Duden Waterfalls near Antalya

It was a hot day so it was very refreshing to visit the Duden Waterfalls in Antalya. There was plenty of water in the falls and plenty of people as well! There was a man wandering around with a macaw so took a photo to show Amy.

Antalya

Next stop was Antalya on the Mediterranean coast, a real seaside resort town and very warm. We had a lovely hotel just across the road from the Mediterranean. Mum went for a swim one morning and enjoyed it but the beach was very pebbly. Lots of people out walking, swimming, a very western influenced town. We were here for 4 nights which was lovely and took trips out to the west and east on separate days to see some amazing ruins.

All the heads bopping up and down in the water- quite a sight in the morning.

Mum in the Mediterranean

As you can see not the soft, sandy beaches like in Australia!

Konya

Next stop was Konya, a very conservative and religious town, often know as the "Bible Belt" of Turkey. First we went to a Gulen inspired private university where we were given lunch and a tour around. The university was a shopping centre that had been donated and converted into a university, we got a good overview of the Turkish Education while there. Next we headed to Rumi's Tomb- Rumi was a muslim scholar who believed in accepting everyone for who they were. He was the founder of the Whirling Dervishes so we also learnt about them and how  you became one- sounds too much like hard work to me!

Lots of people were visiting the grounds, mosque and gardens, there were people everywhere. At one stage some older ladies took mum by the arm, I thought they were draging her off to try and sell her something. Turns out they were fascinated by her white hair and just wanted to have their photo taken with her!

Later that night we went to a concert with the Whirling Dervishes.

Hot Air Balloon Ride over Cappadocia

One of the highlights of our trip was the hot air balloon ride over Cappadocia. We had to be up at 4:00am and picked up by 4:30am., we had a half hour bus ride to Balloon Central Control where they had hot drinks and biscuits while we waited around. We were then taken on another bus ride out to where our balloon was getting ready to take off. It was a large operation as there were 150 balloons taking off, but it was well regulated and co-ordinated with all the different sectors. I have never been on a hot air balloon ride, it was a real experience and such a fantastic feeling of just floating in the air, very gentle and calming, it was like being in a fantasy land! The coldest part was the early morning waiting around once we took off we were plenty warm enough and the gas bursts kept you warm as well.

Mum needed a bit of help to get in but she did pretty well. Our balloon took about 12 and it was divided into different sections with three people in each section so rather cosy!

We felt very safe with our pilot and he ended up landing us on the back  of the trailer that was waiting for us when we landed.

The views were amazing and the different light throughout the morning.

Many balloons had already taken off others were still waiting to go, it was magic just drifting along and going up and down.

The crew were terrific with mum, getting her out was the tricky bit but we got out, and then a crew member got in with her and then they all just lifted her out- she just loved it.

Day 6 More Cappadocia and the Underground Cities

Another day touring around the Cappadocia Region, this time some more shots at Pigeon Valley with Turkey's equivalent to the Three Sisters behind mum and I!

Everywhere we went there were stunning views.

Then we headed to the underground city of Kaymakli. Here the local residents carved out underground cities, so when they were attacked by enemies they had a place to retreat- almost anyone- Hittites, Romans, Alexander the Great, Babaloniyans- the who's who of history where always roaming around these parts. They had it all set up below, air shafts, water storage, animal storage, dining rooms, kitchens. They would just move down under and wait till the danger had passed. The underground was cool so it was a good place to store their food as well.

Quite narrow and lots of ducking and weaving- mum did very well to get through all of this. We went down about 5 levels. There were more levels but it was not safe to get to all of them. There were networks of tunnels linking all the houses.

Here is mum, walking through one of the tunnels

We teamed up with the Sydney group for a few days who were also in the area.

She made it out alive- she must have left a  trail of breadcrumbs- I tried to lose her down there!

Turkish Rug Faxtory

Everywhere you go in Turkey they try to sell you a carpet! They are not cheap. It was interesting to go to a carpet factory. We got a tour and an explanation of how they train up the girls to make rugs in the factory for two years then they get to work from home. We learnt all about the silkworms and dyeing process. We learnt about double knots, wool on cotton, cotton on cotton, silk on cotton etc there are so many varieties. It was all very interesting and we saw so many different rugs- it was a real sales pitch and a real show. The rugs are not cheap, I had a good excuse- couldn't see the point of buying a lovely rug and then having dogs tramp all over it- but they certainly were out to sell you a rug! A few people did though from our group so the rug men were happy!

One of the rug weavers hard at work

A beautiful price of work- too nice to put on the floor!

All sorts of rugs!

Another piece of rug art if you have about $10,000 to spare!

Goreme Open Air Museum and the Fairy Chimneys

We visited the Goreme Open Air Museum and then wandered around the Fairy Chimney area. The Goreme Open Air Museum was a whole area of Fairy Chimneys that had been carved out and made into churches. Many of them had frescoes painted on the walls and ceilings, it was pretty spectacular. You also got lots of wonderful views across the valley. The churches dated from about the 5th Century AD.

The rocks were soft so churches, houses, monasteries were carved out inside the rock formations.