Today we slept a bit late after the grueling day on the road yesterday, and figured we would make up for that day of sitting on our butts by hiking along several popular valleys in the Goreme area.  After a great breakfast, the very accommodating hotel staff dropped us off at a trailhead and we trundled off with a few snacks and all our foul weather gear (because after all, we are Alaskans and we never trust the weather).  Without a decent map and, more critical, without sensible (or accurate) trail markers, we promptly got lost but ended up hiking the main trail system backwards (and parts of it several times as we went around in circles for a bit).  Our main troubles stemmed from missing the beginning of the Red Valley side trail, the result of two trail markers on the main trail that pointed in opposite directions, neither of which was where the Red Valley trail actually started.  (When we got back our host laughed, said “yes, very bad trail markers,” and suggested wine.)

Nonetheless, we did manage to see most of the important features, such as single rooms, condos, dovecotes (i.e.  carved rock birdhouses,also used by pigeons it seems), and churches carved into the rocks.  One very intricate church looked pretty simple on the outside but once inside, we found that it opened up into a multi-room structure including internal columns hewn from the stone.  It is hard to believe that people were able to construct such elaborate living spaces by burrowing into solid rock.  They must have been hard to heat but once warmed probably retained the heat for a long time.  And summers were no doubt a lot more pleasant inside the cool rocks rather than out in the baking central Turkey sun.

Exhausted when we returned to the hotel about 5 p.m., we had our customary glass of wine on the terrace.  Our ever-ebullient host, Mehmet, asked how our hike went and when we said great he asked if we got lost.  There was some fist pumping when we said yes, as if it was a necessary rite of passage.  Later we found dinner at a small “local food” establishment, at the bargain price of thirty-five Turkish lira, or about twenty dollars.  When you avoid a tourist restaurant, things here are a good value.