The early bird lives in Cappadocia

We're really no longer used to getting up early and we enjoy this fact every day - just not here in Göreme. On the way here we had to get up at 5:00 a.m. because we wanted to watch birds in the Sultansazlığı National Park and they don't care much about our beauty sleep. Not only were we sailed across a freshwater lake in a metal boat in a temperature of 7°C, but we were then on the road with an ornithologist to look for flamingos in the neighboring saltwater lake.

Since the flamingos are rather shy, we unfortunately only got within about 70m of them. Thanks to the binoculars he had with him for us, the inner feathers were a real blaze of color even at this distance. The ornithologist also showed us a number of other birds native there, from bee-eaters to black storks - all from a distance and therefore without photo evidence, except for the ibises.

Then we continued to one of the highlights in Cappadocia: bizarre rock formations, the so-called fairy towers near Göreme. Caves have often been built into the towers; some of them, up to 800 years old, were inhabited until a few decades ago. Slightly remote from the very touristy villages, in the middle of a dreamlike and somewhat unreal landscape and surrounded by loving cottage gardens, you can hardly imagine a more peaceful place to live.

A former resident of one of these rock dwellings now runs a small, very loving tea house there. He was born in this fairy tower, four generations of his family lived in this rock dwelling, some of them twelve. He now lives with his wife in a normal house in the village - he liked life better in the fairy tower, he told us when he said goodbye.

We also used the local tourist infrastructure to explore one of the many valleys on horseback. It was probably a good thing that the horses knew what to do with us, otherwise two out of three expedition participants might not have returned safely.

It was time to get up early again for the sunrise, which hundreds of tourists admire every day from hot air balloons. It was certainly just as beautiful from the ground as it was from above.

Then we went back to Ankara, dropped off the rental car and said goodbye to our companion since Istanbul, which didn't happen without tears at the airport at four in the morning. Traveling as a threesome definitely felt different: there's no question that it was great to have visitors from home, see each other again and experience things together. Now we're looking forward to slowing down again, putting up the hammock and letting our minds wander.

Robert