Turkiye Day 7 - Cappadocia Green Tour Part I

Assalamualaikum. Marhaba.

Previous entry (here).

Tour van picked me up at the hotel's entrance at 9am. A family of four from Canada; who was staying at the same hotel as me joined the tour as well. We picked up few more guests from their hotels on the way down to the town. And basically started our journey soon after the last guests entered the van. 

It was still snowing heavily when we left the town. At that moment I kept telling myself that I will survive the cold temperature. Fasa tenangkan diri bermula. As much as I love snow & winter, I was more concerned to what I wore at that very moment. Sila jangan jatuh sakit; jangan jatuh sakit. The phrase chimed like a mantra in my head. 

Back to the tour thing; I booked my Cappadocia Tour from the hotel I stayed at. They arranged everything for me. I purposely chose the Green Tour because it has the longest tour hour. Starts at 930am & ends at 6pm. And the cost is quite worthy considering the places listed in the tour itinerary. 

Green Tour (930am to 6pm) - 100 TL

- Pigeon Valley

- Derinkuyu Underground City

- Ihlara Valley 3km hiking walk & lunch (drink excluded)

- Selime Monastery

- Photo stop at Goreme Panaroma

Red Tour (930am to 3pm) - 90 TL

- Goreme Open Air Museum

- Pasabaga Fairy Chimneys

- Avanos Pottery Centrum & Lunch (drink excluded)

- Urgup Family Fairy Chimneys

- Urgup Winery

- 3 Beauties

Blue Tour (9am to 5pm) - 120 TL

- Derinkuyu Underground City

- Sognali Valley Hiking Walk

- Sobessos Excavation

- Keslik Monastery

- Lunch in Mustafapasa

- Mustafapasa Sinasos

All tours include transportation, lunch (drink excluded), entrance tickets & taxes.

*Stops for each tour varies by company*

I intended to take the overnight bus (departs at 11pm) back to Istanbul later that evening hence I thought Green Tour would be the most masuk akal. Red Tour consists of too many places I don't want to go. While Blue Tour is too expensive for me. 

Like any other tour, masa on the way to our first destination haruslah ada sesi ice breaking. Pastu our guide; si Omar (anggap jaklah nama dia Omar sebab aku lupa wei nama dia!) explained to us a little bit about Goreme. Supposedly the first place kami lawat is the underground city; which is located nearly 40 minutes away from the town. But according to Omar, a group of people from the Ministry is currently visiting the valley. Thus it was temporarily close to public. Pasal tu kami divert the route. First is the Goreme Panaroma; only few kilometers from the town. 

10 April 2015
Goreme Panorama

# Simply breathtaking. 

Unfortunately due to the snowfall, I didn't really get to see the landscape of the vast valley of fairy chimneys & rock formations. And, dalam teruja tengok ni semua aku sebenarnya tahan diri dari mengigil. Wowing every now & then; and at the same time menyumpah diri sebab pakai jaket nipis. 

# Memang antara wish aku untuk witness benda ni sebenarnya. Lepas tu bila wish dijawab, kau meroyan kan Bie.

# Replicas of fairy chimneys covered in snow. Schomel.

# Fuh! Memang port paling ngam untuk layan view. I wonder how it looks like in autumn.

# Berusaha ambil gambar ni few takes walau tangan al-gigil.

We were given less than 20 minutes to enjoyed the scenery here. The not so good point of joining a tour. Reason why I don't favor travelling with tour agent. Time given is super limited; walau accom & makan semua dijaga rapi. Part tu jak yang win sebenarnya.

Di panorama point ni ada kedai jual souvenir. And also a little cafe. Sebab aku blah awal dari port cantik untuk view Goreme, jadinya aku ada masa untuk survey benda dalam kedai. Bukan mau beli souvenir but I was looking for something that could help me endure with the coldness. Heat pack haruslah langsung ndak dijumpa. Hatta Ahjumma jaga kedai pun ndak tau apa benda alah tu. Sobs! I bought a faux velvet gloves for 30 TL. Walaupun pelesu, tetap tebal & comfy. Daripada tiada, kan? Nasiblah pakai sneakers so terpelihara sikit haba di kaki. 

# Alhamdulillah si Err jumpa gloves.

Next in the itinerary is the Selime Monastery. Masa ni aku sudah start rasa mamai. Mengantuk! Sepanjang journey pi monastery, aku disajikan view yang memutih. Lawa gila! Tapi sakit mata sebab van tu laju, then kiri kanan putih melepak. Its like the whole place was wrapped up in snow. Dalam pada layan view putih salju, aku terlelap.

