Monday, October 3, 2011

Day 094 Aksaray - Belisirma

Finally I am in Cappadocia! And it already looks as if I will spend more time here than planned. Today I cycled to Ihlara valley - a deep canyon full of stone cut dwellings and churches. Entering the valley with a bicycle proved to be difficult - I tried twice: first from Selime then from Belisirma, right in the middle of the valley. Staff at the entrance in Belisirma were very friendly (in Selime not so much), they let me in with Arthur but wouldn't guarantee if I would make it through the valley. For the first km or do the path was ok but at some point it got to narrow and stony - I left Arthur locked at a tree and started exploring the churches on foot. Most of the millenium old churches and its frescoes are severely damaged - either by natural forces making the rock crumble, by iconoclasts particularly destroying  the faces in the frescoes or by travellers from 19th & 20th century scratching their names right into the frescoes. Nevertheless they are a sight not to be missed. I enjoyed the hike through the canyon so much that I nearly forgot about time - when I was back at my bike I had only 30 minutes left until sunset and I had to find a place to sleep quickly. Fortunately I could put up my tent at the entrance gate - on a wooden balcony right above the river. The shop owner renting out his balcony made barbecue for dinner and soon many men from the villages gathered around the fire.



















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