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

Turkiye Day 6 - Welcome to Cappadocia!

Assalamualaikum. Marhaba.

Oh God! Has it really been months since my last entry? Ok poyo! Buat-buatlah kunun ndak tau si Bibie. Minta duku. Memang bersungguh aku benam diri dalam hiatus mode. Been meaning to continue scribbling about this trip but every time I opened the lappy; I ended up searching for something else. Pastu layan lagu di youtube. Really hope I could finish this by tonight.

My trip to Turkiye has been more than a year already. Sobs. Haraplah I could complete sharing my Turkiye trip in one of these days. Stop procrastinating Bie. Stop perasan busy juga. Masih ada yang berminat mau baca experience aku di Turkiye bah kan? Ngek!

Previous entry (here).

9 April 2015
Goreme, Cappadocia

So, I took the overnight Nevsehir Sahayat bus express from Denizli to Goreme (Cappadocia). And the next morning, at around 730am we were told to alight from the bus. I don't know where we were but it was at a bus terminal few kilometers away from Goreme. I thought we were in Goreme already until the bus driver told me to hop on to the other bus parked next to ours. Rupanya sesi pertukaran bas! Memang mamai tahap gaban. Mana gue tau ada adegan tukar bas bagai, kan.

Had my breakfast in the second bus. Free snacks & tea. We arrived Goreme bus terminal 30 minutes later. I was quite surprised upon coming down from the bus. Goreme bus terminal ain't like any bus terminals I've seen in Turkiye since my arrival. Yang ni memang super comel. Tiada bangunan gah bertingkat-tingkat, tiada bangunan bercermin, tiada gerbang, tiada pengawal. Yillek! Sumpah comel jak aku tengok terminal ni.

# The waiting area at Goreme Bus Terminal. 

Masih dalam mode blur & ndak tau apa mau buat. Bearing for Goreme belum 'set up' sebenarnya; hence I headed to the Kamil Koc office. Walau blur but I still remembered the first thing I should do once I reach Goreme. That is to purchase the ticket back to Istanbul. Risaulah oii seat penuh. And balik pi Istanbul nanti pun memang akan naik overnight bus. Jimat cost for accommodation adalah konsep utama trip kali ni.

Why Kamil Koc again u asked? Because according to my research; that is the only company that has a direct overnight bus to Istanbul. Transit or stop over is a big no-no because my flight back to Malaysia will be in the evening; on the day I arrived Istanbul from Goreme itself. Hence my plan was to arrived Istanbul not later than 10am. I still have few places to go before leaving to the airport though.

# Kamil Koc office. 

I must say Kudos to Kamil Koc's customer service personnel. Never once was I being ignored nor rudely entertained. Despite the language barrier, they layan my every questions with smile. There were times when I can't understand what they're trying to say but patiently they explained until I nodded. No grunting, no rising voice moreover tunjuk muka annoyed. Memang duh sangat kan perangai customer service yang mendengus macam singa lapar bila kita tanya soalan.

After beli tiket, aku try lah *kunun* locate accommodation office untuk minta tolong call orang hotel. The hotel I booked provide free pick-up service to its guest. Tapi alang-alang sudah beli tiket di Kamil Koc tu, aku pun mintalah tolong Ahjussi counter untuk call hotel. As expected memang excited dia cakap "Sure sure, can!". 

Mata besar macam burung hantu tapi sikit punya besar signboard Accommodation Office di seberang jalan terminal bas...Si Err ndak nampak! Memang tahap hampagas!

# Boleh masuk bangunan ni & minta tolong staff diorang call kan hotel. Worry not; they won't charge u anything.

The driver came picking me up & few other guests few minutes after the Ahjussi called them. Pelik aku mana datang guests yang lain sebab masa tunggu depan office Kamil Koc tu; tiada sebiji 'alien' pun aku nampak. Sekali van hotel datang, berduyun pula muncul out of nowhere. 

Dari terminal pi hotel ndaklah jauh mana; ada dalam less than 5 minutes TAPI jalan mau pi hotel tu amatlah menseriaukan diri. Curam & tinggi hoi! Description hotel "The highest hotel in Cappadocia" memang ndak tipu! Ok part hotel aku cerita nanti. 

# Entrance

# That stair leads to the Reception Office. While the door leads to guest rooms.

# View from the Reception Office. Speechless I was at that time. Too beautiful. 

While waiting for my turn to check in; memandangkan ada free wifi so haruslah laju jak aku upload gambar di atas. Without revealing my exact location of course. Mau share info di media social kena extra careful. Bukanlah cakap level retis sampai mau berahsia tapi orang jahat zaman sekarang ndak pilih kau retis ka bukan. Semua diorang bedal! 

