Jojo MotoPhoto
  • Gallery
  • Logbook
    • Morocco
    • Roads to Persia
    • All Blog Posts
2nd February 2016 by Johannes
Motorcycle Travel Logbook, Roads to Persia

Cappadokia

Cappadokia
2nd February 2016 by Johannes
Motorcycle Travel Logbook, Roads to Persia

It all started approximately 20 million years ago with intense volcanic activity. The region of Cappadokia was covered in immense amounts of volcanic ash, over millenia the ash was compacted to tuff, a soft and crumbly rock. Since then erosion created this bizarre landscape with its winding valleys and stone pillars, called fairy chimneys. From the beginning of human settlement till today people live in caves and hollow fairy chimney. Due to the soft tuff (so soft, you can erode it with bare hands) it was easier to carve out a rock and live inside than to pile them up and build a house. Today it’s a UNESCO world heritage site and major tourist attraction. But forget the open air museums, quad and horseriding tours and other tourist traps, the best way to enjoy Cappadokia is to wander the valleys and get lost.

With the educational part out of the way, here are the pictures:

Cappadokia
Fairy Chimneys
The castle of Uçhisar, basically a hollow mountain.
One of the many valleys, they have names like Rose Valley, Red Valley or Pigeon Valley.
I met iranian hitchhikers, Sina And Amir, brothers travelling to Istanbul to buy an electric guitar.
Together we spent the day, walking over steep ladders...
through arches, ...
tunnels, ...
and overgrown paths.
There are cavernous cave churches hidden inside the valleys.
Only small windows are visible from the outside.
Some of them had paintings ...
or carvings on the walls.
Deserted cafes
Gardens ...
with the sweetest peaches I've ever eaten.
This rock resembled more a swiss cheese than anything else.

One tourist trap is worth it though, the daily mass balloon flights. Only downside, I had to get up at 4 o’clock in the cool early morning hours, because a hot air balloon floats best when the air is cold.

That campsite is just awesome!
Pinpoint landing
A basket full of tourists ...
Previous articleStuckNext article Nemrut Dağı: the debut

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Recent Posts

Impressions from Mongolia: People, Customs and Culture26th August 2019
The Return24th August 2019
A Night in the Canyon24th August 2019

Categories

  • Motorcycle Travel Logbook (36)
    • Morocco (10)
    • Roads to Persia (26)
  • Photography (6)
Impressum