Day 8 of Turkey Vacation: Red Tour of Göreme on August 26th, 2016

This morning, much to our displeasure, we found Metro company dropped us off at the Nevşehir Bus Station (which was on the outskirts of the city of Nevşehir), rather than in the center of Göreme Town. And to our greater displeasure, we were reminded to get off the bus not by the bus conductor, but by some travel agent guy at the bus station. (One possible explanation other than the bus company’s blatant unprofessionalism was that the bus conductor didn’t speak English very well, which we took it.)

Then we were informed (by this travel agent guy) that Metro company would provide us free shuttle to Göreme Bus Station, but we were supposed to wait at Nevşehir for the Istanbul bus to come, and/or that the shuttle vans of Metro company wasn’t currently available. Well, since he’s basically the only one at the station that spoke English, we sort of had to trust him.

That was quarter past 6 in the morning, and the whole bus station was literally a ghost town. The Istanbul bus and our shuttle van came at quarter past 7, and during that hour some magic happened (yes, I was summarizing it this way) and the travel agent guy somehow managed to persuade us to book tours with him, since he was offering better quotes than our hotel (80TL or 90TL for red tour, I forgot the details) and we hadn’t finalized all the tours with our hotel yet.

Conclusion, tours around Cappadocia should be better booked in person than through emails, and to do that it’s better to arrive in the afternoon (or evening) than in the morning.

Cave Hotel Cellar


Cave Hotel Cellar
The first time my hotel put two beds on separate floors.


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View of Mountain Rooms from Hotel Balcony


View of Mountain Rooms from Hotel Balcony


Cave Hotel Interior


Cave Hotel Interior


So after the Metro company van dropped us in Göreme and we checked into our hotels (thank God there were rooms available early in the day), we caught some naps and waited for the travel agency guy to pick us up at 10.

Since we booked the red tour only a few hours in advance, our tour was actually guided by a friend and licensed Turkish tour guide of that travel agency guy, who was driving a family car instead of the standard tour vans. It felt almost like a private tour.

The first stop of the red tour was Göreme Panorama, a spot overlooking the town of Göreme and its neighboring valleys, designated for people to take souvenir photos.

View from Göreme Panorama


View from Göreme Panorama


Uchisar Castle from Göreme Panorama


Uchisar Castle from Göreme Panorama


Tree of Blue Eyes in Göreme Panorama


Tree of Blue Eyes in Göreme Panorama


Göreme Town from Göreme Panorama


Göreme Town from Göreme Panorama


The next stop was Pigeon Valley, just outside the town of Uchisar. Since Göreme was in some sort of geologically basin, it’s hidden from distant view. People from Uchisar used to send pigeons to Göreme carrying military information. So to raise the amount of pigeons required for that messenger use, people dwell pigeon holes in the valley so that pigeons could hatch eggs, and since the valley was full of pigeons.
Pigeons at Pigeon Valley


Pigeons at Pigeon Valley


Town of Uchisar from Pigeon Valley


Town of Uchisar from Pigeon Valley


View of Pigeon Valley and Uchisar Castle


View of Pigeon Valley and Uchisar Castle


Uchisar Castle and Tree of Blue Eyes


Uchisar Castle and Tree of Blue Eyes


Landscape of Cappadocia


Landscape of Cappadocia


The next stop was Çavuşin Cave Village. It used to be a Greek cave settlement, but the population exchange after the Turkey-Greece war meant the caves were long abandoned.
Çavuşin Cave Village


Çavuşin Cave Village


Çavuşin Cave Mosque Interior


Çavuşin Cave Mosque Interior
This used to be a Christian Church, and our tour guide told us the concave on the left should point to the Christian Holy city of Jerusalem (or Bethlehem, I forgot). Later Muslims conquered this place and converted it to a mosque, and the big concave on the right should point to the Islamic holy city of Mecca. The problem was that, Google Maps told me these two cities were roughly the same direction.


