Thursday 26 August 2010

We left this morning at 8.15 for our trip to the open air museum at Goreme. It was already warm and hot. Saw where people used to go when the enemy came. They had their homes in caves in the rocks. We saw their church, Dining room, kitchen etc. It was very small and you had to stoop along the way.
Bought some postcards there. They were 13 for 1 Turkish lire. Helen & Brian went halves with me.
We then went on to see the open air museum. The frescoes on the roof and sides were incredible. They have been there for 1000's of years. All the frescoes are very religious. These people have a religion which is similar to our but these are Muslims.
Onto a carpet factory. The carpets are simply beautiful. We saw 5 girls making the carpets, from wool carpet to silk carpet. These 'girls' were so fast at this. Then we went into another room and they spread out heaps of carpets. The 'boss' told us how each was made with how many knots etc. They come in all sizes and all prices. They weren't cheap. I think there were only 4 sold. Once you have paid for them they deliver to your home anywhere in the world and they pay GST, delivery, customs, etc. We had lunch there consisting of Turkish pizzas and a drink.
It is now 31 degrees. We are now on our way to the underground city. 25 minutes away. We walked down to level 8. Some of it was very narrow and very slippery. Level 1 was OK, Level 2 was getting steep and you could return after this level and after Level 3 there was no return. It was good but I don't know how they lived like this.
Then it was 34 degrees at 3.15pm.
Then we went to Zelve Valley. We saw rocks with 'necks' and 'heads'. When the neck finally gets narrow, the head falls off. They were everywhere. You could climb to the top of the valley and view all around. Helen and me and quite a few others didn't do this but we walked around and found lots of caves that had been used.
Back on the bus for 3.30 and back to the hotel. We have until 7 to relax.
Having tea anytime after 7 then we are going to a colourful folklore show in an underground cave consisting of belly dancing, original Turkish dancing and dances from different regions.
Will tell you in tomorrow's blog how this was.