Switzerland

Switzerland. The orderly, tidy, on time, quiet nation. The differences between Switzerland and Turkey are so drastic that it took me a while to appreciate Switzerland. Turkey is loud, in your face, constant bantering with people on the street. Having to shake your head at “Lady, yes please!” (i.e. come into my shop) and smiling at “You’re so beautiful” (i.e. come into my shop). 

Basel and its Cathedral

In Switzerland, I was unremarkable.  No-one likes to make eye contact or strike up conversation with random tourists. You get the impression that problems are not shared and complaints are rarely made. And it they were made, it would be done quietly.  The hostels were comfortable, really clean and obviously expensive. The people at the desks there were polite and helpful. Again different to Turkey where you kind of become part of the family for the duration of your stay.

 

Even the dogs in Switzerland were sedately standing beside their owners while tickets were bought or groups of Swiss chatted quietly. But after about 2 days I found some life and heart here too. Just very different. 

I had a good giggle as the vast majority of people waited patiently for the pedestrian light to turn green before daring to set foot across the road (even if no traffic was in sight). Also, if there is a pedestrian crossing the cars happily come to a complete stop to let you cross. There is no squealing of breaks or looks of frustration at being delayed. They just stop for you. Coming from South Africa where you have to be careful not to be run-over, this was a little different. Pedestrians just expect to be stopped for - so they just walk (unless at a robot where they wait for the green man to tell them that they can). There is obviously no jay-walking. You look for the correct place to cross the road.

Inside the town hall

Basel where I landed from Turkey has some lovely museums I’m told - but I was keen for the outdoors. I took a number of walks around the city. I found their bright red town hall dating far back. 

The ferry accross the Rine

Their main cathedral was being restored and was a strange brown colour. But the roof was stunning colourful patterned tiles which shone in morning and evening light. The Rhine was stunning and I took a ferry across (thanks to a geocache on the boat).

The boat had no motor and was completely run from turning the rudder and following the current. A guiding cable helped too.

The open air market

I also enjoyed the open air markets with some of the best strawberries ever!

I have to say that it’s been amazing to me how many people I have found to chat to. Be it for 5 hours or 3 days. I’ve probably had about 3 days wondering completely by myself for the total trip so far.  In 3 weeks that’s not too bad! But even so, it’s not often that talking to strangers the subject of religion comes up at all. But in the Basel hostel I overheard one of the women talking about missing her friend’s baptism. So I asked if she was keen to go to church in Basel. The church recommended to her happened to be the same one I had found out about and so we ended up going to church together. That for me was such an amazing experience – finding a stranger to go to church with.   

The Church in Basel

The congregation was so friendly that I think I ended up being introduced to at least 10 people after the service and invited for lunch and a Bible Study. The weather was dreary and rainy and I was rather glad to be able to meet new people. So, I accepted the invite and went with a Hong Kong – Malasian family to their house. We took off our shoes at the front door and waited for the others. In the end I think there were about 10 of us. We came from all over the world: China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Romania, Swiss, UK and of course me. It was intriguing as Basel, while in Switzerland, is right on the border with France and Germany so a number of the congregation cross the border to come to church! I had a lovely afternoon with this beautiful crowd of people and I really pray for them.  I think that this was the first glimpse for me that Basel (home of pharmaceuticals) has a great heart beneath it.



The flash mob

 Also, walking through the train station I caught my first flash mob! I really wanted to experience one of these but had no idea how to. It was a male voice choir of about 15 people that suddenly started singing a few songs. Also there was a dance festival on in the city and I came across a number of people during the day that randomly set up an instrument (drums / electric guitar) and then people started dancing to the music! This was in the middle of a normal street on a busy shopping day.

View of Luzern from the city wall

I moved from Basel through to Luzern to see real Swiss mountains. Luzern is really one of the most beautiful cities around (but really expensive!). Asking someone to take your photograph in front of something famous is a rather good way to meet people. Or people offering to help you out when self-portraits are really not working! And so it was that I met Nick (an American student studying Nuclear something). We ended up chatting and spending the rest of the day touring around Luzern together and had some really interesting conversations while trying to find cheap food that was not a Mc Donalds meal.



The hall of mirrors in Luzern





Luzern has two famous bridges made from wood dating back to about 1600 and something, and of course the city wall where you can get some really good views if you are willing to climb a few staircases.  The Alps in the background and the lake with swans and ducks swimming on it right in the city really make this city a feast of natural beauty.



Evening view from main bridge in Luzern



Luzern's mountain



On the ferry going to hike the Alps!

The next day, I met up with an Aussie lady, Vic, who is really energetic and loves to cycle for hours or hike for the whole day (especially uphill) etc… With a bit of trepidation at my level of fitness, I went hiking with her. We climbed the Rigi mountain which is about 1800m high. Well, not quite all the way - much to my relief. We took a ferry to a tiny town near Luzern and then the cog-train up the mountain (which is supposedly the steepest train ride in the world) and then hiked from one of the stations for about an hour straight up. The road snaked up the hill with a number of S curves, some so steep that I thought I would roll backwards. The hillsides were covered with short green grass and spring flowers (there is no green like the green in Switzerland – it really does look like the postcards).

