I booked on to a tour on my full day in Goreme. Tours are usually advertised by colours and I booked on to the Red Tour for 35 euros which included four or five stops and a superb buffet lunch. It seems that much organisation goes into these tours and I couldn't remotely work out which of the people I came across was actually running the tour. Whatever, it was excellent. Goreme is well geared up for tourism and there are many excellent ideas including balloon flights which is one of the main reasons for Cappadocia's fame. I stuck to terra firma, though.
Our group consisted of seventeen people and I was delighted to be the only one from England. There were so many nationalities including Mexicans, Germans, Malaysians, South Africans, Russians, Turkish and an Australian and it was lovely to be part of such a worldly group. The tour guide was excellent and rebuked two Russian ladies for arriving back late and holding everyone up. Needless to say, they did not re-offend.
Cappadocia is well-known for its strange rock formations, many of which are inhabited. It reminds me of a even grander and larger area than Meteora in Greece with its vast pinnacles rising from the ground and which apparently date back many millions of years. Our day saw us visit Uchisar Castle, a couple of miles from Goreme, the Goreme Open-Air Museum (with its wall paintings depicting the life of Jesus), Imagination Valley and Love Valley, both of which need to be seen to be believed. I hope that the photos accompanying this article will give an idea.
Changing of money is actually not as straightforward in Goreme as, say, in Istanbul. I was dropped off at a PTT where I was initially refused when I asked to change British Pounds and was told that the chap could change English Pounds. Apparently, shops will accept other currencies but the PTT offices likely offer a better exchange rate.
Bargaining happens although there are fixed-priced shops. I hope that my mum doesn't read this but she wanted a bead necklace and, after much searching, I eventually found a suitable one. Having asked for their best price - oh, yes, I am far too polite still - and been offered a discount of five Turkish Lire, I put a little more effort and spirit into it the next day at the time of the purchase. Having had it dropped by a further twenty Lire with no difficulty or pressure exerted, I caved in after having it lowered by a further ten. The shop was delighted and I went out pleased with the purchase, but not by my somewhat feeble efforts!
The balloons had been cancelled on that day but were a terrific sight on the day of my departure. I took photos of them in Goreme whilst suffering the indignity of being stalked by a dog which came either close or kept a discreet distance before surveying me further. I paid the entrance fee of three Turkish Lire to visit the viewpoint and I must say that its equivalent of 40p was extremely well spent. There was a run taking place with hundreds of participants and some were cheered by the people taking the entrance fee to the viewpoint. (I was cheered also, but this was done entirely as a joke).
The weather was warm and the views, with balloons still flying, were remarkable. Uchisar Castle and the valleys could be very clearly seen and it would rank with some of the finest views which I have enjoyed of the Himalayas. I would highly recommend it and was delighted to have had the time on the final morning to go there.
I returned through Kayseri Airport and the driver had us there just under an hour-and-a-half before the flight which was ideal. There was some commotion and plenty of armed police which made for a slight delay but, in general, all went well. There were two hours between flights, but it became a trifle fraught as the immigration and security was fairly slow. Okay, I didn't help further by going to the Duty Free and a bar for an expensive beer, but both were also slow and I was finishing the beer when apparently the flight was boarding. After numerous checks, I was on board somewhat frazzled but had good company, a nice meal and some red wine as we made our way uneventfully to Heathrow.
After our eventual landing, I reasoned that I have travelled very regularly over the last thirty-five years and may on average take fifteen to twenty flights a year. Without calculating the number of flights I have taken, I will just say that this flight was the first time I had experienced, what I think they call in airline parlance, a touch-and-go. The aircraft landed heavily, bounced once and, I believe, twice and, before we knew it, the throttle was engaged again and up we went once more. There was no time to feel nervous and the pilot was under complete control, and so we saw London again, I continued listening to Cat Stevens's Morning has Broken (and will not be put off listening to it) and the second landing was perfect. Turbulence was blamed for the first landing attempt. I am not a nervous flier but have never especially enjoyed landings so this was a good experience to have been through. No-one seemed perturbed and my first impressions of Turkish Airlines were good. I reached the Premier Inn and didn't feel the need to reach for the bottle. At least not immediately.