Terjaga masa van stopped to refuel. Tengok jam; dekat sejam sudah dalam van, Belum sampai? Ouh rupanya jarak dari Goreme pi Selime Monastery ni a bit jauh juga. Sebab si Err tiada study pun about these places, pasal tu banyak benda yang ndak di-tau. 

# Sepanjang perjalanan dihidangi view salju memutih.

# Padang jarak...bukan padang tekukur.

Selim Monastery

"The largest Cathedral in Cappadocia; dated back to 8th & 9th Century. While the frescos dated to late 10th & 11th Century. It has a multi-storey structure carved into rocks at a high point. The Cathedral served during the Byzantium period as a significant center for religious activities for Christians"

Finally, after an hour (or more) we arrived at our destination. It was still snowing. For seconds, I kinda hesitated to not or to hop off from the bus. Ikut hati memang mau lepak jak dalam van. Tapi macam bingai & keji jak perangai gitu. Sudahlah bayar mahal; datang dari jauh pula tu. Baru sejuk sikit pun sudah gave up. And so I got off from the van & joined the other group members. 

# Pastu dapat tahu, rupanya kena mendaki! Cathedral itu nuuuuun jauh di atas sana.

Lagi special dalam aktiviti hiking walk ni; kau kena alert sama group lain. Say like u're on ur way up; u have to be alert of the people going down the hill. Kena rajin bagi signal. Jadinya ndaklah bertembung di tengah jalan nan sempit itu. Because there are only a few 'waiting spots' along the route. Kalau bertembung di area yang tiada tempat untuk menunggu, one of the group kena mengalah & return back to the waiting spot.

# First non-secret mass in Cappadocia was conducted here. 

Selain tempat sembahyang orang Krisitan, Cathedral ni juga jadi pangkalan tentera penting. And juga digunakan as castle. Dulu kala diorang bina parit & benteng di keliling monastery ni untuk pertahanan dari musuh. 

# Well hello there Selime Monastery! Gigih ok I memanjat untuk sampai pi depan kau.

# Arrived.

# Proof! Siaplah salji cair di lens sang kamera.

# Untunglah ada payung.

# Belum jejak Switzerland tapi yang ni bolehlah anggap Swiss-like landscape kan.

# Where the tour vans were parked. 

# Snow-capped hills from afar. 

I entered the cathedral via its entrance door. Wandered inside a little bit. Looking for the kitchen but to no avail. And ur motive looking for kitchen Ms Err? 

# One of the many sections inside the cathedral.

# Up up I went.

# Tens of rooms connected to each other via those tunnels & passages. 

Didn't spend much time inside as it started to get too cold. After entering few of the tunnels & explored the outside vicinity; I descended the hills & headed to the parking lot.

# Imagine the narrow route to reach the monastery.

# Back in the days, this area used for commerce. Caravans frequently arrived here as a result of the bazaar. 

When I arrived at the parking lot, the driver wasn't there. And so did Umar. Saw a souvenir shop near the parking lot & decided to go in. Wanted to use the WC; air adalah sejuk bedi oii! So untuk compensate rasa sejuk I bought a cup of hot tea. Lepak dalam cafe while tunggu the rest finished their tour. We were given less than an hour & I thought that would not be enough. Alas, si Err kalah dengan cuaca. Ndak palah, kegigihan aku mendaki tu berbaloi juga. 

We departed soon after all the tour members entered the van. Umar then told us we're heading to a restaurant for our lunch. He gave us a menu with few selections & asked us to choose what we want. Later he made a phone call to the restaurant confirming our orders. I don't remember what I chose but definitely not meat.

"Now, we go lunch."

Gitu terus semua semangat. Tapi ndak lama sebab lepas tu sorang-sorang tumbang ke medan mimpi. Rasa macam lama lagi mau jejak tempat menjamu perut jadi aku pun join the club. Layan mata!

# Layan view putih salju sekejap sebelum melelap mata.

# Syukur; ni memang dream aku dari dulu. 

Not sure bila kami sampai restoran. Tapi sempat lah juga aku terjaga few times; silau dari pandangan putih di luar. Tapi malas mau buka curtain. Perangai.

Ok nanti aku sambung Part II untuk Green Tour ni. 

