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Taking to the skies in Cappadocia

Since having been convinced to take the balloon flight, I booked in the long flight for 210 euros, and a 5.25am pick-up. Twisted arm, that’s me all round.I wandered out to the front of Flintstones around 5.20 in the morning, an ungodly hour where it was still dark and the stars still owned the sky. A short trip to the Kapadokya Balloons office, to pay up – and I was rewarded with some much needed coffee and biscuits. There were a huge number of people in the “staging area”, maybe 60-70 all looking rather bleary-eyed and half awake. I overhead two people talking about “we’re on the last pick-up. They say that’s the best one”. I sauntered over “either I’m with you guys then, or they say that to everyone”.

Another short bus ride for maybe 15 minutes and we were on top of the valley overlooking Göreme, where the balloons would probably be flying from, and I had already been indoctrinated into a tour group of 9 who had been travelling around Turkey together for some weeks.Four balloons were leaving from this spot at the same time, but fortunately I’d managed to single out the same group that would be accompanying me on the flight (not the other way round, of course). Being the only non-tour group member there I found myself as a bit of a celebrity. They were clearly all relieved to have company from outside the usual bus excursion, and nobody had any trouble remembering my name!

First the safety advice, no leaving the basket, how to hold onto the basket in the event of landing in a tree, falling over, or upside down etc. Second the cold air to inflate the balloons a little bit. Then finally the warm air to get them heading upwards, and a quick scramble into the basket before the balloon had a chance to disappear into the distance without us.Like everything in the flight, the take-off was extremely smooth. Our pilot – Mike from Cornwall – did a fantastic job, as far as I know about these sort of things. Before you knew it, we were drifting over valleys, seeing our hotels and watching the sunrise over Cappadocia all the way to the peaks of the distant volcanoes.

It was so breathtakingly beautiful, words just can’t describe. Kappadokya Balloons seemed to be a lot more active than the other seven companies in the area. Taking every opportunity to dip down into canyons and to skim the tree tops. At one point, as we were floating through Love Valley (I think it was that one), I tried to reach out and pick some pears from a growing tree. Not being quite close enough, Mike gently landed the balloon just a short slope down from the tree, leaped out of the basket and returned with an armful of pears for everyone. These extra moments made the flight even more memorable and special and I was very glad I’d paid the extra to fly with the best and longest flying company in Cappadocia. That’s my plug for the post. They deserve it 🙂

There were another maybe 20-30 balloons in the air which made for an impressive show for the entire trip, on this beautifully clear day. Because of the other three balloons leaving from the same spot, there was plenty of opportunity to “play”. Balloon kisses, where the two balloons touch each other, as well as chatter over the radio about getting into the valleys where other balloons were below, and shutting out those “other” rival companies 🙂

The flight itself took us through Love Valley, past Göreme, White Valley, Ã-rencikkbaçi Valley and right over the town of Uçhisar, past the castle and the minurets of the mosques below. And every moment was stunning. I’ve taken maybe thirty-four thousand pictures during the two hours. I’ll try and cut these down to a select few ;)After landing one field over from the other three balloons (again, really smooth and only a slight bump), we all got together for a champagne breakfast and slice of cake, certificates, postcards and “celebrating the fact that we’re all still alive”. Kappadokya Balloons’ words, not mine.

A really, really brilliant experience. I’m so glad I had the opportunity and don’t regret a single minute of it. I’ve been telling that to everyone I’ve met ever since and the two people who turned up to stay in the same room as me today are just now working out their bank balance vs. Balloon flight cost plans.

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G̦reme РThere comes a time in every mans life when you just have to live in a cave

When you hear the word Cappadocia, you probably think “best ice creams in the world”. And that’s because you’re saying it incorrectly. When pronounced properly, Cap-Ah-Doe-Key-Ah no longer sounds like it would be an Italian ice cream at all. And we’re back to thinking about rocks. No? Ah well, that was only the introduction…

I’m hearing horrible rumours that might suggest Michael Palin has already beaten me to it with his frank and honest account of Turkey. Which make all of my tourist lies seem a little weak and shallow. But I’ll continue with them anyway, in the hope you missed his show, and god forbid, rely on my blog for your travel insights around the globe. I arrived by overnight bus to Göreme, in Cappadocia early this morning. I first made quick stop off at the Flintstones Cave Pension, and managing to wake up the owner from his slumber just long enough to find out where I should drop off my bag. And no, there are no typo’s in there. I actually am staying in a cave, and it is named after the Flintstones.

