Tag 32 - Don Curry fights with a kitten

Don Curry likes animals. Basically. Actually without exception (except bedbugs, jellyfish, tapeworms, mosquitoes, ...). So almost without exception. And Don Curry realizes that animals also like him. They surely feel that he is generally positive and fearless towards them. Unless they take advantage of it...

Early in the morning, Don Curry took advantage of the hotel's willingness to offer him breakfast. Anatolian Houses did not serve the usual buffet, but brought a good selection of cheeses, vegetables, fruits, jams and breads to each table; additionally, you could order something warm from a small menu: Don Curry chose two fried eggs. Strengthened like this, he was able to explore the surroundings of Göreme well.

However, the weather today was not so good: gray clouds in front of a gray sky, occasionally garnished with a light drizzle. Nevertheless, the Göreme Open Air Museum was already well filled. Don Curry enjoyed admiring the beautifully painted cave churches and couldn't resist taking some forbidden photos when no guard was looking. He was caught once and scolded, but survived it.

Until a few years ago, the Pasabasi Valley could be freely explored. Meanwhile, it has also been declared an open-air museum because of its particularly beautiful fairy chimneys and costs admission, additionally supplemented with the typical souvenir shop alley that you have to pass through to even get to the ticket counter. At one of the most photogenic spots, fashion photos were being taken with some models and a colorfully draped Bactrian camel. Don Curry preferred to photograph the intoxicating nature - without the Bactrian camel, which does not belong in this nature at all.

Are two open-air museums enough for a day? Don Curry easily manages three: he then passed through the Zelve Open Air Museum, in which less churches are the focus, but a former cave village that was inhabited until the mid-20th century. Unfortunately, much is crumbling by now, and parts of the circular path were closed as too dangerous, so you had to take even more dangerous trails to bypass the closed parts.

Don Curry even had time to catch up on yesterday's missed St. John's Church in Gülşehir, where he remained the only visitor, even though at least the upper church of the two-storey complex is equipped with very colorful frescoes. Now he wanted to visit another remote church near Göreme, which is only accessible after a short hike.

But first he had to fight a growing feeling of hunger and stopped at a small restaurant by the road where the hike would start. Since the sun was gradually coming out, he was even able to sit outside on the terrace. A little gray kitten had curled up and was sleeping on one of the chairs. Don Curry didn't want to disturb the animal and sat down on the chair beside it. While he ordered a chicken schnitzel and waited for the food, he suddenly felt a nudge on his leg. The kitten had awakened and wanted to see what had settled next to it. For almost a minute, Don Curry and the kitten looked curiously into each other's eyes, then the little animal jumped off the chair and disappeared. But as soon as the waiter served the double schnitzel, the kitten immediately returned and tried to climb onto the table. Don Curry gently prevented the meowing creature from reaching its goal, but it didn't give up. Now it climbed onto the table from the other side and was magically attracted to the chicken schnitzels. With his left arm, Don Curry tried to create an insurmountable barrier, which the kitten found laughable; it elegantly wriggled over or under it as needed; with his right hand, Don Curry lifted the plate off the table, but that seemed to only further awaken the hunting instinct of the little thief. A schnitzel that runs away must be especially delicious! Just as the kitten was about to pounce on the plate, the waiter came, grabbed it and took it somewhere, only to return without the kitten after a few minutes. Don Curry hoped that he hadn't harmed the creature, but still enjoyed his double schnitzel with freshly squeezed watermelon juice. Just as he finished, the gray kitten came running back - with a rather indignant expression in its eyes...

Don Curry set off for the remote church and found it after about 1 km in a sunlit picturesque Cappadocian landscape. This church was not carved into a rock wall, but filled a standalone fairy chimney. The guardian collected the ticket fee and gave Don Curry a brief introduction in English to the magnificent frescoes from the 11th century in the church. And then he said, 'When there are no people around, you can take photos...' Don Curry didn't need to be told twice.

In the evening, he went back to the 'City' of Göreme. Although there were many people strolling the streets, there was no shortage of free tables in the various restaurants. The bravest or least sensitive to the cold even sat on the terraces in front of the establishments and enjoyed their dinner. Don Curry preferred to go inside. Today he wanted to try the regional specialty of Göreme: Testi Kebab - a mixture of meat and vegetables slowly cooked in a ceramic pot, which is then broken in front of the guest to present its steaming contents. Don Curry ordered the chicken version of this kebab and delighted in the very flavorful content, which was complemented with some rice and salad after the violent opening of the vessel that was taller than it was wide. Together with water and Coke Zero, Don Curry paid €8, and he kept constantly looking to see if a little gray kitten would creep in from somewhere, climb onto the table, and ...