Cappadocia

Days 137 - 142

I try and head off early from my couchsurfing hosts house in Kayseri but Ahmet inists on making breakfast for me. I happily sit around and eat a delicious toasty sandwich made with local salami. 

Inbetween Ahmet's office, his car and apartment my drink bottle has dissapeared. I check all three and it is nowhere to be found. A plastic 1L soft drink bottle kind of fits in the bottle cage and that will have to do for the moment. 

I seem to only lose things when I stay at people's houses. When I am camping I don't seem to have this problem. So far I have kindly donated a sock, my towel, a small dry bag full of tea bags and now my drink bottle to various abodes inbetween Central Asia and Turkey. 

Anyway, back to the cycling, it is cool and overcast as I head toward cappadocia. I have spent some time checking out the maps and decide to take some back roads to Goreme, the town in Cappadocia where my next couchsurfing host lives.

For those that don't know, Cappadocia is a very popular touristy area in the middle of Turkey. It is famous for its 'fairy chimneys', cave houses, underground cities and churches carved into the rocks. 

The landscape is otherworldly and very interesting. According to the people that love and work in the area it is the best place in the world to go on a hot air balloon ride. 

The road to Goreme is mostly very quiet back roads. The weather stays cool, cloudy and windy all day, sometimes head wind and sometimes tail wind . After about 90km cycling (I think I took the 'scenic' route) I arrive in Goreme. 

After spending about two weeks in Eastern Turkey I find all the touristy stuff a little overwhelming.  The people working in the shop can speak English (!!) and try to sell me everything. 

Unfortunately due to impending darkness and the long distance, I didn't have much of a chance to stop and check out the amazing views but I get a good idea that the next few days would be full of jaw dropping vistas and some great opportunities for hiking and exploration. 

Once in town I call my CS host. Turns out he is in the next village, only about 5km away but up a very steep hill. My legs are fried. For the first time since the Pamirs I find myself pushing my bicycle up a hill. 

I find my CS host and it turns out that he actually runs a guesthouse. That evening he asks me about tours I want to take. I am a cheapskate. I let him know I plan on hiking and cycling around the area. 

The next morning I am told I have to leave and that my room is booked for tonight. I am not really sure if he is telling the truth or just a bit miffed that he will not get commission from any tours that I am 'meant' to take. 

I manage to find another CS host in Goreme who accepts my request at very late notice. He also runs a guest house. I am a little worried that the same thing will happen again. 

I have a third CS offer as a back up. Turns out I don't need it and late in the evening my host has a cancelation and I get given a fancy hotel room - I was originally going to sleep in the common area. 

During the day I check out the castle in Uçhisar. It is the highest point in the area and there are great views. I have a little explore around the bottom of the castle and relish in the very relaxed workplace health and safety laws. If this was in Australia there would be barriers up everywhere and safety fences. Instead I have the freedom to crawl through tunnels, edge my way across narrow ledges with steep drops and explore. 

I head back down to goreme, leave my bicycle at my new CS abode and grab lunch. I know I am in a touristy area but I astounded by the price of lunch. It is about three times the price of anything else I have bought in Turkey and not three times bigger or more delicious. 

I go for a little explore around the area before I meet up with a carpet store owner for tea. Fatih also offered me a couch to sleep on in his carpet store. He convinces me to go for a balloon ride and gets me a pretty good deal - 80 euro instead of the 140-150 euro that I had been quoted a few times. 

The evening is spent getting beaten at backgammon by Chetin, my CS host.

The next morning I am ready to go at 5.30am for my balloon ride. I quick trip to the base for a rushed breakfast and then we are whisked off to the launch site. 

I am already astounded at the number of balloons being inflated or already in the air. It is an ordinary Sunday morning in the shoulder season and there are heaps of balloons. At one point during the flight I counted 50 balloons in just one direction. 

The balloon ride is better than I expected. Despite the cloudy weather and lack of sunrise the view is great. Somehow the pilot manages to fly the balloon super low through the valleys, rising just in time to miss the large rock towers, he skims over the top of the fairy chimneys. I am stoked.

I spend the rest of the day exploring around goreme. I can't express how impressive some of the caves are. There are multiple rooms and floors, tunnels, steps and churches. 

Before I leave the following day I sit at the rooftop of the hotel where I am staying and watch the balloons float over the village.  On the way out of Cappadocia I go for a quick walk in love valley on the way to Kaymakli. 

There is an underground city in Kaymakli that goes down eight stories. Only the first four floors are open to tourists but it is still immpressive. 

I am not sure I would want to live down there, narrows passageways, very dark and so dusty. There are wine cellars, food storage areas, living rooms and very deep ventilation towers. 

