Monday 10 September 2012

Cappadocia (Part 3–Ortahisar & Goreme), Turkey (10 Sept 2012)

SCENERIES AT ORTAHISAR:

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Hot air balloon, a nice but very expensive way of exploring the sites of Cappadocia. They also start very early in the morning so you can watch the sun rise in the horizon from the hot air baloon.



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Ortahisar town.


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Ortahisar Rock castle. Unfortunately for us, the castle was undergoing restoration works and was not opened to visitors. 


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Ottoman house turned wine house since 1168.


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Outdoor oven of the Ottoman House, now no longer in use.


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Old shop in Ortahisar town centre.


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A doorway, the top of which is barely visible from the road. Some of these cave houses goes quite deep underground. You can spot them by the many little chimneys dotting the mounts. There are quite a lot of these houses in Ortahisar.



SPLENDID LANDSCAPES AT GOREME:

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A very steep and curvy stretch of road that leads to the Goreme open air museum.

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The inside one of the cave houses

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Do you spot a monkey with his mouth wide open?

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A rabbit, standing tall?

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Left: Cave church with the door boarded up       Right: Do you spot a gorilla head?

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Horseback riding, another way to explore the splendid sights of Goreme.

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GOOD LUCK CHARMS HANGING ON TREES:

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Scratch your wishes on the clay potteries and hang them on the tree.

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Turkish evil eye amulet. The pottery shop sells the amulet, so no need to travel far to get one to hang on the tree.

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Even plastic bags are tied to the tree for good luck. 


ELNAZAR CHURCH, A WORLD HERITAGE SITE LISTED IN 1985:

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The Elnazar Church, located amongst vineyard, was carved from a piece of road in the shape of a crucific. Frescoes in the church depicting the live of Christ and other saints was painted in the 11th century.

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