The whole landscape is the responsibility of three volcanoes, Ericyes, Hasan and Melendiz Daglan. Thirty million years ago (to the day… possibly) their eruptions covered the area in ash and mud. The ash compressed over time, and has been worked on by the process of erosion ever since. Blocks of a harder rock, usually basalt in this case, are exposed by the erosion all around it, leaving these remarkable looking fairy chimneys left standing.

All of which leaves me to believe I may have woken up to a Geology Adventure Park. Every now and then, I still think I hear the distant screams as a roller-coaster cart speeds over the top of one of the chimneys. But it might be my imagination.Even more remarkable than the landscape itself, as though that weren’t enough – is how the people have been making use of every part of it for thousands of years. The fairy chimneys have been carved out, caves have been used as homes, churches, castles, kitchens, even entire cities. In Göreme especially, the lifestyle continues to this day all over the city.

There’s even an open air museum that has a whole bunch of these buildings in demonstration. I was a little bit wary of visiting this particular site. The last time I visited an open air museum, our school was banned for setting alight to one of the buildings. Not my fault, I might add. Still, the scars of that torment are beginning to heal, and besides, it’s made of stone. What’s the worst that could happen? And that’s how I came to destroy an entire 12th century church to the hill side, as well as find myself in a Turkish prison.

No, it’s not true.

Had you going though, didn’t I?

In many ways, I’m amazed what the people of this area have accomplished, making use of all the resources around them. On the other hand, I think that it’s not so different from people of ancient England making use of the plentiful forest land to build wooden villages and castles everywhere. The only difference is that most of these have survived. So we can still look on with wonder. Whilst our old villages of England may have been burnt to the ground, these have been developed and expanded upon ever since.So much so, the Pension I’m staying in is indeed (as earlier web sites suggested) a cave. And as the saying goes, “you can’t beat living in a cave”. They always said this is how I would end up. Don’t try and deny it.

I’m saying in a 6-person room, which is actually separated into two rooms. Three bedrooms with a door, and a small archway to the lower area, where my bed is. During my first day, I asked two American girls what it was like sleeping in a cave (no, that’s not one of my chat-up lines, dammit :P). The reply was instant from both, and they replied at the same time with “cold”, and “dark”. Well… here are my thoughts.

  1. It’s pitch black at night. There are no windows to the outside world. None.
  2. The light switch is at the other end of the room. If you arrive back to the room quite late, and everyone else is already asleep… They probably won’t appreciate you stumbling over them to find you way around. I’m very fortunate that my camera gives off a usable light when in “preview” mode.
  3. Caves don’t have many power sockets.
  4. When you emerge out of the cave in the morning, and the sun is shining… It’s like, well, emerging out of a cave.
  5. Sleeping in total darkness is easy, and rather comfortable.
  6. Yes, it’s true. It can be kinda cold. But the blankets are good 🙂

Anyway, there are some first impressions for you. More tomorrow 🙂

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The Weeping Column – the stuff legends are made of

So, it’s the first real day of being Istanbul, as last night didn’t really exist for anything longer than a few minutes.  And I’ve not really done much in the way of sightseeing so far.  I’d expected to spend the day on a frantic speed around Istanbul trying to soak up as much as humanly possible, and trekking the huge stretch of land that it covers, to to find my way around.  Instead, I found myself with four very capable guides whom I’ve really grown to like over the past 24 hours.  It’s very different to the hostel experience of Poland, which was quite far more sparse in the way of much company, and instead I spent the day sightseeing with good company, taking a boat ride, eating good food (well, some of it at least), and really just seeing a glimpse of the city.

All four have been here for 3+ days already, and dare I say it, some of the magic has sort of left.  Is it the last day blues I was sharing in?  Or will I feel the same way about this beautiful and sparse city closer towards the end of the week.  It’s not like the travelling ends today for any of them, but at the same time, the feeling of having to get a bus, train, or plane at any point in the near future, especially on the same day will kind of drain a person.