I continue west along some back roads. I am heading towards a gorge that apparently has nice hiking. It's starts getting late before I get there and I look for a place to camp. I stop a few times to check out potential spots but I have lost my camping mojo. I don't know what it is, scared of being cold during the night, worried about the wind flapping my tent all night, just don't want to be alone?

In the end I cycle into a village an ask to sleep at someone's house. Dinner is amazing, lentil soup, bean stew, Turkish version of dolmades, pumpkin, fresh bread, pickled veges. After dinner a bunch of extended family members arrive. I am not exactly sure how everyone was related but there were four generations of family members.

I move on the next morning into the fog. The cycling is enjoyable, through the quiet back roads. I am feeling lazy and take a long lunch break. I stop at the top of Ilhara gorge and find an abandoned school building to sleep in. 

I go to put the kettle on and my stove doesn't want to play. Although petrol is super cheap and easy to find the problem is that the stoves get blocked sometimes. I spend an hour fiddling and pulling it apart and cleaning with no luck. I give up and build a fire to cook on. 

The next morning I descend through a village, into Ilhara gorge. The desire to hike and visit more caves has waned, I  am all caved out.  I only stop for a quick look at a church on the way out of the gorge. 

My lack of desire to camp is especially low now that I know I have to make a fire to have a hot meal. A $13 hotel room in Aksaray is just too tempting. Even the wifi works. For $13 I get lovely linen with a picture of a tiger on it and a view of a wall with air conditioners hanging out out, all in a row. 

14/11 Kayseri - Uçhisar: rode 92km

15/11 Uçhisar - Goreme: rode 4km

17/11 Goreme - Cakilli: rode 54km

18/11 Cakilli - Bellasirma: rode 52km

19/11 Bellasirma - Aksaray: rode 39km, ODO 4703km

Darende - Kayseri

Days 131 - 136

I wake up after an amazing, warm sleep in my hotel room. I have grand plans for the day - rest, type some blog, eat, read my book etc. I go out only for a short while to buy some food. 

In my little hotel room I fire up my stove and make some food. My warm showers host in Van had made stuffed capsicums on the stove top. I was sure this could be replicated on my camping stove. 

I set to work and soon enough I have some delicious stuffed capsicums ready to eat. I think this is the greatest thing I have ever cooked on my stove. 

The following morning it is time to head off. I have a couchsurfing host arranged in Kayseri, 230km away.  I wonder if I can get there in three days. Normally I would say for sure but there are 2 passes to go over and the previous week had brought small mileage each day. 

I make fast kilometres in the morning. The landscape has changed. The muddy, ploughed fields of the previous week has been replaced by loose, sandy soil, the occasional sheep herder out and about. 

I make it over the first pass easily and then I head back down to the plains, at a lofty 1600m. I don't want to camp this high. It will just be too cold. About an hour before sunset I make my way into a small village and find a lady out and about. I go through the awkward sign language conversation of 'do you know where I can sleep?'  She points me in the direction of her house. 

I am hustled into the warmth, given çay and food and made to feel at home. The hospitality of Eastern Turkey continues to live up to its reputation. Despite a massive language barrier the family seems genuinely happy for me to stay and very interested in all my photos. 

After a large breakfast (roast potatoes and gozleme) I head further west. The last pass between Kayseri and me is a breeze. After a small descent I continue along undulating steppe.  I have a quick stop in town to find some internet (couchsurfing arranging) and continue to another village. I find two women washing carpets at the water fountain. Soon enough I have a warm place to sleep tonight. 

After two pretty long days of cycling I am fairly tired. The family are great. I am literally tucked into my bed. 

I only have about 80km to get to Kayseri and I am pretty sure I can do it. My expected descent takes 70km to appear. I just put my head down and grind out the miles. Mt Erciyes looms ahead of me, I edge closer and eventually past the giant monolith. 

I have heard so many amazing things about cappadocia and the landscape. I was expecting the ride into the area to be a little more interesting than it was. Turns out I still have a days ride before I am in Cappadocia proper. 

Nonetheless, I am now in Kayseri, I have a great couchsurfing host and plan on a couple of rest days before continuing. 

Ahmet, my couchsurfing host is an architect and is very busy running his business. He largely leaves me to my own devices. I spend a couple of days doing my washing, eating vast quantities of food, catching up on emails, afternoon naps, reading my book. I even get to have a bath at his house!

I do manage to visit the castle in town. Kayseri is famous for its pastrami and I buy a little to eat for my lunch the next day. It tastes pretty good but is very salty and I am not really sure what all the fuss is about. It's not especially cheap at about $USD35 per kilo. 

