We left Ermenek early today. Ermenek was as real as it gets when trying to dive into a country, its culture, and its people. Up in the mountains, very remote, no tourism, all locals. Riding a motorcycle and wearing space suits added to the fun. The picture below is me going to the ATM at the local bank. All in all, a very memorable place.
Our first road this morning was almost as spectacular as the one that brought us to Ermenek the night before. Once we came down (from 1600m) to the high plateau in the middle of Turkey (1100m), the road became a long straight line across undulating steppes with short mountains in he periphery very far away. A bit like the notion we have of Mongolia. The best part was that the entire day the temperature stayed in the 70s. Alexandra even got cold at some point.
Our hotel in Capadoccia only has 10 rooms and they are all carved caves on the rock slopes of the city. Very interesting. We decided to go for a long hike through the valley (8km) and see the rock formations and the carved dwellings and churches up close.
Great exploring. We did some climbing, took some amazing pictures, saw a few carved churches, dwellings, and passages. Very unique landscape.
Interesting to realize that 1500 years ago or so, people would come to hide in places like this, carve churches and dwellings inside the rocks, and devote their lives to spiritual pursuits. Modern life gives us very little chance to be alone to just think, to just be with ourselves. Riding a motorcycle is a great way to disconnect from the world and do some of that.
Tomorrow is our first no ride day. Alexandra is so happy she gets to sleep late. Then on to the Black Sea and our first border crossing into Georgia.
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