The guide book said a pretty drive but difficult road. Pretty and not difficult. Another major road improvement underway. We have seen quite a number. No wonder the roads are generally good. Although I still manage to miss missing the odd pothole with the impact of rearranging the wardrobes!
Barren
The mosque and hospital carved stone gateways are described as being close to God. Built early c12. Quite remarkable.
Castle didn’t look open and too hot to walk up to find outThe mosque and hospitalOne of the gates to the mosque and hospital Each gate was different Amazing the stonework still so detailed as built C1270The wooden pulpit was very tall, another example of religion putting the people in their placeView down to Jez
Narrow Ottoman town centre. We had cold drinks … it’s hot again 35C.
A couple of Sultan mausoleum Thanks for turning on the lights
We slept in one of the town car parks, only disturbed by a barking dog. Not ours.
A lovely walk after breakfast through the pine forest. Cracking stop over. Felt safe as the police had stopped by last night as they were locking up for the night … guess you’re staying the night. No problem, but I need a picture of your passports.
It was actually chilly first thing and didn’t go above 27C all day!From Cemlik National Park looking down to Yozgat
A straight forward, but longish, drive and we stopped for scrambled eggs with bits. Should be an omelette but my pan is passed its best.
Sivas
First stop was Migros MMM. Have worked out MMM are the larger stores. And they sell booze. Initially, I thought just spirits on the shelves. Tempted, but 1 litre of Gordon’s was c.£28. I eventually spotted about a dozen choices of wine. All medium priced are around £8/9. No plastic bottles on the bottom shelf. Our 20 litre box wines we buy in Crete from winery for €28 (I know!!!) are sadly nearly all consumed. Had we known how expensive wine is here now…
Sivas centre is about Seljuk architecture. Most built c. 1271. Lots of Medrese … schools for medicine, the sciences etc. a newer mosque of 1500s.
One of the many Medrese / schools1271Medrese, one of about 4 all built under Seljuk ruleC16 Mosque so relatively new The old Ulu mosque had definitely seen better days. The roof has been removed and the minaret is listing by 1.17 m at the top.Had a cold drink and ice cream in an old Ottoman caravan inn
We drove up into the forest for an overnight. Too many dodgy tracks for Jez, so we stopped in a clearing along a quiet road. Rude awakening at 11.00 p.m. Police. Google translate: You cannot entertain in the Forest. I replied with: Where can we go that is near? Bear in mind that I’m wearing nothing but a nightie. There are 3 policemen and J sleeping through this! I know I should’ve got dressed first, but you don’t like to keep the police waiting. Fortunately, they replied with: You can stay here tonight, but no fires. Phew. And no fires, I went back to bed!
We moved early from the Roman site before the guardian arrived to close by for breakfast.
We stopped at Ortahisar, billed as an up and coming rock (not 🎸) village, with another vertical rock castle. Coffee and biscuits, but the town was singularly lack lustre.
The one attraction … … maybe two attractions!
Destination was the No. 1 tourist attraction … Goreme Open Air Museum. We had planned to visit a few days ago but waited until J better. As we got close we joined a queue of cars and coaches. A quick conversation, that even when we managed to park, the site itself would be rammed with visitors, most into inconvenient tour groups. Our window to visit had closed. Shame as today was our last day the area. Hindsight, we should have driven here for opening time.
We drove northward stopping in Hacibektas, home to another Dervish guru and sect. Just been reading that Haci Bektas Veli started the Bektasi sect who were responsible for training the Janissaries … selecting Christian boys, converting them to Islam and training them in military and administrative skills. Not sure how that sits with the original precepts of love and tolerance. J sat outside the museum / Dervish lodge with Corrie, and I had a quick scoot around.
Fab ceiling Coveted the large stone meat chopping board
Bonus that we finally found a street market. We took the larger back pack that I filled. I asked one hardware stall holder for 2 x CR 3032 batteries. Come back in 10 mins … he’d fetched them for us. He and his parents made a fuss of Corrie and introduced us to their elderly blind pooch asleep under the table.
