What a day! I wouldn’t have thought the weather could have gotten better but it did today! Clear blue skies, 13*C/ 55*F, and no wind!
Today was a long day outside, with Rose Valley as our first stop. This Valley is named this because of the rose tinted rock layers. I know this because it was Sara’s presentation place! This was a spectacular 3km hike through more beautiful rock formations and valleys lined with tall yellow leafed poplar trees! I kept falling behind my group because I stopped all the time to take photos. 12 year olds are more interested in who likes them than the scenery I guess! Maybe they’ll appreciate this later in life! I just couldn’t get enough of the clear fresh air!! After being cooped up in air conditioned places in Abu Dhabi, I was loving the outdoors!!
Then it was on to Devrent Valley also known as Imagination Valley. Here we took a short 1/2 hour hike through amazing rock formations. Ok so I keep using the word amazing – sorry! There weren’t any churches, castles or cliff dwellings here. Just rock formations that sparked your imagination! As someone said it looks like a sculpture zoo! The kids enjoyed a short break on top of the formations where they had to do some journaling and sketching. I enjoyed the peaceful time to absorb the beauty – and take more photos of course! This was the first time I was able to spend time with Sara! We were on separate buses and often had different itineraries. It was odd being on a trip with her but rarely being with her! I’m sure she preferred it this way!
The Zelve Open Air Museum was next on our itinerary. This was cool because it was like an outdoor interactive museum – great for kids! This was a cave town that once housed one of the largest communities in the region. Here Muslims and Christians lived together until 1924 when Christians had to leave the area as part of the exchange of minorities between Turkey and Greece. Some of the largest fairy chimneys are located in this area. It was abandoned in 1950 due to the danger of further erosion. We climbed up into old churches and dwellings.
While in the outdoor museum, the kids played a culture game that the teachers had created, again reminding us that this was an educational field trip! The teachers had created 2 different cultures. The group was separated and began to learn about their new culture. Each culture had certain rules and behaviors they had to follow. Then in smaller groups, we began interacting with the other culture. We were not allowed to discuss our culture differences with them, just interact. It was very interesting to observe as the two cultures were totally opposite. The smaller groups would then return to their base and tell the group what they had learned. They received points for learning something about the other culture. The object of the game was to understand and work with the other culture, therefore obtaining the most points. It was actually quite challenging and quite a learning experience, as they realized how one needs to adapt sometimes when dealing with another culture, and that there is no “better” culture.
As a follow up to their culture game, we travelled into town after dinner, to see an actual Turkish Culture Show at the Armandali Restaurant! We sat at long tables in a cave type setting and saw the famous Whirling Dervishes, a belly dancer, along with other traditional Turkish dancers perform. The history of the Whirling Dervishes was fascinating to me – I actually thought it was just another traditional dance. They were actually an order that lived in monasteries. Their dance was an act of spirituality where the initial slow turns eventually increase in speed as they strive to achieve a state of trans.
We returned to the hotel close to 11pm and it was lights out right away! This had been an amazing yet exhausting day!
Leave a Reply