Turkiye Day 6 - Goreme Open Air Museum

Assalamualaikum. Marhaba.

Annnnnd I've been on a hiatus mode once again. Last entry was a few months ago. Sangat produktif si Bibie sekarang ni. Or patut aku mula entry dengan skrip "Eh, bersawang gila blog aku ni!". Motif mau jadi primadona sangat kan. 

Anyway, yeah! I've been busy. Like; perasan-busy. Too many things I wanna do I don't know how to arrange my time accordingly. One minute everything seems so important; and one minute...semua nampak macam sampahsarap. Gitu intro sikit punya panjang.

Previous entry (here). Maybe perlu untuk baca previous entry(ies) sebab lama gila terkubur cerita Turkiye ni. Sudah lebih setahun oii! Sampai aku sendiri pun terpaksa baca juga; ambil mood katanye! Aku haruslah perlu ingat aliran cerita.

On the way to the Open Air Museum, memang aku totally cuci mata. Kiri kanan mata tersaji with loads of unique rocks formation. Instantly I fall in love with the landscape here. Jalan dalam suasana spring yang melankoli; angin sepoi-sepoi memang senang jaklah jatuh chenta. Cuba aku pi masa summer; harus berbakul sumpahan. Because it is not advisable to visit the museum during the mid-day of summer.

9 April 2015
Goreme, Cappadocia

# Along the way; this view captured my attention.

The first touristy place I passed by on my way to the museum was the clay potteries art store. I stopped by at this spot where they hung potteries made by visitors (and had their names craved on); just opposite the road from the store. I don't intend to join the pottery class so taking pictures of the potteries will do. Mainly because I wanted to show to the bestie. Weeks prior my trip; she sent me a picture of the same spot. Picture she curi-ed from the instagram. Jadi motivasi; so she said.

# Just like the picture she sent me. Except mine is a bit gloom. Mentari main tarik tali sama aku on that day.

# I wish I had make one of these. But on second thought; maybe it was a good idea I didn't spend my money doing this. 

# Rock-cut 'buildings'

Just before the museum, I saw row of stalls & decided to take the long way. Instead of walking straight on the road, I descended the staircase leading to this small bazaar. Cuci mata! And survey souvenir murah. 

# Turkish just loves fresh pomegranate juice.

Just before climbing up another staircase leading to the road to the museum; kunun getting back on track two guys approached & asked me to pat the camel. Diorang perasan lah tu mata aku balik-balik tengok sang unta yang comel. I went near the camels. Next thing I knew, they asked me to sit on the camel. That moment I straightaway know that I was about to get conned. I told them I don't have enough cash & I don't wanna ride the camel. They pretended like they don't understand English. 

Next thing I knew they already had the camel stood up & even started taking it for a walk. They even took my camera. So I played along. After a few round of walk; and series of "smile, the background very beautiful & you so pretty" they finally sat the camel back down. Unta pun pintar; ikut jadi scammer hokey! Tau jak dia mana port untuk ambil gambar lawa. Well-trained! Soon after I got down; one of the guys started asking to pay him 20 TL. For the ride & the picture taking he said. I turned my poker face mode on & took out the 1 TL coins I have in my pocket. I said I clearly told them earlier that I don't have money; I only have card. But if u insist me to pay; then take these coins. They looked truly annoyed but took the coins instead. Phew! Nasiblah sempat ambil camera lepas turun dari cik Unta. Else; putih mata. Silap orang mau bawa main game scamming ni. I dah prepared awal please.

Tips: Please stay away from the camel photo place! Unless u have extra moolah to spend on. Or just wanna experience it. 

# Si Unta Scammer. Looks like s/he's smiling, right. Gigih posing Cik Unta oii!

It shall take only less than 20 minutes; instead I spent nearly 30 minutes to reach the museum. Kalau bukan sebab kejadian ditipu-tapi-dapat-menunggang-unta; I could have arrived earlier. Sudahlah banyak kali stop on the way. Ndak apa, pengalaman (lah sangat).

# Entrance fee to the Open Air Museum is 20 TL.

"The museum resembles a vast monastic complex composed of scores of refectory monasteries placed side-by-side, each with its own fantastic church. It contains the finest of the rock-cut churches, with beautiful frescoes (wall paintings) whose colors still retain all their original freshness. 

~Source: google.com ~

# The first church I encountered upon entering the museum. 

# Tunnel connected the different levels of the monastery. 

# Temporary grave built inside because the monasteries are mostly located in high places. Before the body of the deceased was taken down, they will buried the dead here temporarily.

