Cappadocia

I spent the rest of Tuesday afternoon wandering around the lake whıch was idyllic with its mountain backdrop. Meanwhile Justin and most of the rest of the group went on a bike ride which was later described by someone as the most dangerous thing that they had ever done. They had to come back on steep potholed roads in the dark, no helmets wıth thunder and lightning all around them!
On Wednesday we headed off early to travel to Cappadocia which has to be the most amazing landscape that İ have ever seen. Peaks and caves made of soft volcanic ash that people have hollowed out to build houses out of. İt ıs weird and white and ghostly - like landing on another planet. We stopped on the way to look at an underground city. There are 200 of these over Cappadocia and were first settled by the Hittites more than 2000 years ago. We went down 55 metres I think to see complete houses - they lived underground to hide from theır enemies.
We arrıved ın Göreme late afternoon. Our hotel was high up in this amazing village with wonderful views from our bedroom and the terrace.
Yesterday we visited the Open Air Museum which contained churches from the earliest days of Christianity which had been hollowed out of the rock, several with beautifully preserved frescoes. In the afternoon Justin went with the others on ATVs - 4 wheeled motor scooters, tearing around the slopes. And this was after he had begun the morning with a hot air balloon trip.
We all went to a Turkish Nights dinner in an another village - set up for tourists wıth folk dances and belly dancing. But it was fun abd we finished off the evening smoking water pipes at the Flintsones late night dive (built into a cave of course).
Today we go to Ankara to catch the night train to Istanbul. We shall be very sad to leave the rest of our group.