But before I end this entry; congrats to Datuk Lee Chong Wei on ur victory! We sure are proud of u. From the very bottom of our heart, THANK YOU SO MUCH for the Silver! 

eryantierdabdulkarim

Turkiye Day 7 - Morning from Cappadocia

Assalamualaikum. Marhaba. 

*lompat bintang* Tahniah kerana berjaya mengekalan momentum hormon R. *clapclapclap*

10 April 2015

Goreme, Cappadocia

Malam semalam tidur adalah lena total. Tiada gangguan any entity yang tidak diingini. Lagu terpasang until Subuh; pelik sebab aku boleh tidur dengan jayanya sebab aku jenis ndak boleh tidur kalau ada any bunyi i.e lagu, orang bercakap. Maybe memang penat maksimum malam tu; that's why boleh tidur lena. Syukur. 

Lepas Subuh, aku lepak-lepak lagi dalam bilik. Jenguk luar tingkap bilik, still gelap gulita. Tiada faedah pun keluar awal, bukan boleh nampak segala hot balloons di awanan tu. To those asking why I didn't go up in a hot balloon to enjoy the surreal landscape of Cappadocia. My honest answer would be; 

I don't think I 'could afford' to pay for the ride. Sekian.

As much as I wanted to ride in one; I just couldn't digest the price I have to pay for the ride. Tapi orang bilang; why not for the sake of experience. Bukan selalu spend duit untuk benda macam gitu. Well, itu orang bilang. Aku bilang; I have other thing to do rather than riding the hot balloon. For the sake of experience; I prefer to try paragliding. AND ice climbing. Lain orang, lain citarasa. Yes? But then again; suatu hari manatau aku terbuka hati untuk naik benda alah tu. Siapa tahu suddenly hati jadi berbalik-balik. 

So anyway, that morning dalam pada excited mau tunggu kelibat hot balloon...aku terlelap sekejap. Luckily terjaga on time. Bedebah betul perangai. So I rushed to the balcony. Wearing only slippers & my pyjamas. Masa tu ndak terfikir pasal kesejukkan yang bakal gigit tulang. Excitement at its highest level. Puaslah ambil gambar seluruh sudut. Siap lompat pi balkoni sebelah. Turun tangga pi depan reception office bagai. Regardless pagi yang sendu. Sinar mentari adalah nan hado kelihatan. No sunrise for me & yang naik hot balloon. Fair!

Nasiblah bawa camera yang boleh zoom sampai x24. Sampai nun di hujung sana aku boleh nampak. Tapi tangan harus steady; else gambar tetap blur ke laut juga. That being said; banyak jak gambar yang aku terpaksa delete. Tidak memenuhi piawai si Err. Tangan gigil baq hang. Apa boleh buat; fakta kehidupan.

# Sebenarnya ada rasa bahagia dapat peluang tengok view macam ni. 

# Don't ask me how they navigate the direction of these balloons. All I know is that benda ni depends on the wind. 

# Berusaha fokus balloon yang ada lambang Turkiye tau.

# Landed di Sunset Point. And boleh dengar bunyi api + gas dari balloon ni semua. 

No! Aku memang tiada plan untuk witness ni semua di Sunset Point. Terima kasih daun keladi lah mau suruh aku mendaki seawal Subuh. Segigih mana pun si Err di tempat orang; mendaki di Subuh hari adalah a big no. Unless memang tiada cara lain untuk tengok belon ni semua.

# Yang lambat landing.

Nearly 20 minutes standing; baru aku realize betapa sejuknya angin pagi tu. Patutlah gigil semacam. Baru si Err berslipper cuma. Slipper hotel! Yang nipis tu. Bijak bestari. Dalam kalut mau balik bilik, I bumped into Mr Arif. Laju dia suruh aku masuk bilik takut nanti sakit. He said that after screening me from head to toe. Mesti dalam hati dia puji kegigihan aku berlari keluar bilik semata-mata demi hot balloons. Dalam sibuk suruh aku balik, sempat juga dia cakap sama aku.

"Lucky u didn't ride the balloon, huh. To tell the truth, now is actually not the best week to go up in those."

Si Err senyum. Yes, truly lucky I am. Aku ndak perjudi nasib gitu. Walhal memang ndak mau naik pun.

After shower, ready ready bagai & off I went to the dining hall. Kena memanjat tangga lagi sebab bilik aku di bawah hall tu. 

