We woke today to spectacular blue skies and temperatures about 13*C (55*F).
Breakfast was a wonderful buffet of cereals, cheese, fruit, soft warm bread, and a multitude of spreads! The kids stumbled in between 7-8:15am. This was followed by our daily meeting. The fun part of the morning was going to be “Room Check”! In an effort to keep the rooms at a reasonable level of tidiness throughout the week, the practice of daily room checks by adults had been established in earlier trips. The teachers split into groups and each inspected several rooms. And the real fun was the results and awards to be given later that evening!
Buses were boarded at 9am sharp – we wait for no one! – and headed out to Soganli (soh-AHN-luh) Valley. What I learned today was the importance of this area to the development of Christianity. In this valley, we hiked through churches and monasteries that were created in the cliffs, and dated back to the 9th-13th centuries. The cliff locations made these monasteries good hiding places from the Roman soldiers. The paintings on the ceilings were impressive and quite detailed. This was how they communicated and taught each other.
After lunch we drove to the small town of Mustafapasa. This town was populated by Christian Greeks until the population exchange in 1924 between Turkey and Greece. After this exchange of 250,000 people, Turkish families from Greece settled here.
Our final stop of the day was Uchisar Castle. This is the highest point in Cappadocia. There is a large cave inside connected to other rooms by tunnels, passages, and stairs. But because of erosion many of the rooms are not reachable. The magnificent 360* view of the valley and the Erciyes volcano in the distance, was worth the steep climb up rock steps! (photo below)
Dinner was a delightful spread at the Hotel. We were hungry after a long day of hiking and climbing! After dinner we all bundled up and enjoyed a stroll into the town of Goreme. We did some shopping at the local stores – and the kids practiced their bargaining skills! The shop keepers smiled as all 93 of us walked through the town! The highlight of the evening, was a late dessert of hot apple tea and chocolate gozleme – the local specialties- offered to us at a street-side cafe. Gozleme is a hand rolled pastry, usually filled with chocolate, then sealed and cooked over a griddle! Yummy!! Perfect ending to a perfect day!
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