Day 39 - Gaziantep to Urfa

 This morning's breakfast was arranged at a local businessman's club after we took our leave of the school dormitory. Here we were joined by two local businessmen who were part of the consortium that had organised the construction of Zirve University which we had visited yesterday. Food was excellent as always and we enjoyed our start to the day. From here we drove to a local TV station, Dunya TV, which primarily serves the Kurdish population of Turkey. Again this institution is Gulen inspired and it was made clear to us that the wider Kurdish population of Turkey do not share the aims of the PKK (Kurdistan Workers Party) which has been using violence in it's campaign for a separate Kurdish state. Indeed the great bulk of Kurds in Turkey are well integrated throughout society and are widely spread geographically. After our TV visit we spent some time wandering through the bazaar and shopping of course where Sue bought, among other things, a small silver tea set. Lunch today was a quick affair of kofte and mini pizzas which threatened to be a much longer and drawn out affair until we all put our foot down and insisted on having a snack for a change. Following lunch we then drove to a location to meet a representative of one of this morning's businessmen so he could deliver us gifts which hadn't been available at the breakfast. All this gift giving is overwhelming. And wouldn't you know it but the gift turned out to be an almost identical silver tea set as the one Sue had purchased earlier - oh well. Time to move on after this so we then drove to Sanliurfa or simply Urfa as it is known where we met our next local guide, a gentleman named Mehrat. We firstly checked in to our hotel the El Ruha and after a short break we set off on foot to explore the nearby precinct around Abraham's cave. The cave is reputedly where the biblical prophet Abraham was born. Nearby we also visited the mosque in this location and as well  the pool of Sacred Fish where legend has it that Abraham was thrown by Nimrod. At the end of our walk we went to what was a former nunnery or monastery and which is now a restaurant  Dinner on the top floor accompanied later in the evening by local Turkish musicians finished off a very full day.

Day 38 - Hatay to Gaziantep

Set off this morning minus Sue, who wasn't feeling well, to explore a river diversion canal and tunnel built by the Romans in the ancient coastal city of Seleucia Pieria close to Antakya. The river diversion was to protect the outer harbour in times of flood by diverting the extra rainwater away from the harbour. This was another extraordinary feat of Roman engineering and the walk to the tunnel passed through cuttings not unlike modern day railway cuttings and finished up near the upper city and a series of rock tombs. We purchased some honey, soap and other produce from some enterprising locals near the rock tombs and headed on our way. Next stop was an Armenian village where the entire population was Armenian (well almost) and apparently is the only village of it's type in all of Turkey. Here we stopped for tea with the mayor of the village in a local outdoor restaurant. After rejoining Sue and another of our party, Len, who also was ill we continued on in our bus to our next stop for the night, Gaziantep. Our lodgings for the evening was at a school dormitory belonging to another Gulen inspired school and proved to be as comfortable and well appointed as any hotel room. After checking in we headed off to a university that had been established outside Gaziantep, again under the auspices of the Gulen movement. Zirve University as it is known is an extraordinary place and boasts the latest and best of everything a university could want. We were introduced to the equivalent of a University Vice Chancellor I believe and watched a short presentation on how the University came to be. After leaving here we headed back into town to have dinner at a local restaurant with a couple of local businessmen who were associated with the funding of the University and who kindly picked up the tab for the meal. Then off to our dorm for a good nights sleep.

Day 37 - Konya to Hatay

 We were up quite early this morning - 7 am for an 8 am start with a 6 hour drive to Hatay (specifically Antakya) ahead of us. Antakya, or Antioch as it was known in biblical times, is the seat of Hatay province in Turkey and lies very close to the Syrian border. While the drive was long, the time passed quickly with lots of animated conversation and much laughter. En route we received the news via a phone call from my daughter that a close friend of hers had committed suicide back in Australia. This rather dampened our spirits and the rest of the journey passed in quiet contemplation and further discussion about such things. We arrived at our hotel and checked in before heading out to lunch at a nearby restaurant. From here we headed by bus to the site of St Peters church which is built into a natural cave on the side of Mt Staurin. This church is said to have been established by the Apostles Peter and Paul with Peter becoming it's first Bishop. A tunnel at the rear of the church provided an escape route for the early Christians when Roman soldiers would come looking for them. Our next stop was a museum containing a magnificent collection of mosaics - reputedly the second largest collection of such mosaics in the world. It truly is a wonderful collection and well worth a visit if you are ever in Antakya. Next on our list of activities was a walk around town culminating in a stop at a rooftop restaurant for tea. From here we were able to view the Greek Orthodox church next door that we had planned to visit but which unfortunately was closed. We also watched the locals on nearby rooftops release their pigeons from their rooftop aviaries. It was coming on evening and the sight of so many pigeons wheeling in the skies above was sensational. After a quick freshening up at our hotel we headed off for yet another dinner with a local family - this time a businessman who had made his wealth through insurance. Again we had a lovely meal and as usual we exchanged gifts and took photographs before heading home to bed.