Settled bayar payment for my stay; aku pun tumpang letak anak gajah. Can't check-in to my room because the current guest haven't check out yet. Kan si Err sampai super awal. Hours before check-out time. Fortunately, the hotel has public shower room (for hotel guest only of course) at the lobby area. And memandangkan sudah semalaman dalam bas; mandi adalah perlu. Took my own sweet time to shower & getting ready. Sudah segar bugar barulah boleh start exploration.

First thing first; breakfast. Benda paling penting as to avoid perut bergurindam sayang masa ukur tanah Goreme nanti. Ndak pasal-pasal gastrik.

# Minaret masjid. Landmark paling penting untuk pi hotel dari pekan. 

# While descending I can't help but to turned back. Fuh bertabahlah! Betapa akan perlu mendaki this very steep route to reach the hotel from the pekan later. 

I reached the pekan in less than 10 minutes. Sepatutnya sampai cepat tapi banyak betul buat pit stop. Ambil gambar lah, posing selca lah. 

# I was there in spring, but this was the only cherry tree in Goreme that was blooming. Peliks.

Sempat singgah few souvenir shops juga. Sambil cuci mata; sambil recce harga souvenir supaya boleh buat comparison which shop offers the best. I bought few postcards as well. Sempat tanya the best restaurant that serve delicious & CHEAP local food. Nampak cheapskate si Err? Siap aku bagitau aku avoid yang ramai tourist. Takut kena scam harga melangit. 

# Hot balloon represents Cappadocia. Apart from its unique moon-like landscape.

# Random photos I took while strolling.

# Adalah hairan bila restaurant dari 'kampong' super berhambur di Goreme. Apakah?

Finally sampai tempat mencekik; suggested by the shop assistant where I bought my postcards. Awal pagi invest benda selain makanan, bijak si Bibie ni.

# As suggested, I had my breakfast here. 

Masuk kedai macam gangster walhal orang dalam kedai masih sibuk memvakum. They stopped when I entered. Rezeki jangan ditolak. Ok apa customer datang awal pagi. Pastu masa mau place order, waitress tu macam gagap mau bercakap. Then suddenly dia suruh aku tunggu. Not long after that she came with an old man. Rupanya! Dia cari orang yang boleh converse in English; senang mau ambil order aku katanye. Gitu sekali hospitality diorang. Oklah, dapat aku request kebab super spicy. 

# Breakfast like a Queen. Awal pagi mencekik nasi & kebab. Tabahlah perut dapat tuan badan selera macam gajah. Jangan tanya harga; haruslah aku lupa! Bread tu foc by the way.

Lama juga aku lepak dalam kedai ni. Sambil makan sambil layan whatsapp sambil tulis poskad sambil berangan. Complete package. Sebenarnya aku sengaja berlamaan sebab mau tunggu post office buka. Sudah beli postcard mahal-mahal, sudah siap tulis walau dalam sejuk gigil...apa barang kalau ndak dipos. Kan? 

# Post office located just few meters away from the Kebab Center.

# On the way mau masuk post office, disapa si Jelita ini. Aura Mak Kucing bawa dari Malaysia gitu. Siap panjat kaki hokey. Betapa jinak! Sudahlah gebu. Gerrrraaam! I spent few minutes layaning this lady. Kalau ikut hati mau aku angkut balik hotel.

Sudah settled urusan isi perut & postcard, off I went to my first mission of the day. Goreme Open Air Museum! Memang excited.

# Ndak susah pun mau navigate diri di Goreme. Signboards are everywhere.

# Makin meluap rasa excited bila nampak signboard ni. NOT!

Bertabahlah kaki. 1km di laluan berbukit! Terus bagi signal sama kaki; jangan ko give up on me today! Sila bagi kerjasama. Mau sakit or lenguh or cramp; sila kan tapi malam nanti di bilik hotel. 

# View along the way to the museum.

Kalau ikutkan jarak, 1 kilometer is nothing to me considering I have walked more than 3 kilometers in Istanbul few days before. Sila tahu kejadian bijak bestari si Err superwalkertapaki from Kabatas to Ortakoy (here). Tapi otak saiko sebab jalan berbukit jak. Nasiblah weather was on my side that day. Ndak panas & angin bersepoi-sepoi. Cuma ndak best bila langit al-gloomy. Nan hado langit biru. Bersyukur sila sebab ndak hujan Bie. 

Cerita museum aku sambung next entry. Dengan harapan janganlah muncul alasan 'in hiatus mode' lagi.

eryantierdabdulkarim