3 tour itineraries in Goreme, Red, Green and Blue). So this we did - we walked to the Goreme Open Air Museum, which was a museum made up of some of the old houses and churches that had been hewn into the weird-looking "Fairy Chimneys" or pointed rock formations in Goreme. A lot of the paintings inside the rock churches on the walls and rooves were still visible, and were Christian in nature - they pre-dated the Ottoman takeover of Turkey.
Originally when we heard about the Red and Green tours we were very ho-hum on them, but the Green one sounded the more interesting of them. After talking to Sam and Steve in Berlin before the night of our departure to Turkey and their Goreme experiences, they recommended a visit to one of the underground cities in the area and the Green Tour was the easiest way to do that. So with the help of Jay, we booked onto the full day Green tour. After pickup and picking up everyone else, we headed off to a Panoramic viewpoint of Goreme, and then to Pidgeon Valley where we were taken into what essentially was a fancy Jewellery store where we saw Turkish Turquoise and also a new stone called Zultanite which changed colour in the different lights. This visit to the store was interesting in a way, but also annoying in a way as everything was well beyond our price range and there were lots of salespeople follwing us around trying to interest us in a sale. We popped across the road to the Pidgeon Valley viewpoint much earlier than most of the group and took in the views, although our tour guide never did tell us much about it!
One thing we had booked in before arriving in Goreme was to do a Turkish Night, where we'd have dinner and see a variety of Turkish dancing. We did this the same day as the Green Tour, so after freshening up following the Green tour at the appointed time we headed down to reception to await a minivan to collect us like everything else had. Instead we were bundled into a car driven by two Turkish Gentlemen whom we'd seen around the hotel but who never said anything until we arrived at the destination and told us pickup was 10.30pm. We wandered inside the complex which was hewn into a rock hill, were shown to our table in one of the arms that surrounded the circular stage, ordered our food and we were asked what we'd like to drink. We said we would like the red wine, and Sasha also asked for Raki - the Turkish spirit that is similar to Greek Uzo. We expected shots of Raki, but got a 350ml bottle! as this was mixed with water it went quite far and we could have had just that. But there was a 1.5L bottle of Turkish Red wine on the table already, and the couple also at our table did not drink alcohol so it was all ours if we wanted - and since we would have to pay for the Raki I was determined to make a decent dent into the provided wine also, even though I knew the morning would likely have consequences! The wine by the way was okay but kind of watery tasting.
We visited Sunset point a few times - the first was sunset the first sunset we were in Goreme for, athough we got up on the hill a bit late to fully watch it disappear (mind you it didn't actually look like much) but the snowy mountain in the distance behind the point went pink. The main time we went up was sunrise the morning after the Turkish night to watch the balloons take off - we were not the first up there that morning, but we staked a good spot and after a time we had a multitude of people standing behind us wanting the same spot we had! We were able to sit on our little point and watch the balloons go up in two distinct waves. The last time we went up was the last day while waiting to leave Goreme, where we sat for ages in different spots just enjoying the scenery and leisurely wandering around.
Sam and Steve had told us it was probably inevitable that we'd end up in a Turkish Rug/Carpet shop at some point, but recommended we go to one in Goreme which was run by and Aunt of Sam"s friend and they had been to when they were in Goreme. So we decided why not, expecting to go in, have a small chat with Ruth the owner and have a look around. We got a lot more than we bargained for here however - we showed up at the shop when Ruth was in the middle of inspecting carpets to buy from salespeople. She greeted us, we introduced ourselves, she sat us down and had apple tea brought for us and carried on dealing with the salespeople in Turkish- narrating it for us in English as she went along. Instead of a quick look around the shop and a quick chat, what we got was a very long nice chat and an introduction into the world of Carpets and carpet dealing. It was peak buying season at the moment, and no sooner had the salespeople left than another set arrived! She even had the salespeople roll out a carpet just for our benefit, a lovely one made of silk - that would retail at US$14,000!
Ruth specialises in old carpets, and the 2nd salesperson rolled out a small carpet which to me looked quite rough, uneven and ugly - but Ruth thought it was lovely, however the asking price was too much. She then explained why she thought it was lovely - traditionally carpets were hand made by ladies as part of their marriage dowry. and while imperfections and unevenness might detract from a piece looking nice it told a story - the pattern was always chosen by the weaver and often reflected their hopes, dreams or moods; they handspun all of their own wool, and sometimes there can be a random colour change in a carpet in part of the design which might be because they decided they wanted more of one colour partway through, or because they couldn't get more of the same colour - each old carpet told someone's personal story, something I had never even thought of. Any neat and perfectly symmetrical carpets in either pattern or form were likely to be modern and either made to a contract pattern, or made by machine. The finer the detail and appearance of the weaving of the carpet, the longer it would have taken, and the more the carpet costs accordingly.