Mount Rigi - the hike to the top

  

Hiking through farms



Reaching the top in the smow!

You feeling old or young at this point?
Hard / easy climb?

We hiked above the clouds and … into the snowline! It was just the spring thaw snow with tufts of green sticking out – but still! I can say that I climbed into snow! We then took a path down the hill and round back to the station. We walked through farms and forests where our almost constant companion was the low ringing of cow-bells. The Swiss apparently still put bells around the necks of their cows. You certainly won’t lose them that way as it makes quite a noise! A rather mellow low ringing. I thought it was rather lovely though it irritated Vic. With Vic keen to do more walking we split up, she took a walk down the mountain while I took the cable car.

Coming down the cable car

I have to say that the cable car was an experience. It was packed with Italian tourists and it was REALLY steep going down. Each time we went over a pylon, the cable car slowed until the peak of the pylon and then it suddenly dropped down the other side at a bit of pace, swinging on the line with the ground about 100m below us at some points.  It was a little like a roller coaster and all the Italian tourists obviously made all the appropriate gasps and screams on the way down which didn’t really help my nerves as I was right in front and could see the whole thing. Good fun though once you got over the sudden drops!

Anyways I wrote this blog on a train to Italy. I'm off to hike along the coast in North Italy near La Spezia. Next update from Italy! 

View from the top of Mt Rigi





Selcuk, Ephesus, Pamukkale - The final exploration of Turkey



The once proud temple of Athena



I moved on to Selcuk (pronounced Seljuk) which is near Ephesus. This town wasn’t as small as Goreme, but still special. It’s known for the white storks that come and nest on the ruins around the city.

It’s quite funny actually as one of the major sites to see in the city is the ruins of the temple of the goddess Athena. This in it’s day was one of the biggest structures around (I stand to be corrected but I think it had over 200 pillars). Today there is one tiny pillar left with a huge stork’s nest on top. I can only imagine the people of the day thinking that this structure will last forever.  A rather humbling experience.

St Jean's church

I also visited St Jean’s church ruins in Selcuk which is supposedly where St John was buried. It had a lovely view of the surrounding area and was a nice quiet place to read up a bit about the area. I bumped into a Turkish man here who provided a bit of history and scorned the carpet men for their tactics in selling things. He then promptly brought out a couple of “real” coins from the age of Caesar should I wish to purchase any. Had a good laugh at this. So much for being nothing like the carpet men!

The "real" coins from BC days

The Ephesus ruins are definitely worth a visit (I managed to acquire on the back of a local’s scooter to the ruined city which saved a couple of km walking). The audio guide tries to give an idea of how grand this city once was. The theatre of the town could seat over 24 000 people in it and you really can hear a person right at the top of the stadium. I climbed it and got to hear the inside info of an English tour group who were standing on the stage.  The audio guide mentioned that Paul came here and preached in this theatre to the crowd who were not keen on what he had to say. He then had to leave the city in a hurry. Some photos of Ephesus follow:

It’s quite something to see the place and imagine this story when you are there. There is so much richness and history in Ephesus and they have only uncovered a portion of the city to date. I spent a number of hours wondering around the ruins of Ephesus and enjoying the sunshine and imagining a city so full of life.



Near Ephesus is the valley of the Seven Sleepers. Legend has it that long ago some Christians were trapped in a cave near Ephesus. They were then put to sleep. About 200 years later, when an earthquake shifted and opened the cave again they came out and down into town to tell their story. They seem to have died soon after. Fascinating legends like this one are all over this area.



Me and friends on the Pamukkale tour



Pamukkale – another town about 3 hours drive from Selcuk. I took a tour there and it turned out to have the dullest most un-interesting tour guide I have ever met in my life. Some of the people on the tour with me were rather interesting though. There was a lady from Canada who was travelling by herself and instead of taking pictures of herself in places, she had a bag full of hand puppets. Rather a novel idea. Also a bunch of Indonesians. We all went into the white pools that Pummakale is so famous for and the ruins of a city beginning with an H which I don’t seem to have record of anymore. We took a quick hike up a small mountain to get a good view and see the ruined church of St Phillip which is supposedly where he was martyred. This ruin is not quite as impressive as Ephesus, but  some good legends surround it.



Views from the water pools



St Phillip ruins



Flowers at St Phillip

I’ve been called beautiful in Turkey more times than I can count. It’s rather charming until you think that that person owns a carpet shop and their uncle owns a jewellery shop and they think all blond people are rich. Yesterday at the Grand Bazar back in Istanbul, I managed to negotiate a shawl price down from 70 Lira to 25 Lira for the cost of a single strand of blond hair and a kiss on the cheek. Lol – if my hair is worth that much I should have bargained with it before J. I even had a line from one of the stall people: “Lady, lady, you dropped something.” I tried to ignore it but glanced around. “No I didn’t.” “Yes, you dropped my heart!” What can you do but laugh and run away? (Claire I think I’ve heard some special ones here!)