We checked out a couple of park ups, including a deserted Sulfi centre. It wasn’t deserted at all. As I did a 5 pt turn, J was handed a cube of crystallised salt (symbol of hospitality, friendship and mutual protection) and a small square of green cloth (nature, life and renewal). Feel I should keep them in Jez along with a crystal angel for safe travel a friend gave me when we set off in 2015.
Our eventual park up was dried up Lake Seyfe. Apparently this is normal. Super shallow with a silver salt sheen. Parked by an observation tower.
From the observation tower … of the observation towerWe and another Tr family BBQd. He came over to offer us a plate of food : hospitality. And we both fed a skinny stray dog. They left their rubbish. We didn’t!
Lake Tuz
14/08
With such a quiet peaceful, almost surreal, spot at Lake Seyfe, we lingered. Exercised. Fed the stray. Hair / fur chop for Corrie and J.
Corrie took longerPassed this cottage made from hay bales – must be well insulated The landscape was either barren and dessert likeor agricultural, with mostly harvested stubble
Tuz was a little out of the way, but we had the time before our appointment in Ankara to drop Jez in for repairs and we fly to Dublin. It is the second largest lake and the largest Tr salt factory is on its banks. I read it is one of the mostly salty lakes in the world.
Looking across to one salt factory
We parked up at a closed restaurant / picnic area. A few quads set off to burn salt on the lake, but otherwise quiet. The ‘secretariat’, who was obviously in charge of maintenance, pressed us with tea.
Another fab sunset
Tuz Causeway
15/08
I had spotted the causeway leading from the No. 1 factory across the lake when looking for a potential park up. It did not show as a road on the maps, but as a track. From our last night’s park up, I had seen a steady stream of trucks on it. So even though completely in the wrong direction and adding a good hour to the day’s driving time, we headed for it.
At the factory was a hut, a man and a barrier. One waved and the other was lifted. We had to drive through the factory with its big equipment and mountains of salt. Would have loved a tour.
The causeway was 7.8 km long. And the salt looked like snow.
The causeway was compacted dirt with a few potholes
Fascinating. Something I will remember.
We drove to a large prosperous town called Yozgat. Apparently it has some fine buildings and a clock tower, but the parking we could see was underground and the town was busy. Abort. Straight to our overnight in Camlik National Park. Under £2 to enter and I mimed sleeping. OK, but in the car park. Again lots of picnic benches so anticipating lots of families later.
But no BBQs and signs everywhere. Even large bottles of water on the path I followed earlier.
Leaving our overnight parking was later than planned. We opened the door this morning to a large friendly sheep dog. With a collar with a horse ranch name. I googled it. About 40 k north. So I rang, getting the chap out of bed. In the event a nearby resident French lady came to collect her. She wanders … had we known she was local, we would have left her. Ho hum.
We drove to Mustafapaşa, which we liked. Home to the middle class Greeks so beautifully decorated villas. When the Greeks left, the villas mostly fell into disrepair. Some are being done up. A few large rock hotels.
Smart rock hotel
We walked to the monastery which is being regenerated. One of the workers opened the gate. Stone front. Rock behind and rock refectory etc.
Toilets? I’ll never know
The medresa (Islamic School) and now part of the Kapodokya University, has a fine portal. With 2 columns that are supposed to turn if an earthquake is coming. One end is definitely fixed. I checked.
Part of the uni A convenient water stop. The twin tub is limping, I have to catch the water that drips out and pour it back in. Even more labour intensive than it ought be. But sheets and towels all clean. They dried in hours hanging in Jez.
Cemil has an old Greek church and another middle class village that was largely abandoned. Sadly very little evidence of regeneration. Some residents made an effort with flowers.
Smart Greek villas needing renovation
The church actually made me gasp. And not in a good way. The frescoes are all defaced. It would once have been beautiful. Such careless decay.