Decorations inside Çavuşin Cave Mosque


Decorations inside Çavuşin Cave Mosque


Çavuşin Cave Mosque Interior


Çavuşin Cave Mosque Interior


Quran Reading Places in Çavuşin Cave Mosque


Quran Reading Places in Çavuşin Cave Mosque
Since it’s considered inappropriate in the Islamic religion to place Quran below one’s belly, they carved into the wall concaves to place Quran.


Çavuşin Cave Village (Converting to Hotels)


Çavuşin Cave Village (Converting to Hotels)


The tour guide told us more interesting stories along the way, about the expenses to obtain a “cave permit” to turn them into hotels, and so on.
Ground Layering outside Çavuşin Village


Ground Layering outside Çavuşin Village


Interior of Çavuşin Cave


Interior of Çavuşin Cave


Çavuşin Cave overlooking Çavuşin Village


Çavuşin Cave overlooking Çavuşin Village


Hotels by Çavuşin Cave Village


Hotels by Çavuşin Cave Village


Çavuşin Cave Village


Çavuşin Cave Village


Pigeon Holes outside Çavuşin Village


Pigeon Holes outside Çavuşin Village


After that we climbed to the top of that hill with some wonderful views.
View on top of Çavuşin Cave Village and the Aktepe


View on top of Çavuşin Cave Village and the Aktepe


Top of Mountain near Çavuşin Overlooking North Cappadocia


Top of Mountain near Çavuşin Overlooking North Cappadocia


Landscape of Cappadocia


Landscape of Cappadocia


Mushroom Rocks in North Cappadocia


Mushroom Rocks in North Cappadocia


View of Çavuşin Town and North Cappadocia


View of Çavuşin Town and North Cappadocia


View of Çavuşin Town and North Cappadocia


View of Çavuşin Town and North Cappadocia


Çavuşin Village


Çavuşin Village


Top of Çavuşin Cave Village


Top of Çavuşin Cave Village


Çavuşin Mosque in the Center of Çavuşin Village


Çavuşin Mosque in the Center of Çavuşin Village


Çavuşin Cave Village


Çavuşin Cave Village


Remains of Church in Çavuşin Cave Village


Remains of Church in Çavuşin Cave Village


Remains of Church in Çavuşin Cave Village


Remains of Church in Çavuşin Cave Village


Remains of Church in Çavuşin Cave Village


Remains of Church in Çavuşin Cave Village


Building Remains in Çavuşin Cave Village


Building Remains in Çavuşin Cave Village


Country Road from Göreme to Avanos


Country Road from Göreme to Avanos


The next stop was some pottery showroomworkshop near Avanos. The town of Avanos was famous for its pottery product (maybe this has something to do with the river that flowed through the town). But since I was pretty bad at pottery, I will skip this part.

Next stop of the day was lunch, buffet style in a restaurant (Han’s) outside Avanos. Since we were a small group that didn’t need to spend time waiting for people, we finished the tours pretty quick, and were the first to arrive at that restaurant.

Passing Table Mountain in North Cappadocia


Passing Table Mountain in North Cappadocia


Table Mountain and Farmland in North Cappadocia


Table Mountain and Farmland in North Cappadocia


Rock Formations in North Cappadocia


Rock Formations in North Cappadocia

After lunch the next stop was Pasabag, also known as Monks Valley, and it’s said Pasabag has the highest density of chimney rocks in the whole Cappadocia region. There our guide gave us a brief geological lecture about the formation of such rocks (different levels of erosion), and then we roamed the rocks.

Rock Formations in Pasabag


Rock Formations in Pasabag


Rock Formations in Pasabag


Rock Formations in Pasabag


Rock Formations in Pasabag


Rock Formations in Pasabag


Rock Formations in Pasabag


Rock Formations in Pasabag


Rock Formations in Pasabag


Rock Formations in Pasabag


A Very Steep Hill just Climbed


A Very Steep Hill just Climbed


Mostly visitors to Pasabag would just stay on the ground level, however, my exploration spirits found me this very steep trail up to the top the rocks.
View from Pasabag


View from Pasabag


Aktepe to the South


Aktepe to the South


Rock Formations in Pasabag


Rock Formations in Pasabag
Looks like waves.