# Breakfast spread. Semua yang sihat-sihat sahaja.

# First round. 

And masa tengah sibuk ambil second round breakfast *perangai buruk lantak*, suddenly aku pelik guest yang lain ber-uwaaa-uwaaa. Then I heard the word 'snow'. Lantas si Err memandang ke luar; sikit jatuh pinggan aku. Apa ni snow in April; spring! Bukan ndak bersyukur ok. Kalau ikut perasaan, mau aku menari zapin di rooftop hotel ni. Tapi mengenangkan baju-bajan yang aku bawa & sedang pakai...menangis ok bila ingat nasib diri. Semua tau betapa aku suka winter, betapa aku suka snowfall. Cuma saat & ketika ini aku jadi confuse.

Lepas breakfast tu aku ada tour untuk explore tanah Cappadocia. And based on the itinerary; kami akan ada aktiviti panjat monastery nun di atas bukit. It also includes a 3 kilometer hiking walk at one of the famous valley in Cappadocia. Therefore, logiklah kan aku persoal kenapa snow di bulan April. I only have inappropriate attires in my backpack. The warmest clothes I have was the jeans jacket that I currently wear at that time. 

Dalam pada persoal kenapa snow, laju juga aku telan breakfast second round. Motif sangat perangai kau Bie. Before ambil backpack di bilik, sempat aku layan ambil gambar snow falling. Riang dalam pasrah.

# Memang dapat gelaran Elsa sebab pi mana-mana chances untuk snow turun adalah tinggi. And this; fortified the theory even more. 

Kejadian lari sana lari sini untuk ambil video snowfall. Sama macam kejadian awal pagi tu. Pi sana sini untuk ambil gambar belon panas.

# And one for the album (percayalah sangat cuma one). 

Lepas angkut keluar backpack, terus masuk reception room untuk check out. And bertapa dalam tu sebab snow makin lebat. And si Err sudah start kesejukan. Masa lari sana sini snap gambar tadi ndak pula ingat baju nan nipis. Lupa diri. 

Kill time upload gambar while tunggu tour van pick up aku. Nasiblah memang dijemput depan hotel; kalau disuruh aku menapak turun pi town memang aku cancel ikut tour tu. And terus cancel check out; sambung tidur dalam bilik. Ugutan sangat walhal kalau kena suruh menapak, harus kau tetap akan menapak. Ndak kan mereput dalam bilik the whole day kan. 

Tour van arrived on time. Aku tinggalkan backpack dalam reception room tu. Tiada kerja angkut benda alah tu ke hulu ke hilir sepanjang tour. Masuk perut van, snow menjadi-jadi. Masa tu aku sudah berdoa, janganlah kejadian hypothermia bagai. Aja-aja hwaiting gitu bagi semangat sama diri. 

Ok, nanti aku sambung pasal tour ni. Right now kena siap sedia untuk beradu. Esok adalah hari kerja oii. Sekian.

eryantierdabdulkarim

Turkiye Day 6 - Goreme, Cappadocia

Assalamualaikum. Marhaba.

Semangat berkobar mau update blog sekarang ni. Or this is the sign that I finally have found my hormone R. Sudah dekat berbulan hilang. Ntah sepa pinjam.

Previous entry (here).

9 April 2015

Goreme, Cappadocia

Dapat kunci bilik, terus layan berguling-guling menikmati keempukan katil. Tapi ndak lama sebab rimas badan melekit sama peluh so aku bangun & mandi. And layan tidur sejam dua (or was it berjam-jam?). Dasar! Siap sedia set alarm takut terlajak tidur. Aktiviti petang hari adalah untuk layan sunset di Sunset Point. Which is less than a minute walking from the hotel I stayed at. Didn't I said numerous times that I stayed at the highest hotel in Goreme? *riak* Nevertheless the route to the sunset point is a little bit steep; aku mencungap. 

Bangun dari tidur; maka bersiaplah si Err. Part paling aku ndak suka bila berjalan masa musim nan-sejuk ni adalah part untuk get ready. Like seriously! Betapa syurga kalau dapat sarung tshirt-jeans-slipper & I am all set to go. Ni, kena fikir jacket lagi. Stoking lagi; kasut lagi. Memang penyebab malas. Namun haruslah malas itu terpaksa dibuang dalam longkang. Bukan senang mau jejak Goreme. Bukan anytime boleh naik bas dari Double K City nun. *redha*

Whilst walking to the sunset point; suddenly dengar sayup-sayup bunyi meow. And si Mama Kucing pun melilau cari dari arah mana datangnya bunyi tu. Turned out this handsome fella (that's him in the picture below) was somewhere down the hill. Dengan excitednya dia mendaki bukit just to get to where I was standing. Happy oii ada juga yang sudi teman. Saat itu juga terus buang jauh-jauh anganan liar yang aku akan jumpa Oppa di bumi Turkiye. Oppa berbulu black-and-white bersuara garau ala manja pun jadilah. 

