Day 19 Cappadocia

Wednesday March 9th

Up by eight for breakfast and then off for a hike through the valleys of Cappadocia. I didn't sleep really well as I went to bed late and then the mosque alarm went off at 4:45. It's a recorded wailing with feedback and done at incredible volume. We have heard lots of calls to prayer throughout the Middle East and I don't mind them, actually sometimes they sound great and add flavour to where we are or what we are doing. Graham, asked an interesting question the other day, “I wonder if being close to a mosque increases or decreases the value of your house?” I know what I think.

Anyway, the weather is still very cold here. We didn't get the snowfall we expected but there was a strong cold wind today and we had some flurries and sleet. In the spirit of there is no such thing as bad weather, just inappropriate clothing (another Graham musing), I put on as much as I could. I wore three long sleeved shirts, two pairs of pants, my fleece, running jacket and the entire rain gear, as well as gloves, running hat and my Tilley hat.

We walked over hill and dale for about three hours. The scenery is very surreal, with lots of hills that are eroded into “fairy castles”, what we call in North America, hoodoos. They are all made from volcanic ash that erodes into amazing shapes. We explored some caves, and Jess took us to a couple of isolated churches that are carved out of the ash, some with frescos. Really a great hike, except for the cold and the fact that a really strong blast of wind took my Tilley hat off my head and blew it up and over a cliff. I can see where it landed but I can't get to it. I'm really upset about that, it means a lot to me as Ken and Dorothy and my other friends bought it for me as a send off present. I may go back tomorrow and see if it blew down further.

The walk back was worse, as we walked into the wind. I was sweaty from some of the hike, but the cold and the wind went right through me and made the sweat cold. When we got back to town, we went to the same small restaurant where we had dinner last night. I was thoroughly chilled. I had a bottle of water and a bowl of lentil soup. Then I went back to the room and crashed. I seem to have a fever and a headache. I slept for three hours. Then I got up, did some computer work with photos and e-mailed a few people.

The rest of the night was spent chilling, or rather trying to stay warm in my room.