Saturday, 16 June 2012

Land of the Fairy Chimneys


Cappadocia (Kapadokya), Turkey

Fairy Chimneys is the name the local Turkish tourist guides use for the natural minaret-like formations of Cappadocia. I dunno who came up with such a creative name, but simpler people (meaning the men, ...like yours truly) would probably have just called this place Land of the Giant Dicks – see for yourself!


The Goreme Open Air Museum (pronounced ge-ray-may), filled with caves churches, used to be a community of Christian monasteries in Roman times

This is a whole new world with caves – cave churches, cave houses, cave hotels complete with cave bathrooms and cave toilets (how do they fit in the sanitary piping and the shit tanks??), cave shops, cave cafeterias... yeah, just name it! We stayed in a cave hotel during our trip, bloody cold (and it was May). Anu didn’t like it much, but what the heck, have to give everything a try huh? Anyway, it’ll all be fine with a few pegs of raki (the local aniseed flavoured liquor)


Another view at Goreme


Guards at Goreme


Hiding in a cave guardhouse – where else could you find a convenient place for the mom to breastfeed the kid? Really nice of the guards to offer tea. Turkey must be one of the most baby-friendly countries in the world... The people there go nuts when they see tiny toddlers!


Cavusin Village (pronounced cha-vu-shin), an abandoned Greek cave village


A souvenir shops amidst the ruins, Cavusin


Fairy Chimneys ‘R’ Us, Cavusin Village


Anu at the ruins, Cavusin


A family photo (with Justin asleep), above the ruins of Cavusin, and after that our camera ran out of batteries... luckily for us, we could charge it in the semi-cave restaurant we stopped for lunch


Pasabag (pronounced pa-sha-ba), means General’s (pasha) Vineyard (ba), as explained by our trusty tourist guide (as far as I remember... this was 2 years ago, ok?)


A hermit’s church in Pasabag


The Rock Citadel of Uchisar


Fairy Chimneys on the road to Urgup, with a snow-capped peak in the background


A poppy field in Cappadocia

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