Either way, I can’t help but feel a little bummed that they’ve all left, or are leaving in the morning – as one has commented “you really hooked up with the wrong people for your first day”.  I only half agree.

For now, the mosques are impressive and there’s something other-worldly about them which is purely my own fault because I’m so not used to seeing them scattered around one after another like, well, churches.
So, interesting fact of the day on Sultanahmet, because, uhhh, I haven’t posted any yet.  Aya Sofya houses the huge brass-clad weeping column.  Legends are wide and varied, by all accounts at the hostel so far.  There’s a suspicious looking hole in the column … One story has it that some large religious dude pointed out that it didn’t face towards Mecca took hold of the pillar and twisted it around, leaving the mark. Another, and this is one Rough Guides support (any Lonely Planet fans out there should certainly post their own thoughts), St Gregory the Miracle Worker, appeared there, and subsequently the moisture seeping from the column has been believed to cure a number of conditions.  Another story again, and here I’m still rather hazy, a tear fell upon the column by another heavy religious-type, and if you place your hand into the hole, and it feels moist – you are said to receive great luck, or heal illnesses, remain healthy, three wishes, etc.  All that kind of thing 🙂

Personally, I love that this simple thing has conjured up fantastical legends.  And could just be a hole.  But, where’s the majesty in that?  I have my favourite.  You take your own 🙂

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Mobile Blakepics with Gallery2, AddViaEmail, Gmail, Symbian and Shozu

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The plan was to get photos on Blakepics without the hassle of using computers, web browsers, memory card readers, cables, wires or Royal Mail. The secondary goal of the whole thing is to be a bit cool – so naturally it’s a mash-up of a number of different partially connected services, and I’ll briefly mention Facebook just so that we can check that one off and call it Web 2.0.

So, first step – Gallery2 has an AddViaEmail module. Install that, signup for a Google Mail account and get yourself a really obscure email address. Once you’ve got the AddViaEmail installed and configured (yep, it supports Google’s SSL pop3 servers), you can send emails to that address and have them automagically added to a specific album on your Gallery2 server.

You could stop here if you like – most mobile phones come with email software nowadays. So you can write an email, attach your images, and off they go. But I find email on the little keypads really annoying. And there’s all that typing, clicking, and making sure you get things right to worry about. You’re not exactly cutting edge, with email … are you? Besides, we’ve only made use of three different vaguely related services. That’s not what the web of the future is all about. I’ve heard about it in fairy tales.

So, get yourself a Shozu account. They provide a really cool backup / Share-It service and comes complete with a Symbian application which you can install on your brand new ultra-shiny Nokia N95. For example. If you use this, you can get yourself some single-click access to uploading your photos. Actually, it’s a 3-click minimum. But it’s better than typing email addresses or searching for contacts. They provide a bunch of other ways of sharing your photos, such as uploading to the BBC for consideration as part of their stories. Or more usefully to a WordPress blog or Facebook to humiliate your mates before they’ve got home from the pub and had a chance to de-tag all your new compromising photos.

But alas, AddViaEmail and Shozu don’t play very nicely. So, here are some changes to make to your php script (don’t be scared, it won’t bite).

/modules/addviaemail/classes/AddViaEmailHelper.class – Fix problems with the mime type…
list ($ret, $item) = GalleryCoreApi::addItemToAlbum($pathToSaveFile . $filename,$filename, $filename, $summary, '', $mimeType, $targetDestination);
->
list ($ret, $item) = GalleryCoreApi::addItemToAlbum($pathToSaveFile . $filename,$filename, $filename, $summary, '', 'image/jpeg', $targetDestination);
You’ll also need to disable the subject line spam checker as Shozu will send your email with the subject line as the name of the image.

So just remove this:

$header_info->subject == $subjectToMatch &&

The spam checker is actually quite a cool function, so one of these days I’ll come back an regular expression that. But quite likely, I probably won’t post it here. So work it out for yourself 🙂

See, and that’s all there is to it. I can now upload loads of photos direct through my phone (as I did with the image at the top of the page), and you could too.