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

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