Day 33 - Don Curry hikes through Cappadocia

Don Curry not only moves around with vehicles, he can also do it on his own two feet - and he likes it. A short hike was actually planned for yesterday, but since the visit to the three open-air museums already had a hiking character, he decided to skip it for now.

But today he didn't want to avoid the hiking opportunity. After all, there is no better way to experience a landscape than on foot, at a slow pace that allows you to notice gradual changes in the landscape and enjoy the little highlights that went unnoticed when passing by.

After the familiar breakfast, which he enriched with Menemen today, he set off directly from the hotel for a 9 km hike through the Pigeon Valley and the Love Valley. Shortly after leaving the center of Göreme with its hectic activity, Don Curry breathed in the soothing silence of nature, interrupted only by cheerful bird songs. In the Pigeon Valley, many pigeon houses were carved into the rocks in order to later use the bird droppings as fertilizer for the soil. Ultimately, it was this artificial improvement of the soil quality that made viticulture possible around Göreme. Unfortunately, his hiking trail did not run comfortably at the bottom of the valley, but soon climbed up a valley slope to turn into a side valley. After a steep ascent on slippery ground, Don Curry already felt the first signs of exhaustion, when directly on the trail, in the wilderness, there was a rustic teahouse that was even open. The owner invited Don Curry to a cozy terrace, where he was the only guest. Don Curry ordered a typical Turkish apple tea and a water. In the end, he paid the equivalent of 70 cents for the refreshing drink.

Once again, after the teahouse, it went steeply uphill and Don Curry caught sight of the already quite close fortress rock of Uchisar. This largest of all fairy chimneys in Cappadocia used to form the entire settlement, because all the residents could carve their accommodation into the powerful rock, so that over time it became more and more porous. In recent years, climbing the fortress at the top was therefore prohibited, as there was no guarantee of the stability of the entire complex. However, apparently this problem has been solved or ignored in the meantime, because Don Curry could clearly see people on the rock. For him, it was only about admiring, not climbing this historical residential block of a special kind. Shortly before Uchisar, Don Curry missed a turn and thus shortened the hike a bit. Meanwhile, a quite large dog joined him, which accompanied him throughout Uchisar. That was a good thing, because suddenly a whole pack of dogs ran towards him. His accompanying dog quickly drove away the barking pack and continued to follow Don Curry. Only at the outskirts of Uchisar did the dog gradually fall behind, then Don Curry didn't see him anymore. Was that a state-organized protection escort? Unfortunately, Don Curry couldn't ask the dog anymore.

They descended steeply into the Love Valley, into a white-yellow striped magical landscape. Don Curry rated the Pigeon Valley as 'not bad' and classified the Love Valley as a real highlight. Unfortunately, the other tourists saw it exactly the same way; while he was a lonely hiker in the Pigeon Valley, whole busloads of people came towards him in the Love Valley, who had just crossed the valley. Therefore, the steep descent on the partly polished rock floor was quite difficult, but even the ascenders sometimes slipped back a bit, making the floor even smoother. Even in the valley itself, the path was very uneven, sometimes in the bed of a dried-up stream, then again on one of the two elevated stream banks. Towards the end of the valley, more and more beautiful rock formations adorned both sides, especially high exciting rock towers that almost reached the sky. Don Curry had to climb again from the valley to ascend the ridge that separates the Love Valley from Göreme. Here on the mountain ridge, he also found numerous grapevines, so that the term 'vineyard' takes on a very special meaning here in Cappadocia - the wine that grows up on the mountain.

Finally, they went downhill again to Göreme, and after 12.6 km and a total of 68 floors climbed (= approx. 204 meters in altitude), he urgently needed to replenish his energy stores. He sat down in the first restaurant he could reach, ordered a large bottle of water (1.5 liters), a Coke Zero, and a portion of Manti. The latter are a kind of Turkish ravioli, filled with minced meat, but they are only the size of a thumbnail and served with spicy tomato sauce and garlic yogurt. Don Curry left nothing behind, not even the water.

But instead of resting, he boarded Insignia to do at least two more things: he drove to Ürgüp and admired the city located among the fairy chimneys from a viewpoint; and he parked a few kilometers further at the Dervent Valley to admire some of the extremely bizarre rock formations in this valley in the quickly fading sunlight.

Only then did he take a rest, and later in Göreme, he had dinner - a chicken casserole, with Ayran, and then tea. Tomorrow he would hike through another valley. He was looking forward to it...