# Thanks Handsome sudi teman I. Next time sila jangan manja terlebih to other visitors ok. 

There is a small snack outlet at this point. One can order drink or maybe a light meal while enjoying the sunset from their seat. But I chose to just walk around & enjoyed the view. 

# Awesome.

I literally can't stop myself from taking pictures and selcas of the extraordinary view of Goreme & its vast landscape. Totally awed I am. 

# More cave hotels down there.

# Every nook & corner are photographic. 

# One of the seats at the snack outlet.

Too bad I didn't spend much time up here. If it wasn't because of the strong wind & drizzles I could have stayed longer. Pelik cuaca di Goreme. Kejap gloomy habis, then terang benderang mentari muncul memancar-mancar. Next; hujan. Siap combo sama angin kuat. Harapan untuk explore the other three connecting lookout points; shattered. Ndak pa, tiada rezeki layan sunset di Goreme. Si Err pasrah maka marilah balik hotel.

Plan asal malam tu adalah untuk walkertapaki pi pekan untuk dinner. Akan tetapi, on the way turun aku jadi double seriau bila teringat aktiviti mendaki balik hotel. Masa ni lah rasa menyesal melantun-lantun. Rasa mau sumpah diri sendiri. Tadi balik dari muzium kunun poyo ndak mau singgah beli makanan untuk bekalan dinner. Kunun akan rajin turun pekan. Ndak baik tau suka bagi harapan pelesu sama diri sendiri! Bedebah betul.

So instead of walking down to the town; I wandered around the area. Lagipun banyak cave hotels. Bolehlah jalan-jalan ambil angin malam. Pastu bila limpas hotel kosong (read: gelap; besar; tinggi; and it's a cave) haruslah jalan lebih laju dari biasa. Gila mau jalan dalam kadar biasa. Buatnya suddenly ada orang memanggil from one of the window! Ndak mati kejung aku di tengah bukit tu. 

# Si Handsome muncul lagi. Pastu buat-buat keluar masuk this cafe. Maybe mau kestau yang dia tinggal di sini. Or dia sebenarnya mau suruh aku belanja dia makan. Ciskek!

Aku ada buat-buat friendly with a 'concierge' at one of the cave hotel there. If I'm not mistaken it is Elnazar Cave Hotel. Mula tu saja mau tanya pasal the hotel rate. And services they provided for the guest. Sekali baik hati pula dia mau bawa aku ronda hotel tu. Siap tunjuk semua jenis bilik yang diorang ada. Cungap ok naik sampai Level 4! Tapi aku layankan jaklah. Nampak bersungguh-sungguh mamat tu. Then masa mau balik, sempat dia bagi aku drink & buns. Ehem, macam tau-tau jak aku lapar tapi malas kan. On the way balik hotel, I did passed by few restaurants but I wasn't hungry anymore. Ada buns free bah!

# One of the hotel's entrance. Forgot which & which already. *bertangguh lagi Bie*

# That mysterious feeling upon looking at this. Gitu.

Puas meronda hotel & kawasan sekitar, aku balik bilik. Time to rejuvenate. Set alarm bangun awal esok pagi. I am so not gonna miss the hot balloon scenery. Aku ndak naik pun. Budget nan hado jadi cuci mata dari balkoni hotel jaklah.

# Perangai kampong bawa ke Turkiye. Plug in the pendrive; and layan lagu dalam bilik. Caghe!

# Sambil ngopi & me-lokum atas katil. Ni kalau Bunda nampak memang semboyan bakal berbunyi seminggu. 

Malam tu packing siap-siap sebab esoknya lepas breakfast aku terus check out. Akan join Green Tour, which I have booked via the hotel prior coming to Goreme. Time to explore Kapadokya gitu.

Tidur super lena atas katil empuk tanpa gangguan entiti asing. Haruslah bilik pun adalah terang benderang. Tettttt. 

Anyway. jumpa next entry! Annyeong.

eryantierdabdulkarim