Turkey Part 2

Pamukkale: 'cotton castles'
Pamukkale is the home of the gleaming white travertine terraces which are made from limestone deposits formed when water from the hot springs lose carbon dioxide. The pools have been famed for their medicinal qualities since roman times. The local name for this site was the cotton caves. At the top was the Roman site of Hierapolis.
Arriving in Pamukkale the horizon was dominated by the white mountainside. It looked really strange because they looked like ski fields from a distance. We dumped our bags at the hotel and put on our walking clothes. The hotel had a swimming pool, a thermal pool, a sauna and spacious rooms. To have a spacious room was a welcome change because the last couple of rooms had been on the smaller side.
Our afternoon consisted of walking to the top of the cotton caves and exploring the ruins at the top. A condition of entry was that we removed our shoes to walk on the site, this wasn't for any religious reason but because the rocks were slippery. I also have a sneaky suspicion that it was to protect the site from the damage that shoes would inflict.
Up close the mountain looked like cotton candy but felt like rock. The flow of water had carved out multiple pools and multiple channels of water. Within the pools were ridges of rock that swirled in unpredictable patterns. Shell said that the patterns reminded her of a human brain. The mountainside was solid and a little bit sharp underfoot. It took us a good 45 minutes to an hour to navigate our way to the top of the cotton caves. It was, understandably busy, with loads of tourists doing the same thing. At various stages some of the pools were filled with water and were populated by adults and children alike playing in the water. The view at the top was spectacular; the whole valley was on display offset by the gleaming water of the cliffs.
At the top was a city of ruins and a lagoon. The lagoon was filled with the same water that had formed the cotton caves and was reputed to have healing properties. For centuries people had bathed in the water to cure ailments. Today, people would come and use the therapeutic waters for curing purposes. So, the water is full of sick people, got it.
We didn't swim in the lagoon but instead went for a walk amongst the ancient ruins. We toured the necropolis, the city of the dead. This sounds very zombie apocalypse but it was really all the tombs of the city long since gone. After a good walk around the site we made our way back into town and went for dinner.

That's not good
Waking up I the morning we discovered that about half the group had gone down with food poisoning including shell. Shell has a strong stomach so it must be pretty bad if she has succumbed. It was not good, we had a good four hour bus journey and at least five people were fighting to hold in their stomach contents. The only saving grace of this situation was that most people had purged themselves the night before but it was less than ideal. Thankfully, everyone made the journey without incident.

Train Journey ]
A lot of our travel is using public transport. On this occasion we were traveling by train to our next destination.

Kayaköy: ghost town
The small village of Kavakoy was away from the tourist trail and up in the hills. It was to be our base for a small hike to take in the beautiful scenery of this part of the Mediterranean. We were located at a small guesthouse which was catered just for our group. It had a small swimming pool, loungers and access to alcoholic beverages. We had a special welcome from a big spider on the pillow. Naturally, I was very brave and saved shell from this dangerous situation, with no thought for my own safety I captured the creature and took it to the guesthouse owner for identification. I didn't work out what it was called but I did determine it wasn't venomous. It looked like a small huntsman.
Another attraction of the area was the ghost town. As part of the population relocation of the 1920s there was mass migration, as a consequence many people abandoned their homes. The ghost town of Kavakoy is an example. It was a bit eerie to see row after row of abandoned houses marking the hill top. All the wooden parts of the building like the roof were long since gone and all that remained was the stone structure of the house (basically, outside walls and stairs).
We walked through the town hearing the story of their abandonment. One house had been restored to its original condition for comparison purposes. We were also told that many houses were painted blue because scorpions don't like the colour blue and stay away. I think that one needs a bit more research but it makes a nice story.
The other unusual thing was the camel tipping. On our walk into the town we encountered three adult camels and a baby one. They were for the tourists to take a ride for about 15 lira or for a photo for a tip. They had their own tipping box in front of them.