Frescoes badly vandalised
I googled more about the 1923/4 population exchange. About 1.2 million Greeks left Turkey from early 1900s to 1924 to avoid ethic persecution. Many were murdered. Only about 400.000 Muslims moved to Turkey. Hence surplus housing … but immigrants from other areas took over some of the houses before the Turkish Government could repossess and allocate them. Apparently the exchange was orchestrated by F Nansen. A Norwegian international skier, explorer (the Fram expedition), influential in Norway becoming an independent state and then statesman for the League of Nations. I had read his biography… a fascinating man.
Keslik monastery chalk and cheese to Cemil church. These two churches, Byzantine and C19 Greek, are one man’s garden. Beautifully cared for, surrounded by flowers and vegetables. He relieved us of £2 each and gave us a brief intro. They are the most extensive cave complex monastery in the area.
Vague remains of frescoes Refectory, carved rock benches and seats Sloping up to the high table – hierarchy!Priest graves
Sobesos is a small Roman site, with no information. Still being excavated. A French family arrived just as the guard closed up and wouldn’t let them have 5 mins to look around. Given most sites shut at 7.00, this was a tad mean. Fortunately the guard didn’t stay on the site, so we did … overnight. The French couple then had to call for assistance to their flat tyre. We offered fruit and water.
Two rooms of half decent mosaics
No view but very quiet. Other than 2 lads with a pellet gun … startled us and Corrie. But a smiling Hyat / no from me (teacher mode) and they left.
A busy day. Last night I’d shopped in A101 for a few supplies, like dinner. I’d had to deploy Google Translate to tell the cashier that I was not going to pay over £700 for a lettuce. She’d eventually worked out how to deduct it. But she had also had deducted eggs. Another Google T to tell her to add them back on. By which time all the queue was gathered around to establish what was the hold up. On the last pee dog walk, I spotted a bigger supermarket so this morning, I popped in. Oh joy … not everything in my list … not seen anchovies since Greece! No pork either obviously, but not missing that. Bought tomato purée, chia seeds, flax seeds etc.
First stop was Zelve Open Air Museum. The artefacts were rock caves and churches. More of them, I know! But a lovely path around 3 short valleys with info boards. One area was for production. Soaking pits and a mill to thresh bulgar wheat, a dietary staple.
The mill The winery with holes for the juice to drip through Our Corrie has no fear, unless it’s a big dog The Holy Cross Church. Had its own wine production and graves … wonder if they’re linked?Carved decorSome huge roomsThe collapsed cathedralMore pigeon lofts with decor MosqueRockfall
I really enjoyed wandering about here. More poignant as the last residents only left in 1957 due to rockfall. I believe Goreme museum is bigger and more expensive … be interesting to see how it compares.
Devrent aka Imagination Valley was described in a guide book as THE valley not to miss. So popular, we nearly couldn’t park for tour mini busses. What a load of pigeon poop. Very small. Over visited. Supposed to be able to see all sorts of animals etc. I could make out a turkey, although that wasn’t on the list.
Even overheard a guide apologising that you did need a really good imagination.
And a lovely sign asking people to keep the place tidy … 😂 rubbish right next to it.
So far, other than the safari jeeps and quads stirring up dust, it was the main disappointment.
At Urgup we didn’t climb to the viewpoint but went for lunch instead. J kept it bland. Yummy beef cheeks for me. A dry lunch too. But made up for it with a wine tasting. £11 for both of us.
Turasan wines, but not the best stuff
We shared 6 samples. But no obligation to buy. So we didn’t … can get a better French in Tesco for the same money. Sadly the staff at these wineries are not wine trained. No passion or knowledge, so no inclination to talk about Turkish viniculture. Moved onto a potential parking until I read that the nearby ‘entertainment centre’ was a tour company belly dancing evening venue. No thank you. So we’re a little further on with fab views. Sadly I’ve counted 45 safari jeeps hurtle past throwing up dust. It’s that or quad bikes!!!
Clune Gap Years 