The Giants' Playground

Göreme, Turkey

Cappadoccia is a land of giants and elves, a fairyland come true. At first the giants drew some sketches drafting the layout of the numerous valleys. However, at some point, they must have got bored. That's when they started to play with their pencils and pens before leaving them all in disorder. The elves came after and dug holes and tunnels and caves adding more mystery and magic to the place. I'm sure they played hide and seek a lot. The people came only later. They took over the caves, dug more and painted. They cut entire churches into the rock and painted them with the most vivid colours.
It is for good reasons that the area is an open air museum and so extremely touristy. The place is extremely accessible, the scenery is spectacular, the walking fantastic, the churches fabulous.


From Damascus it was a smooth trip to Göreme. The busride to Antakya took about 8 hours with a sprint at the border to pay the visa fee and return to the control booth in time to catch the bus. It was cold, freezing cold at 2am in the morning and for some reason the bank counter was way off the border checkpoint. Then, after 4 hours of shivering in the freezing bus terminal, I boarded the bus to Kayseri for yet another 8 hours ride. The scenery was amazing, from the hills covered with olive trees, to the citrus groves along the shoreline, then uphill over and past spectacular mountains. Another hour wait in Kayseri, then another hour on the last bus and I arrived in Göreme. Piece of cake.
It was pitchdark and chilly but the clear sky promised a beautiful morning.


Next day was a beautiful morning indeed, and so were all mornings but one during the week I spent there. I did not have so much fun since I had left Petra. My kind of fun, of course. Days of hiking and wandering around freely in the fresh air, enjoying the beauty and tranquility of the spectacular scenery. Days begun before sunrise and finished reading cuddled up in my warm sleeping bag soon after it got dark.

After just one gorgeous autumn-like day the weather turned abruptly. Winter came with its frosty breath and white dust. A thin layer of snow blanketed the scenery adding a touch of magic to the already fascinating surroundings. The freezing temperatures ensured clear, crisp days allowing the fine snowpowder to melt slowly in the bright sun. The valleys were peaceful and beautiful. They were straightforward at times and then again resembled labyrinths. They were also mostly used as orchards. Apples, pears and quinces. The fragrance of quinces left intentionally on the trees or on the ground floated in the air for days.

My frozen feet and fingers did not hinder me to get up early and welcome the sunshine every morning, watching the hot-air balloons struggle to rise and scouting for new angles and photo locations. Neither did a bad cold. And I usually only returned from my walks and wandering after sunset. But I have to confess I was lazy, hardly ever carrying my tripod around. Oh well, I decided the -10 degrees Celsius and the hurting-frozen fingers and toes were a good enough excuse :-) It wasn't my playground in the end, but the playground of fairy-tale creatures who have just left it behind for us to enjoy.