The hike
The majority of our day was to be taken up with a hike. We walked about 8 kilometres on the Lycian way to nearby Ölüdeniz to the blue lagoon. The Lycian way is regarded as one of the top ten walks in the world and the scenery was stunning. I found this to be a great hike, there was a little bit of challenge in a couple of places but mostly really easy. There was a gentle ascent for about a kilometre, steep in places but mostly flat. We followed the coast line where we had a fantastic look over the bay. The weather was hot but were shaded for a lot of the way by trees which was gratefully received. We arrived at the blue lagoon just in time for dinner.
Ölüdeniz was super touristy, we knew we were getting close because of the group of paragliders circling overhead. The beach itself was very pebbly but the water was of a reasonable temperature so we all went in for a swim. Getting into the water was fine but getting out was a bit of a problem. There was a drop off about a metre into the water and it was all pebbles. When I tried to get out of he water the pebbles would slip from underneath me. The only way to get out was to lower my centre of gravity and crawl out. So, with all the grace of a falling elephant I scrambled out of the surf. Not quite the James Bond surf emergence I was going for.
We did notice that the area was full of Brits holidaying so alcohol prices were higher than usual. There were also some topless ladies on the beach which was unbelievably insensitive, I half expected them to start complaining that the shadow of the mosque minuet was blocking their tan.

Trailing reaction
One of our journeys involved using the train service, because it was first come, first served we grabbed whichever seat we could and sat down. Our group was naturally separated and dispersed throughout the carriage. In my eye line was an old lady wearing a headscarf and a surly impression. She looked very serious and stern. I could just imagine her with a wooden spoon rapping you over the knuckles if you stepped out of line. One of our group got up and walked to the other end of the carriage to talk to the tour guide. She had been knitting and was completely unaware of the long piece of woollen string trailing behind her. It did look pretty funny and when I looked up I saw the headscarf lady laughing her head off. Her smile lit up the carriage.

Kas: Toughing it out, boat style
We did a small trip to Kas which was to be our next port of call. This was a really exciting part of our trip because we got to spend a night on a ship. A night on a boat meant two days cruising around the islands, swimming and snorkelling.
We were really pleased with the ship. We had set our expectations low but we needn't of. The ship was a good size, we had a cabin each and each cabin had a western style toilet. Luxury! The deck had ample room for us to lie on the deck to sunbathe with both shaded and unshaded areas. The bed was easily big enough for two. In fact it was probably the biggest bed we had slept in for the whole trip. Big enough for a starfish event.
We cruised around the islands, had a look at a sunken city, disembarked to explore a fortress and generally enjoyed the sights and scenery. Some of the group saw some turtles swimming in the water.
We anchored in a sheltered part of the islands about three or four times and had the opportunity for a swim. The water was a bit cold getting in but was ok so long as you kept moving. Shell got a floaty noodle and I joined her in the water. It was nice floating around together in the water looking at the mountains and the bay. The food was great and ate well.
In the evening we played Yahtzee and I got the chance to teach a couple of people how to play. It was a nice evening with everyone getting into the swing of things. Despite the ability to teach people the rules I had a complete inability to win the game ( coming last in one of the games).
The captain of our vessel did a great job of finding a very calm place to anchor for the night. You'd hardly know we were on the water at all it was so still. I said to shell, "you'll just experience a gentle rocking before you go to sleep tonight".

The Rescue
Early in the morning we were approached by a small tinnie with an outboard motor. After some chatter between the captain of our ship and the man in the tinnie there seemed to be a change in plans. Instead of breakfast we were going on a rescue mission. Our guide translated the chatter and explained that another ship had become stuck on the rocks. We'd been asked for a tow to get them going again.
Starting the engine up we followed the tinnie into another part of the bay. We found the marooned ship still in the water between two clusters of rock. It had trapped its keel on the rocks under the water when the tide went out and the ship dropped about quarter of a metre. The captains tied two ropes from our ship to their ship and both turn on their engines. The ropes were under so much tension I was really worried that they would break and lash back onto us. At that tension they would probably cut right through us.
It was quite surreal experience because the other ship was a tourist vessel as well. So, we had our group taking a picture of them in distress and the other ship's group taking a picture of us in the rescuer's boat. I'm sure Facebook will match up the pictures and we'll all become "friends".
Our ship tried for about half an hour to drag it out but to no avail. It was well and truly stuck. It was a bit worrying at various points because we started to drift to the rocks and the engine was really under a lot of strain. We returned to our original spot, had breakfast and a swim. Returning to Kas soon after we had had a really nice experience.


The nice restaurant owner
In stayed in Kas for another night. We used this as down time to get cleaned up and fed. We went to a local restaurant, a stone's throw from our hotel. The owner was really nice, he brought us loads of food to try and looked after us. We ended up consuming a real feast. Most paid for but a lot he threw in for free.

