Arriving in Goreme; one of the main tourist towns of Cappacdocia, we are immediately struck by the amazing rock formations that have made this area so famous. The rock formations originate from porous soft rock produced from nearby volcanos. Over time, harder layers create a ‘top hat’ effect, sheltering the column below it which is made of softer rock. The effect is columns of rock, known as ‘fairy chimneys’. These are dotted amongst a Martian landscape of eroded rock valleys.
We eventually find our ‘pension’ and head out for a cheeky kebab. It’s at this point, after three weeks of these things that I can truly say I have had my fill of these meaty treats. No more will I long for a kebab at 3am in the morning on the way home from the pub.

I love alarm clocks at 4 am, but usually it only lasts 10 seconds before I click it off and onto snooze. As our pension was 50m away from a mosque, the morning call to prayer sounded like someone speaking directly in my ear. At least this morning, the imam remembered to turn off the PA system before answering a phone call or having a chat with someone next door. Over the next few days our body clocks seemed to align themselves to this morning ritual.

The previous night we had decided to see the hot air balloons take off the following morning, therefore we were getting up 40 minute later anyway to walk up the nearby ridge. It was a surreal seeing them fill the sky against the sunrise. We counted over 50 balloons colouring the sky; must be crazy in the height of summer with over 150. Having debated the cost of doing one, we decided we couldn’t leave without doing a flight ourselves.
After a morning sleep in, we did some organisational tasks like booking bus tickets and accommodation for the next few days, before heading out to find some transport for our afternoons activities.
After 2 weeks in a car, we settled on a scooter for the 12 km round trip to see the sights north of Goreme. Having done some time behind a nice white Vespa in Croatia, our crappy Yamaha was slightly below par. Massive crash helmets gave us a semblance of safety, and the motto ‘steady she goes’ played through my head as we scootered around the countryside.
Visiting Avanos, we viewed some local pottery, and purchased a massive bag of cherries. At 4 NZ dollars a kilo they are hard to beat (funny tummies the limiting factor). As storm clouds rumbled in the distance we then headed off to a less visited ‘open air museum’ at Zelve, where there’s valleys of abandoned fairy chimney and cliff homes, as well as churches. Primarily a monastic retreat in the 9th to 13th century, it was inhabited until 1952. It was amazing to see whole houses and church’s carved into cliffs.
After a healthy lunch, costing 2 dollars (salad sandwich with non descript luncheon) we scooted off again towards Devrent valley which has the best volcanic cones in the area. At this point the tourist buses are starting to pile up. A very unfortunate consequence of the majesty of the area – it attracts everyone.
Heading back toward town on our scooter we stopped at various panoramic stops as the sun started to go down, turning the valley a brilliant shade of red.

Since the following morning was a 4.40am pickup for hot air ballooning, we decided on an early night. Who needs an alarm when you have the call to prayer.