Monday 12th April
Got up to the sound of rain on a tin roof, but by the time we were ready to leave it had cleared up and the sun was shining. We found a bus going to Niğde – took 4 1/2 hours through mountain passes, steep gorges – very beautiful, very Anatolian in its desolation – lots of sheep and newborn white woolly lambs. At Niğde we had a köfte sandwich made with unleavened bread, and then got on a half-size bus to go to Nevsehir.
People friendly on bus and an oceanographer took us to the Sunar Palas Oteli, not bad, clean big room with lots of late afternoon sunshine. We explored slightly – the tourist info man literally did not know his left from his right and was no bloody good at all. We played backgammon in a ‘men only’ café. I even won a game – very unusual. We had supper down the road ‘biftek’, very tough, raki with the proprietor’s compliments and the man behind me kept on pinching and stroking my bottom, however hard I tried to move away! We played cards – fish and one-handed bridge until bedtime.
Tuesday 13th April
As we had the whole day at our leisure we got up later and found a dolmuş that took us 1 km away from Göreme – turned out to be a Turkish kilometre and more like 1 1/2 miles. Although it was windy and fairly chilly, the sun was shining and we got our first glimpse of the ‘fairy chimneys’. The erosion was extraordinary in places – whole hillsides in strata-ed variations of colour, mostly soft reds and yellows and white. You go down a steep cobbled road until you reach the valley, where you pay an entrance fee.
The hollow rocks are more like catacombs, with several rooms up and down, connected by low tunnels and passages. Most of them appeared to be chapels and churches, with altars and crosses painted above them, as well as beautiful rock paintings of religious scenes in some. One multitude of caves was a monastery with benches and tables hewn out of the rock, and a picture of the last supper above.
It was very tiring scrambling all over these things as they are steeply set in the hill, but well worth the effort.
The walk back to the main road was freezing, but luckily we got a dolmuş almost immediately. Back in Nevşehir, we had lunch at the same place as the night before and then caught a dolmuş to Ürgüp, very spectacular with its troglodyte dwellings still in use today, cobbled streets all set into an eroded hill.
Caught a dolmuş to Kayseri almost immediately – a Japanese freak was already in it but we parted company in Kayseri and were befriended by an economics student from Ankara university, who spoke atrocious English. He chose a foul hotel for us and promised to return within the hour to give us a guided tour of Kayseri, which he did.
Kayseri is biblical Caesarea – castle, mosques etc – but he did manage to get my blue beads in the delightful covered bazaar, complete with wool staple – rather dreadful and nauseating as they were skinning sheep there.
We got rid of him after treating him to a drink in a pastanese [bakery], where I had some baklava. Supper we had near the hotel and after the patron bought us chai and talked to us for a long time, with his friends. We tell them we are married and this guy asked, ‘how long we had been married?’ ‘ One year’, we replied. ‘Any children?’ ‘No’ – ‘if you’ve been married a year, what have you been doing all this time’! Very amusing character.
Wednesday 14th April
Got up late again, and after coffee went off to the hammam. J finally persuaded me to go, and I did feel dirty: he promised me towels, cubicles to change etc – all sounded ok; the reality was very different. I went down the stairs and found myself in a large shabby dark room, full of half-naked women and children and piles of clothes, and presided over by two old ladies, neither of whom spoke a word of English. It took me five minutes to get a towel, and I slowly undressed, not really quite sure what I was supposed to do. Still in my T-shirt, bra and pants, the oldest lady gave me an aluminium bowl and a dirty old comb and an old rag and led me into the steaming marble chambers.
They were absolutely full of naked women most of them vast and pretty nasty to look at. The attendant cleared the space for me by one of the urns and I undressed fully and had a ‘bath’ – it was lovely and warm and I quite enjoyed the washing part and tried to forget all about the surrounding ladies. A young girl tried to talk me into a massage but I didn’t have time and got out of the place as quickly as possible. It was obvious no European had ever been to that bath and my impression of it is: primitive.
After our baths, we went back to the market and wool staple and back to the hotel to pick up our bags. At the bus terminal we got chatting to very nice Turkish army officer – all in French. He brought us drinks so we took him to lunch. The journey to Elâzığ via Malatya, consisted solely of going up and down mountain passes (highest 1800 m) covered with snow; scenery rather breathtaking. After Malatya the moon came up, bright gold, and shortly after we crossed the Euphrates, very wide and splendid in the moonlight.
Elâzığ very small and we found a marvellous shenzy old hotel, called the Dögan Palace (central heating!). Huge place: we were on the fourth floor. We were starving and dashed out to have a börek before going to bed – I don’t think any Europeans ever go here, judging by the crowd that followed us and the stares we attracted, far worse than anywhere else.
Vicky's Big Adventure 