Angry Birds
We took the biggest of bus trips ever; three buses totalling about 9 hours of public transport. It was fair to say that no one was looking forward to it. Unfortunately, the buses were not as luxurious as riding the Kamil Kok coach but it is a tough act to follow. We definitely needed to play angry birds for a change but it wasn't meant to be. The scenery was a good distraction because we climbed up into the mountains. This was a different kind of terrain that we had previously unseen.
As usual with our travel experiences we encountered peculiarly. After about an hour and a half we pulled over to the side of the road and waited. We waited and waited and waited. It must have been about 25 to 30 minutes before something happened. Three women in headscarves walked up to the side of the bus placed their baggage in the hold and climbed on board. Then all hell broke loose. Another woman at the front of the bus spat words out in Turkish at the three women who got on. The three women erupted at her, shouting at her, shouting at the driver, shouting at anyone in the vicinity. Yabber, yabber, yabber they went. Our tour guide got up and said something to the women who blasted back at her and there was a to and fro for a bit. All our group, not understanding a word tried to make themselves as small as possible. I joked that they were all saying welcome abroad, a pleasure to be here, knowing full well that this was not being said.
When we got to the next bus stop we asked our guide what had happened. She explained that the bus was supposed to have picked up the women 20 minutes further down the road but had forgotten them. The three women in headscarves had caught up with the bus and were, understandably annoyed. The woman at the front of the bus had complained to these women for delaying the bus and the fight had erupted. Our guide had tried to calm things down and got told to shut up by the three women hence the to and fro. To make matters worse the bus driver had a go at our guide because he thought she was part of the arguing women. So, our poor guide copped a hiding twice for doing the right thing. The bus driver subsequently found out the truth and apologised to our guide. This was definitely a poor mans angry birds.

Protection
The other peculiar thing that happened on the bus ride was discovering that we were receiving protection. During the argument the bus driver was distracted and had to break sharply to avoid going into the back of another vehicle. Apparently, for two of our fellow passengers the whole sequence of events was a sign that we were going to die. Their solution was to pull out out a Koran and start reciting passages to avoid our fate.

Konya: It's how long?
Arriving in Konya, our final destination after nine hours we were all exhausted. We checked into our hotel to find that it was the very ordinary. After nine hours on a bus no one cared or certainly didn't have the energy to complain. The hotel was more functional than aesthetic, we were only staying one night , it was close to the restaurants and it was near the museum we were visiting in the morning.
Going out for a meal was the group priority and we found the closest we could. On the menu was a Turkish pizza option called a pide. Turkish, pizza is the usual bread and toppings arrangement but instead of being round it is oblong ( hollowed out bread loaf). The difference here in Konya is that they are a metre in long over three times the length we had seen before. Of course, I ordered one and it was delicious.

Konya: Barge of the Battleships
Konya is home to the Sufi sect of the whirling dervishes and their is a museum dedicated to their honour. We really enjoyed the whirling dervishes so we we glad of the opportunity to learn a little bit more. The museum consisted of a main mosque area containing tombs of the teachers of the sects and various religious artefacts. This was a very busy tourist attraction where the majority of the viewing public queued patiently to see the displays. I say the majority because there were a group of old headscarf wearing women who were barging their way through. Shell constantly had a hand at her back pushing her forward and a little boy got totally pushed away. It would have been nice if they were caught in a whirling dervish vortex.

Goreme: underground city
We boarded our bus early in the morning bound for Göreme in the Cappadonia region. One of the key attractions of this region is the underground city. The underground city was discovered by a chicken dropping down a well. I'm not sure how the chicken subsequently communicated its discovery but people found a huge underground city big enough for twenty thousand people. It was complete with church, monastery, grave site, storage rooms, stone doors and storage rooms for food. We were lucky enough to explore part of the underground city and see what it was like. There were small rooms, big rooms all linked with a maze of tunnels, some so low we'd have to bend over to get through.
At one point we were directed to a 85 metre ventilation shaft and a well. To demonstrate the depth of the well she poured some water down and everyone listened for the splash at the bottom. It took an impressive amount of time before we heard a response. It would have been particularly freaky if a voice had come back up, "oi, stop tipping water on me".

Goreme: fairy castles
Göreme has unique scenery, something that I have never seen before. Made out of volcanic ash, the rock formations have been worn by wind and water, they have been described as other worldly rock formations. They look like little turrets, rock termite mounds, and have been affectionately described as fairy castles.
Some of our group took a balloon ride over the canyons ( we didn't ) and described it as the best experience of the trip. Good job because they had to get up at four o clock to do it. We didn't do it because we have taken balloon trips before but I think we were both a little bit jealous. Talking about the balloon flight the night before someone asked how we would identify the balloon containing our group from the other 79 that would be in the air. The would be no company logo and I suggested that we get one in the shape of a kangaroo. We couldn't use an emu because everyone knows that emus can't fly.
We did get to see the rock formations from ground level when we went a valley walk. This was a small hike through the canyons and caves. We learnt that many of the "chimneys" housed pigeons which were "farmed" for their poo which was subsequently turned into fertiliser.

