A week in sort of a different world.

Arriving in the late afternoon in Kapadokya, Turkey, I spent my first evening grilling marshmallows at the campfire in front of our hostel. Quite a good start.
I took this trip alone. I wanted time to walk, read, listen to music and get new impressions.

I got up super early the next day and hiked up a hill because I wanted to see the start of the balloons. the famous balloons. Dozents of them were raising into the sky at sunrise and it was amazing to watch, almost fairytale.

My base for this week was Göreme, a small village with a couple of restaurants and hostels and of course a ton of street dogs. The dogs however didn't look like street dogs at all, they were super clean and well nurished. People in Kapadokya love dogs, that's the reason.

And my plan for the week: hike!

Pigeon Valley to Uçhisar.
The landscape is simple out of the world. I kind of feel like in outer space.
At the top of pigeon valley is a little coffee shop. This place was magical for me. I was the only guest as it was still quite early and I set down for a coffee break. The owner of the coffee, an old man came up, his enlgish was not very good and he gave me one of these "evil eyes" which are very common in this area. It's a tradition amongst friends to gift such a glass stone and it should shield from all evil.

Uçhisar is a small village where one can still see the cave houses. And of course I enjoyed a fresh Gözleme.

Rose and Red Valley.
Next day next hike. The next day I walked through Rose valley and red valley. The hike was a bit longer than expected but it still feels like walking on the moon.

Guided tour.
With a guide I visited Derinkuyu underground city. I wanted to hear about the history. Further we walk the Ihlara Valley, a 15km long canyon.
I also visited the Selime Monastery - an ancient monastery in the caves.
The Göreme Open Air Museum was also an important stop. It's UNESCO world heritage site.

Love valley.
Well... how should I describe this valley.
Love valley is a very literal name here :D I had to laugh quite a lot. The hike was beautiful though.

Ürgüp to Ortahisar.
On this hike I walked not only with dogs, but also with horses, donkeys and lots of sheep. The goal was a really nice village with a lot of creative art.