Weather: beautiful day – sunny.
Temperature: mid-twenties
Photo: Crazy,...I wasn't convinced at this stage if we had made the right decision....too late to back out?
Photo: White Valley...pretty spectacular scenery!
Photo; Ballooning over Cappadocia. We were the last balloon to launch as every man was needed to contain each basket.
Photo: After a turbulent start the landing was cushion soft and the pilot managed to manouvre it onto the back of a trailer!
Photo: Ilhara Valley - looking down towards the valley we walked along.
Photo: Old frescoes dating back to 11th century: Mary sitting on the donkey.
Photo: Making the gozleme - pancakes - in the Ilhara Valley.
Photo: A few logs, a babbling brook equals peaceful serenity!
Photo: Looking up to one of the many sections along the way showing the carved out chapels.
Photo: Inside the museum showing the famous green tiles minaret.
Temperature: mid-twenties
Today we were awake early for our 5.40am pick-up for the air-balloon ride. We knew the procedure after our aborted attempt two days ago when David was too sick to go ahead with the ride (no toilets in a balloon!)
We sat for about 45 minutes after we were called to the vans to head to the balloon waiting for the go-ahead as a small wind was evident. Soon it was action stations and vans were heading quickly to the launch sites. It was then that I realised that even a small wind makes a big difference as the handlers struggled to open the balloon with the fans and hold the basket on the ground. The balloon even started dragging the jeep along the ground which was meant to be its anchor!
We were the last to go up as every man (about fifteen!) had to hold down each basket to allow the balloon to inflate and then to load the people. Several times we were shouted at to “come” then “back” as the inflation process went awry. It was quite amusing really watching us all (14 Japanese, David and I) running towards the basket and then running back and so on!
Eventually, it was “come” and the guys picked up all of us one by one and literally threw us into the basket, gave us a quick safety instruction and we were away. I did say to David – do you think this will be our last day on earth?
I’ll let some photos do the story here but we thoroughly enjoyed the experience and it was amazing how quiet it was.
We were back on the road for a short while heading to the Ilhara Valley which is 14 kms from the inactive volcano Mt Hassan. This giant canyon was formed millions of years ago by volcanic activity and erosion. There are many Christian chapels along the valley dating back to 9th to 11th centuries and have old frescoes with Biblical scenes. We visited two churches: Agacalti Church (7-11th C) and Yilanli Church where soldiers appear on the church wall as saints.
We walked through the valley following the Melendiz River and came across an enterprising couple who sold local pancakes with cheese and potato. We had a lovely rest sitting on log seats sipping our drinks and taking in the scenery.
It was then a three hour drive to Konya one of the most religious areas in Turkey and particularly important as the spiritual leader Mevlana Celaleddin Rumi preached here. He is particularly revered for his poetry religious writings. The Mevlana Museum is a very significant attraction to Muslims of any sect and once the former lodge of the dervishes. There were very few women in this area who did not wear headscarves. The site is very tenderly kept with both tidy and wonderful gardens. Roses feature heavily at many of the mosques we have visited and this was no different. The two sarcophagi of Mevlana and his father sat side by side with their identifying hats.
It is this sect (the Sufi) which is famous for the ‘whirling dervish’. A dervish is a follower who dances himself into an ecstatic state – one hand faces heavenward and the other towards earth. Their robes are white and they wear tall brown hats. The 17th December is a significant date for dervishes worldwide to perform this ritual.
We had a quick hour break at our hotel before heading off for a traditional Konyan meal at MevlevI Sofras overlooking the lit Mevlana Museum we had visited only hours earlier. Once again it was delicious food…..would have been great with a wine but Konya does not serve alcohol like many of the places we have visited.
It was then off to a treat and we joined thousands of people heading to the Mevlana Kultur Merkezi to see real whirling dervishes accompanied by original instruments. The theatre must have been built specifically for this event as we sat in a round theatre looking down on a central circle. Eight dervishes appeared first wearing black gowns and tall brown thimble like hats. Gradually with very slow movements they walked in a circle many times led by the older leader. After the first ‘dance’ the numbers swelled to thirty-five dancers and they took off their black coats tor reveal their white garments. They approached the leader and started turned and gradually unfolded their arms which are meant to be tulip like. Their white gowns flow wide and their heads slant sidewards with their hands in the dervish positions. The left foot is kept on the floor all the time as they pivot. It must take a lot of practice not to be sick as they danced for quite a long time in each section. We all appreciated being able to see such a special event for Muslims and there weren’t very many Westerners sitting at the theatre so we did stand out a bit!
Another great day on tour!
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