Title: Turkey 2012: Cappadocia

P1230286.JPG|Dawn hot air ballon launch in Capadocia
P1230299.JPG|
P1230304.JPG|
P1230305.JPG|
P1230310.JPG|Our very professional British pilot
P1230324.JPG|
P1230325.JPG|Note the rooms carved into the soft tuffa..most are tombs
P1230329.JPG|That's a cultivated garden down there
P1230336.JPG|Tony and Ilse
P1230337.JPG|Vineyards on the plateau
P1230347.JPG|
P1230366.JPG|Our chase crew meeting us with wild flowers as we come up over one plateau
P1230368.JPG|The flowers were passed among the women
P1230369.JPG|Sigrun took the handoff
P1230380.JPG|A vineyard...notice that the vines are free-standing
P1230389.JPG|Olga disembarking
P1230391.JPG|The pilot and his chase crew
P1230394.JPG|Traditional end of flight champagne
P1230396.JPG|We made it!
P1230397.JPG|Our other passengers from Brazil
P1230407.JPG|Outdoor museum...motorcycles parked in a cave
P1230408.JPG|The rooms are 2000-3000 years old and occupied by many cultures
P1230412.JPG|
P1230420.JPG|A refectory (dinning room) in a Christian church carved into the tuffa
P1230422.JPG|Grapes were crushed in the upper bowl and the juice ran through the tunnel...used for making wine
P1230438.JPG|Security
P1230446.JPG|
P1230448.JPG|Performers at our lunch inside a cave restaurant
P1230449.JPG|Bob breaking open a sealed pottery jar in which his meal was baked
P1230453.JPG|Our unique cave restaurant
P1230457.JPG|
P1230458.JPG|
P1230465.JPG|Olga and Shelley trying the instruments
P1230466.JPG|
P1230471.JPG|In a pottery factory...master potterer making a complex wine pitcher
P1230473.JPG|Carol takes a go at it
P1230476.JPG|Painting a plate before it is glazed
P1230480.JPG|Fairy chimneys are what remained after the volcanic ash eroded away
P1230487.JPG|
P1230489.JPG|
P1230494.JPG|
P1230495.JPG|Olga peering out through a window in a fairy chimney
P1230500.JPG|That's Bob up there
P1230507.JPG|The camel isn't typical...just a tourist attraction
P1230512.JPG|A view from our hotel room overlooking the canyon
P1230516.JPG|Our hotel
P1230517.JPG|
P1230528.JPG|A fort that we will climb to the top of
P1230531.JPG|
P1230532.JPG|This is sort of an inside Turkish joke but it's sold everywhere
P1230536.JPG|Our group part way up to the top of the fort
P1230538.JPG|Still climbing
P1230541.JPG|
P1230549.JPG|With some high school seniors...note that not all wear the head scarf
P1230551.JPG|High school seniors acting as tourists in their own country
P1230552.JPG|Tony taking his final rest...soemthing to smile about
P1230554.JPG|Bob on the final checkout
P1230555.JPG|I really think this is where Larry died
P1230557.JPG|Olga striking a bargain
P1230563.JPG|On our hike among the fairy chimneys
P1230571.JPG|On our hike among the fairy chimneys
P1230582.JPG|Walking along private gardens.  A small vineyard.
P1230583.JPG|
P1230591.JPG|
P1230596.JPG|
P1230599.JPG|
P1230604.JPG|
P1230605.JPG|
P1230608.JPG|Our hostess for a visit to her home inside a fairy chimney
P1230610.JPG|The living room inside the fairy chimney
P1230613.JPG|Mustafa with the youngest member of the family
P1230616.JPG|Our hostess answering questions.  All the comforts of home..TV, modern kitchen, etc.
P1230617.JPG|Yes, that floor is on a slant.
P1230620.JPG|There are three levels to the living quarters, each reachable from the outside
P1230622.JPG|A map of the underground city that we will visit
P1230627.JPG|We went down five levels...not for the claustrophobic
P1230633.JPG|This tunnel is about 50 ft long
P1230637.JPG|
P1230638.JPG|A stone door that would be raised in the event of invaders