Day 36 - Nigde to Konya

 Our day commenced with our host family driving us to the home of an 80 year old furniture magnate for a breakfast with his family and also all the other Gulen inspired families from the previous night's school function. This proved to be another interesting gathering of like minded individuals who are linked through their following the ideas of Fethullah Gulen with the 80 year old giving us a brief rundown of his life and how he came to meet Fethullah Gulen and become his friend. Once again gifts were exchanged at the end and we were on our way again, this time to Konya, a city in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey. Pushed for time we skipped lunch and went straight to visit the Chief Commissioner of Police for Konya, arranged, I suspect, primarily for the benefit of the senior policeman in our group. After an hour of pleasantries, cups of tea and biscuits, gift exchanges and obligatory photographs we were on our way again, this time to the tomb of Jalal Rumi the 13th century Persian poet and Sufi mystic. Spent perhaps an hour here examining the artifacts and artworks before heading off to our hotel. For dinner we had another family dinner to attend, this time at the apartment of a major textile manufacturer and his wife. Dinner was served seated on the floor and once again was a delicious Turkish meal. Again the exchange of gifts and photographs ended what was a pleasant evening with our hosts. From here we headed to a concert hall complex in Konya for a performance by the Mevlevi Sufi Whirling Dervishes. This proved to be a fascinating experience and involved several sets performed under different lighting conditions. I lost track of time but I imagine the entire performance spanned something like an hour and a half. Early in the piece I slipped next door to an adjoining concert hall to experience the classical Iranian folk singer Sima Bina. Seeing and hearing her and her ensemble was also an amazing experience and it was a shame I wasn't able to experience both events on different nights- anyway I got a taste of what this would be like. Headed back to our hotel quite late and turned in for the night.

Day 35 - Uchisar to Nigde

As planned the night before, we got up at 4.40 am to depart at 5 for our balloon flight today. A mini bus took us to the launch site where there were already a great many people and many balloons in various stages or preparedness. After a brief  period of instruction we were off, taking off in the dawn sky for a truly memorable experience. We rose to several thousand feet and then descended to wend our way between the fairy chimneys themselves at times before again rising to such heights as to be able to survey large parts of the Cappadocia region. All the while below and all around us other balloons were either preparing to launch or in full flight as we were. We counted over 80 balloons and were told that typically over 100 balloons took part each and every morning when conditions are suitable. Absolutely loved this and would recommend this for anyone contemplating it. Following the flight we headed back to the hotel for breakfast before then packing up and setting off for another day of sightseeing. First stop was another panoramic view location before then heading off to "pigeon valley" for a hike from one end to the other. The hike took about an hour and was more of an enjoyable stroll than a true hike. Next stop was the Goreme open-air museum which was again a walk through a landscape of fairy chimneys and dwellings and churches built into the caves of this area - again very enjoyable and well worth a visit. Lunch followed, again at Avanos but at a different restaurant this time. Similarly decked out as yesterday's and again catering for large tour groups. A brief visit to an Onyx factory after lunch before we headed off in the bus for Nigde.En route and quite close to Nigde we visited the Gumusler Monastery, a 10th century Monastery Church carved into the rock in Gumusler. No longer in use but preserved as a museum we wandered through and saw some fascinating and well preserved Christian art adorning the walls as well as underground passages and chambers that also served as hiding places when needed. Back to Nigde we then went to visit Avsar College, a Gulan inspired school and the parents and patrons of the school for an evening of dining and entertainment. A range of activities included local folk dances performed by the children, a mock wedding or engagement ceremony involving members of our group and a demonstration of the form of artwork known as marbling. All this was preceded by a banquet style Turkish meal which was delicious. This was the night our tour leader had arranged for us to stay with local families and so we met our hosts for the night, Mahmoud, Zaytep and their daughter Ayse. At the end of proceedings we received and exchanged gifts and then were driven by our hosts to their apartment on the outskirts of Nigde. Spent a pleasant evening  chatting with them before finally getting to sleep in a spare room on a fold out divan.

Day 34 - Kayseri to Uchisar

Almost got off to a very bad start this morning. Packed our bags and headed down to breakfast in the very busy, almost full restaurant. We found a small table for two and marked our territory by leaving a glass of orange juice on it - with the benefit of hindsight not a particularly attention grabbing thing to leave. Sue returned first to find our table had been taken by a thuggish eastern European looking type who then proceeded to abuse her when she tried to point out that we had prior claim and stood within inches of her in a very threatening manner. I was unaware of this until I returned with my breakfast plate and the same confrontation ensued. Realising that I was dealing with an idiot (somebody's muscle no doubt) who kept saying "don't say too much" whenever I tried to remonstrate. I decided that discretion was the better part of valour and left him to what was now his table while we moved elsewhere - no point sustaining an injury for such a stupid and trivial reason. Following breakfast we boarded our bus to Uchisar where we picked up our guide for the next couple of days, a young lady named Aylin. Our first port of call was the underground city at Uchisar used by early Christians as hiding places before Christianity became an accepted religion. This was a fascinating place especially seeing the large disc shaped stones they used to roll into place to block access and the multiple levels used for a variety of different purposes. From here we traveled via a teahouse which provided a magnificent panorama over the surrounding fairy chimney area.Then to a pottery factory where I succumbed and was the guinea pig for the group and tried my hand at shaping a pot on a potters wheel - with disastrous results I might add. Lunch was taken in a large restaurant at nearby Avanos which seemed to cater for large groups, mostly busloads of tourists. Our next stop was at a spot known as "imagination rocks" where, if one looked carefully, one could make out the shapes of various animals and so on. Last stop for our group before returning to our hotel was a carpet factory which I managed to skip - I'd had enough by then. Our hotel, the Duven Hotel, is built into the hillside just beside Uchisar Castle and so before dinner we walked a short distance and climbed it via tunnels and external stairs for possibly the best view of the Cappadocia area short of a hot air balloon flight. Dinner at the hotel followed and during dinner a representative for Anatolian Balloons arrived and booked us in to a balloon flight for tomorrow morning. At last to bed after a long and very busy day.