There are eleven communal dining hall within the museum. It came along with rock-cut tables & benches. Each refectory associated with a church. 

# One of the communal dining hall in one of the church I entered. It also known as the refectory.

# Breathtaking view. Those are monasteries built side-by-side forming a vast monastic complex.

# View from one of the church's window. 

# Bab memanjat di tempat orang, si Err memang gigih.

# Double gigih! Clap clap.

# Almost all look alike. Walau hakikat ni view from another monastery.

I entered into one of the most prominent buildings in the museum; the Elmali Church. Well known for its vivid colours. Photo taking is not allowed in here actually but lucky me; the guard let me. Mainly because he is amazed of how small the camera I carried. So yeah; I am indebted to my SJ. I showed the pictures of the paintings to Ms G; thought she might just say something like "Jeles oii". But boy was I wrong. Dapat 'makin free' ada. Pasrah!

Murals on the ceiling are narrating scenes from the Bible & the life of Christ. And few other characters I don't remember although I read the signboard before entering. 

# Beautiful frescoes dating to the 11th & 12th Centuries. 

# Central dome inside the church. 

# Inside the St Barbara Church. Motifs painted in red on the apses. 

# Went inside but couldn't take even one decent photo. Too dark!

# Balcony at the highest level. 

Spent 2 hours exploring the open museum. I decided to exit when all rock cut buildings look the same to me. I planned to enter the Dark Church but I ended up walking on a long winding tunnel (to get to the church's entrance). Made a u-turn immediately because the claustrophobic me told so. I sensed the church would be underground. Glad that I made the choice for I found out later; I need to pay extra 8 TL to enter the church. 

Just as I walked out from the museum's exit gate I saw a crowd in front of the building not far from the museum. It is opposite the road from the camel photo place. Decided to check the place. And later joined in the crowd. It's the Tokali Church; entrance is free. I just need to show the guard my open museum's ticket. Compare to the other rock churches inside the museum, I gotta say Tokali is the largest among all. It is made of 4 main chambers. Combining the Old & New Church. 

# Tokali is said to have the best painting narrating the life of Jesus Christ in the most details. 

Rupanya ada rombongan dari gereja mana ntah dalam Tokali. I heard the guide explaining the tour members about the paintings. Which is which. This & that.

# This church contains the most important samples of paintings; thus the fact that is has been decorated in various periods. 

When I saw another tour group making their entrance to the church, I decided to end my Goreme Open Museum visit. Time to get back to the hotel; and recharged. I need to shower once more, badan sudah start rasa melekit albeit the windy weather. 

# Keputusan bijak untuk balik! Sun showed itself on my way back to the hotel. 

And that strengthened my decision to shower again. Tapi tetaplah jalan lenggang kangkung; santai katanye. Of course ndak lalu lagi tempat sang unta + tuan unta scammer tu. Kali ni aku jalan straight. No more surveying the local market / bazaar. 

# Abandoned old rock churches are found abundance in Goreme. 

# Rapunzel; let down ur hair!

# Rome Castle; found this on my way back to the hotel. 

# The landmark to the hotel I stayed at. I ascended the hilly road just after this mosque. 

Memang berchenta panjat bukit untuk balik hotel. Mau ndak mau; terpaksa lah mendaki juga. Rasakan perangai divana sangat! Kunun to get the best view of Cappadocia, I have to stay at the highest hotel there. Hambik!

Adalah menapak dalam 10 minit untuk sampai hotel. Then masuk reception room; kutip anak gajah & ambil kunci bilik. Before boleh rest dengan tenang, Mr Arif masuk bilik & explained pasal bilik. How to switch on the heater; the tv etc etc. Keluar jak dia; I locked the door & zasss lompat katil. Indahnya dunia dapat guling-guling atas katil queen nan empuk. I have a double bed all to myself. Tidur dalam bas lebih 10 jam the night before; haruslah sakit tulang belakang aku. 

# Nanti aku buat review pasal hotel ni. Nanti yang ntah bila *jeling Dzuli sila jangan perli*

Sebenarnya seram bila tengok dua kerusi bertentangan gitu. What's more with the fact that I was gonna spend the night alone in the room. Luckily rasa seram tu datang bila sudah balik dari sana. Else ada orang tidur dalam reception room jak kali. Fuh!

Rasanya panjang gila sudah entry ni. So much of being dillydally. Moga jadi lebih rajin untuk sambung cerita Turkiye ni. Insha Allah. I'll stop scribbling for now. Jumpa lagi next entry.

eryantierdabdulkarim