fairy chimneys and imaginary valley

Welcome to Cappadocia!!!! I got up at 430 in the morning to get in a hot air balloon ride...but the day is not over yet!!! As soon as we got back from hot air balloon, we stuffed breakfast in our mouths and ran out the door again to meet the Red Tour that will take us to the pigeon house/caves, fairy chimneys, and scenic points of Cappadocia.

Here is a picture of me in front of some smaller fairy chimneys. These interesting natural structures are all natural, and they are still eroding as we speak. Cappadocia use to be underwater and these rocks are still continuingto erode today....making new fairy chimneys while destroying others. The people have chosen to not interfere with nature, and let it take its course. When the houses are inhabitable, the government makes new housing in the valleys for the people to move to. Many of these chimneys are empty now, but you can still walk through them to explore.

This is one of my favorite pics of the day of the both of us. I just put the camera on a nitch [yay gorrillapod], on timer, and took the pic. The lighting is amazing in this part of the cave house. As for my outfit of the day, I blended my trekking gear with some cute stuff I bought a long the way. My Sherpa shirts never loose shape, and those Lucy walking pants are probably the best investment I made on this trip. The scarf was acquired from a cute vendor in Istanbul, and the Merrells are just essential for a day of climbing and cave exploration.

lucy walking pants, sherpa longsleeve shirt, merrell all purpose trekking shoes, scarf from istanbul, rei blue jacket

and two videos...!!!!

Follow the leader!!!!

Cappadocia is known for its pottery. The pots are used for food as well. The traditional dish is to cook veggies and meat in these clay pots, and then break them over fire with a sword. This factory also has artistic dishes, bowls, wine jugs, and decorative plates. The intricate detail of each item, all made and painted by HAND, is just incredible. We got to watch all the workers on shift painting, and Kat even tried her hand at making a small flower pot!!! *_*

Imaginary Valley is just what it sounds like. Looking at these natural land structures, what do you see???? The sun was setting so the images from the other view points are not as good as this one. Among the "images" that you can see are camels [this one], an open palm, a fist, and Napoleon's cap. The camel here is my favorite, it's so large and prominent!

pigeon cave house

 

We met this fun lot from the hot air balloon ride. The basket was quite large so we didn't get to talk to a lot of people until after we landed. After a glass of champagne and a long trek to find the pick up shuttle, we all started chatting and agreed to meet up for dinner at One Way Restaurant in the center of Cappadocia town. Gavin is the social butterfly of the group, and brought along some new friends from France as well. It was a really fun night of toasts, wine, and fairy chimney grilled meats!!!