9/11 Darende - Kaynarca: rode 72km, ODO 4277km

10/11 Kaynarca - Emegil: rode 82km, ODO 4358km

11/11 Emegil - Kayseri: rode 85km, ODO 4443km

12&13/11 Kayseri: rode 17km, ODO 4460km

Further into Turkey

Day 124 - 130

Thankfully there are blue skies when I leave Severk. I feel well rested after nearly a full day and night tucked away in my hotel room. It was nice being warm and dry but it has ended my run of 42 nights of free accommodation (camping, couch surfing and warmshowers). 

I have now left the main highway and take a smaller road west.  I catch a ferry across lake Ataturk. 

The sun gives way to clouds and then showers in the afternoon. I manage to set up my tent inbetween showers but unfortunately I have only three quarters cooked my dinner when the thunderstorm arrives. I eat it in my tent. 

I am relived it's not raining in the morning and head off.  It's not particularly intersting cycling. I am aiming to sleep just a short distance from Adiyaman so I can use some internet in the morning and head out of town in the afternoon. 

I find a sweet spot inside and abandoned building. I will be dry if it rains. Of course the night I have a dry place to sleep it doesn't rain.  

I have been trying to decide whether to catch a bus part of the way to Cappadocia. I don't mind the cold weather too much as long as I am dry. The problem is that it has been raining on and off nearly every day for the last five days. I figure I will check the weather in Adiyaman and decide. 

I arrive in Adiyaman and ask at a hotel if I can use the wifi. I spend a great couple of hours skyping mum and dad, checking email and of course planning what I am going to do. It looks pretty cold but the weather is great today. I finay decide to cycle to to Malatya and take a bus from there. The people at the hotel don't charge me for the internet. 

I grab a kebab before I leave town and head uphill, out of town. My campsite that night is next to a building on a grape and olive farm. I have a great view of lake Ataturk and the sunset is lovely. 

I have a terrible sleep - it is pretty cd and great bug gusts of wind make my tent flap all night. By the morning the wind has not eased. 

The riding today is tough but beautiful. The quiet road winds it's way up, over and around the tree lined hills. However the wind is biting and relentless. 

At about 1.30 I am invited into a house for chai. The family are tobacco farmers. They want to know where I am going. Malatya I tell them. 'Malatya tomorrow' they reply. Sounds good to me. Çay and gozleme is soon placed in front of me. 

The wind the next day has eased only a little. The family tell me that it is too cd and I should stay another day. At that rate I would be here until next spring. I head off. 

I head towards the highway, stopping briefly in a small town to try and find some internet to check the weather and arrange some couchsurfing. A man that owns the hardware store kindly let's me use his computer for a little while. 

I decide to push on for Kayseri and not catch a bus from malatya. The weather forecast shows cold nights, cool days and sunshine. Shouldn't be too bad right?

I camp in an orchard of apricot (I think) trees. The leaves are chades of yellow and brown. It looks as though it will only take one big gust of wind to make the branches bare. 

It's cold tonight. I can't keep my toes warm. One pair of socks. Nope, not good enough. Add another pair of socks. Toes still freezing. Wrap both my feet in my jumper. Bareable, but still not particularly comfortable. There is a heavy frost on my tent in the morning. 

The road north brings more beautiful autumn colours and little traffic. I grab a kebab in town and push north. It says cool all day. I camp on the edge of a hill, surrounded by trees with very brown leaves. I prepare for another cold night. 

In the morning I have to smash the ice in my water bladder and melt it to make my tea. The sun stays behind my hill for longer than I like and it is past 9am by the time I hit the road.

I make it over a 1800m pass before lunch time. I road keeps undulating, past a brown land.  By 2pm I have barely made it 40km. I am tired. I haven't had a decent sleep since my hotel stay in Severk. I stop in a town and ask about a hotel. 30km further on to Darende I get told. I ask someone else. Same reply. 

I decide to go for it, see how far I get. I do not want to sleep outside tonight. Thankfully I lose much of the elevation I gained in the morning. I cycle the 30 km at a cracking (for me) pace and make it to town by 3.30pm. I find a hotel and negotiate a reasonable price. I am staying two nights. I need a rest. I haven't had a proper day off the bike since I left Van.

1/11 Severk - just before Narince: rode 58km, ODO 3919km

2/11 just before Narince - a bit before adiyaman: rode 45km, ODO 3965km

3/11 a bit before - after adiyaman: rode 28km, ODO 3994km

4/11 a bit after adiyaman - house in the middle of nowhere: rode 38km, ODO 4034km

5/11 house in the middle of nowhere - a bit past dogansehir: rode 56km, ODO 4089km

6/11 a bit past dogansehir - past develi: rode 49km, ODO 3138km

7/11 past develi - darende: rode 64km, ODO 4203km