Different patterns and colours are also indicators of different areas or regions. Certain parts of Iran only make carpets in whites and blues, and Turkmen carpets which come from Afghanistan almost always have a vibrant red base colour often with navy blue patterning. We had mentioned to Ruth that we would not likely be in a position to buy any carpets, and she said that was no problem but was happy to have carpets laid out for us to look at to see the different styles as she explained the different aspects of Carpets and answered our various questions. We would have spent an hour easy in her store, and it was great to hear her talk about her passion for the carpets and explain it all in very easy to understand terms. I do feel quite bad that we were not in a position to buy something, both in terms of funds nor the ability to carry anything (she sold cushion covers as well) in our already at-capacity bags. But I am forever thankful for the unexpected window into the carpetry world and should we ever be in a position to need or buy a proper carpet rug, we certainly will have a good idea of what to look for and what prices to expect!
In terms of Food and Drink, we were a bit spoiled in Goreme. Not only with the provided breakfast buffet from our Hotel, or the provided breakfasts or lunches on the trips and tours we did, but on some of the food we chose ourselves. The first night we were in Goreme we went to a restaurant called Omurca Art Cafe that Sasha had looked up - the appeal was that the restaurant was in the chef's own house, the food was highly rated and there would be a bunch of cat's there. All of that proved to be true - to get to the toilet you had to pass through the chef's bedroom, the food was amazing and tasty and there was a bunch of cats around. We chose a table where you sat on cushions because there was a cat there already, but we inadvertently scared him away. After a bit I went over to another cat asleep next to another table, patted him for a bit and went back to our table where we were given a bottle of the chef's homemade red wine (very nice!) and some cheese. The asleep cat came over to our table and tried to get at some of the cheese, and shortly another cat came over and started hanging around. I kept both occupied with pats and scratches under the chin, to the point where by the time our mains arrived both cats were fast asleep on my lap and didn't even notice there was food on the table! One cat was called Osman, and I think the other one was called Suleyman - both traditional names from Ottoman times. Because both cats were asleep on me, Sasha dished up my plate which I would eat from while holding it away from the table and Sasha would pass me my wine to drink from when I wanted it! This was better than any Cat Cafe and the food (a local specialty version of Ravioli with mint, and the chef's special of beef, tomato and onion) was incredible.
We tried Pide here (a kind of Turkish Pizza bread) after an unsuccessful search for Gozleme, which took was yummy and rather filling - so much so that we only ate half, and took the rest away to have for dinner that night. At the Turkish Night Sasha and I both had the Lamb dish, and there was plenty of dips and bread to partake in too. Lunch for the Green Tour was a Chicken Kebab Tile, which while it might not have been the best dish was certainly tasty - and we also had a zingy tomato soup beforehand.
As for drink - mostly softdrinks, juices or Turkish Tea. However the champagne following the Balloon trip was the first foray into alcohol so far, and we did have some Turkish wine as well - at the Cat Restaurant (homemade Red, was very tasty and you couldn't tell it was homemade) and at the Turkish Night (a watery Red from a 1.5L bottle), plus Raki. That combination of Raki plus the Red Wine at the Turkish night did not do me any favours that night or the next morning - that was the morning we decided to watch the balloons go up too, I was okay for that but either side of it I was not for a time. Hopefully this is a lesson to me not to mix too much drink nor consume too much as paying for it the next day is not something I really have the luxury of with so much to happen on this big adventure of ours! Definitely no more Raki for me while in Turkey. As yet - I have drunk no beer either, which is interesting.
Other Things
I'm not proud of my hangover following the Turkish Night, I've had worse and luckily it did not have a massive impact on our day (did have a little bearing). Nothing much else for me to note for Goreme I don't think, other than the place looks amazing and other-worldly at the same time - and there were a few cats patted around the place too!
Summing Up
But there's more of Turkey to have explored - which we have - and hopefully I can post that up soon. I do get the feeling keeping this blog up to date is going to be an incredible mission, maybe insurmountable but I'm going to try - I might have to dial a lot back on the detail and gloss over a lot of things perhaps. We'll see!