Town of Avanos to the North


Town of Avanos to the North


Rock Formations in Pasabag


Rock Formations in Pasabag


Rock Formations in Pasabag


Rock Formations in Pasabag


Rock Formations in Pasabag


Rock Formations in Pasabag


Rock Formations in Pasabag


Rock Formations in Pasabag


Rock Formations in Pasabag


Rock Formations in Pasabag


Rock Formations in Pasabag


Rock Formations in Pasabag


Rock Formations in Pasabag


Rock Formations in Pasabag


Rock Formations in Pasabag


Rock Formations in Pasabag


Rock Formations in Pasabag


Rock Formations in Pasabag


Rock Formations in Pasabag


Rock Formations in Pasabag


Rock Formations in Pasabag


Rock Formations in Pasabag


Cave Dwellings in Pasabag


Cave Dwellings in Pasabag


Cave Dwellings in Pasabag


Cave Dwellings in Pasabag


Interior of Cave Dwellings in Pasabag


Interior of Cave Dwellings in Pasabag


Rock Formations in Pasabag


Rock Formations in Pasabag


Rock Formations in Pasabag


Rock Formations in Pasabag


Rock Formations in Pasabag


Rock Formations in Pasabag


The next stop was Devrent Valley, also known as imagination valley, where the rocks resemble different animals. Since I lack imagination of this sort, I won’t go into details.
Table Mountain in North Cappadocia


Table Mountain in North Cappadocia


Landscape of Cappadocia


Landscape of Cappadocia


Landscape of Cappadocia


Landscape of Cappadocia


Landscape of Cappadocia


Landscape of Cappadocia


Camel Rock in Devrent Valley


Camel Rock in Devrent Valley


Rock Formations in Devrent Valley


Rock Formations in Devrent Valley


Duck-Kissing Rock of Devrent Valley


Duck-Kissing Rock of Devrent Valley


Villages in East Cappadocia


Villages in East Cappadocia


Villages and Farmland in East Cappadocia


Villages and Farmland in East Cappadocia


Cave Dwellings in Ürgüp Town


Cave Dwellings in Ürgüp Town


The next stop was some wine shop. The whole Cappadocia region was covered by grape plants where there weren’t rocks. I don’t drink alcohol, and I was wondering how such massive alcohol production could possibly exist in a Muslim country.

The next stop was Family Chimney, where there were three chimney rocks of various heights resembling father/mother/child two parents and a child in a family of three.

Family Chimney


Family Chimney


Family Chimney


Family Chimney


View of Family Chimney and South Cappadocia


View of Family Chimney and South Cappadocia


Aktepe in the Distance


Aktepe in the Distance


Landscape of North-East Cappadocia


Landscape of North-East Cappadocia


Trails near Family Chimney


Trails near Family Chimney


Town of Ürgüp East of Family Chimney


Town of Ürgüp East of Family Chimney


There was some consensus among everyone in the car to skip Göreme Open Air Museum, which was the usual final stop of the red tour. Since it was an overnight bus the previous night, we didn’t rest very well (especially true for my father), so we said goodbye with our guide and went back to the hotel room and got more sleep.

I woke up some time after sunset and did a little exploration of the little town of Göreme.

Rocks of Cappadocia under Sunset


Rocks of Cappadocia under Sunset


Hotel Entrance


Our Hotel Entrance


Göreme at Dusk


Göreme at Dusk


Plaza in Göreme Center


Plaza in Göreme Center


Göreme Roman Castle at Night


Göreme Roman Castle at Night


Göreme Roman Castle at Night


Göreme Roman Castle at Night


Tower of Göreme Town Mosque


Tower of Göreme Town Mosque


Göreme Hidden Cave Hotel


Göreme Hidden Cave Hotel


After that, I took some more photos of the starry night, some of my most satisfying photos thus far
Starry Night of Göreme


Starry Night of Göreme


Starry Night of Göreme


Starry Night of Göreme


Town of Göreme at Night


Town of Göreme at Night


Milky Way


Milky Way


Milky Way


Milky Way


My Hotel at Night


My Hotel at Night


Stars Flying By


Stars Flying By


Stars Flying By


Stars Flying By


END

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