Goreme: home cooked meal]
One of the great things about intrepid is that organise local experiences. We were invited to a home cooked meal at a very nice lady who lived in a cave house. The cave house was a modern house that extended out from a carved out cave in the cliff face. It was a bit strange to be in Someone's house and to get a guided tour before being offered a meal but there you go.
The lady who cooked the meal was an award winning cook and it showed. All three courses were the best meal that we had eaten in Turkey so far. There was soup, a bean casserole with rice and a strudel type dessert. We had an apple tea to conclude and very full stomachs. We chatted with the nice lady and her family with our guide acting as a translator. It was a lovely evening.

Goreme: Sunset and dinner
After a day of just chilling out in the town, we were coming to the end of our time in Göreme and our trip. Some of our group were flying either from Göreme or Ankara rather than come back to Istanbul so we had decided to have our farewell dinner slightly earlier than planned. Before dinner we climbed the hill over looking the town to watch the sunset. Shell and I enjoyed watching the day end over the town of fairy castles, magical. We went to dinner with the whole group for the last time.
The restaurant was the poshest we had been to for the whole trip. In Turkey there is a special stew slowed cooked in a pottery jar. This added to the atmosphere and ambience because the only way to gain access to the food inside the jar was to break the pot with a hammer. Shell was well up for this and welded the hammer with precise and skill. It was a clean break and we got to eat that night. In case you were wondering the jars are specially constructed to allow the lid to break in one go whilst leaving the container mostly intact. The food had a slightly smokey taste and was really nice. We had a wine to accompany it.
After the meal the majority of the group went back to the hotel. We went out for what we thought was a quick drink with our guide and the youngest member of the group. As these things usually happen a quick drink turned into more than one drink and dancing. It was a really fun, if late, night out. Our plans to get up early and go to the open air museum vanished and were replaced by a big sleep in with a rough head. That'll teach us to try and keep up with a 24 year old. For her it was training for her 37 day contiki tour she was starting after the Turkey trip. For us it was a wipeout event.
One really nice story was our breakfast the next day. We arrived to restaurant at 9:45 when the breakfast was scheduled to finish at 10:00 only to find that everything had been packed away. Our poor little faces must have looked so sad because the waiter who was packing up took pity on us. After a very short conversation of very broken English we thought we had communicated that we would like some bread and cheese. What we got was a fully cooked cheese omelette with tomato, bread and two plates of cheese with a small container of olives. Way more than we expected.

The end of our trip and the Titanic
After a brief stop over in Ankara we arrived in Istanbul after another epic bus journey. We were all tired and keen to get to our hotels. We all said our goodbyes and went our separate ways. Our tour guide helped us get our coach tickets for our onward journey and bundled us in a taxi. We were sorry to say goodbye to Anyur our tour guide. She was nice, helpful and protected us from all the hassle of being a tourist. From his point on we were on our own.
The taxi delivered us to the door of our hotel where we received a very pleasant surprise. We had, accidentally booked ourselves into a five star hotel ; it must have been on special because we only paid $100 AUS for it. Still, what a great way to end the trip. It was a lovely room with all the facilities of a five star hotel. Better still we had a gym, fully equipped and ready to go. After so many hours of inactivity we were keen to get some exercise. One 5km run on the treadmill later I found out how little activity I had done and how unfit I had become. Ouch, that hurt.
The name of the hotel was the titanic and true to its name it was dressed up like a ship. Posters of the ill fated liner were on the wall, the porters were dressed up like sailors and ship parts were displayed around the lobby. Architecturally, the building was shaped like a ship, so from outside it looked like a bow of a ship had been stuck onto the building. It was a bit surreal. It seemed to me like an unusual choice of name for a hotel given the fate of the ship in question but we had a nice time.

Without our mother hen
We are missing our tour guide who we affectionately nicknamed our mother hen ( because we used to follow her around like little chicks). We've had to put our brain into gear to navigate our way to our next stop, Gallipoli. We arrived at the main bus stop where it is a bit chaotic, buses and people coming and going all the time. We were missing our translator because no one speaks English. Really glad we got the tickets sorted our the day before.