View from St Phillip

Anyways… And that’s Turkey. I love this place, but I can see why people may find it difficult to travel here by themselves. If you’re ok with “Lady, yes please.” Coming from every second stall and shop you will have a ball here. The travellers here tend to be great too. That’s all from Turkey. I’m now flying into Switzerland. I’m sad to leave Turkey but rather excited that I don’t have to fend off any more carpet men.

Cappadocia - the land of fairy castles



Cappadocia – it’s an alien landscape of strange rock structures and plenty of caves. A little out of StarWars and a little out of Dr Seuss.

I have to admit that the blog is running about a week behind me and in order to prevent that slipping away to two weeks I’m trying to grab time wherever I can.  

I loved every minute in this province of Turkey. Cappadocia is an area in central Turkey which is known for its fairy chimney landscapes and ancient church caves. It is quite spectacular and rather hard to describe and I’m not even sure that the pictures do it full justice.



The town of Goreme



I flew from Istanbul to Kayseri and then took a transfer bus from Kayseri to Goreme. This tiny town is basically a world heritage site due to the startling scenery that surrounds it. It looks a little like a planet in Starwars and for all I know, the film could have been filmed in this area.

My hotel in this area was a brilliant budget hotel. The people were really great at suggesting things to do, providing maps and suggesting places to eat. There was one assistant helping out who always seemed to be around when I came out my door and I was constantly greeted by a thick accented slightly sing-song “ello” and a huge toothy grin. It was rather lovely.

The landscape near Goreme

Fairy castles are rock formations that were created when 3 volcanoes in the area were active. They basically filled the valley with a soft volcanic rock called Tufa and then provided a hard layer of basalt. Through erosion, the landscape changed and now towers of rock reach up toward the sky with little caps of basalt.



Outside my first church



A few hundred years ago, the people of the area found that the rock was able to be dug out when it was damp. They proceeded to create houses and whole cities beneath the ground and in the fairy castles. The Christians moved into this area during the time of persecution around (I think) 100AD. And they stayed until about 1100AD. During this period they created a number of churches and monasteries dug into the rock.



Inside the church





         They painted the churches in startling colours and some of the most stunning murals I’ve seen. When the Muslims moved into the area, they destroyed a number of faces on the murals as to them it was irreverent to have faces looking at them. (I suppose the fact that they were Christian images didn’t really help the cause.) So now, excavations have been done and the churches were re-discovered and now people from all over the world come to see the wonder hidden in this unusual landscape and hear the history of the peoples that lived there.



Cavusin village and fairy castle

 

People at the top of Cavusin Castle



The first day the hotel suggested walking into the hills and aiming for Cavusin – another tiny village about 4km by road away with a rather larger than normal fairy castle. So, I headed out between the fairy castles with only a vague idea of where and what Cavusin was and ended up getting completely distracted by the numerous caves and caverns that existed amongst the hills. I eventually bumped into an Australian – Italian lady who could speak any number of languages and we continued our wondering through the wilderness until we crested a rise to find a make-shift café selling fresh (squeezed in front of you) pomegranate and grapefruit juice. Once we had our juice we continued down one of the many paths following a red spray painted sign that indicated that there was an ancient church in the valley.  This was my first chance to see fresco’s as they are called here – paintings that depict Christ and various scenes from the Old and New Testaments. In some churches there are even crafted pillars and domed ceilings and enclaves all carved into the rock. It is truly amazing – breath taking to think that over 1000 years ago people lived in these places and created such paintings and sculptures.

Getting lost in the hills at night is not really my idea of fun and as the sun was setting and Goreme was in the distance I was wondering how I would be able to get back. But my multi-languaged friend managed to find some Italians with a car and they not only lifted us to Goreme but through Cavusin where we were aiming so I managed to see it all.

 

View of Goreme





Kiwi, Me, Aussie


 The next day I went on the “Green tour” which takes you to sights that you basically can’t see easily by yourself. This was where the fun really began as I met up with other people travelling by themselves from Aussie, NZ and Ireland. Our tour also contained a group of Bulgarians who were loads of fun but you wouldn’t want to meet them in a dark alley. After the first sight-seeing stop, the guide told us we had 5 minutes. The Bulgarians then naturally ordered beer. After checking no-one had to be back by a certain time, the tour slowed to a crawl with a lot of laughter.  The guide was great and the company good.

In the underground city

We toured through the underground city (it can hold over 600 people) and were showed various holes in the floor, wall and ceiling. Each apparently had a different purpose. Some were booby-traps, others ovens, wine presses, ventilation shafts, communication tunnels, wells etc. In certain places there were large millstones that could be rolled across the door to prevent access. The tunnels were low and narrow, where a good sized American may struggle a bit (though the tunnels were not as small as Vietnam I’m told).  



Exploring the Monastery



Rolling the millstone



It was more like a fortress than a city in my opinion. There was a point where you had to bend over so low you needed to waddle like a duck to get through. Our tour also took us sauntering through a beautiful cannon, to great viewing spots and we got to climb all over an ancient monastery through tunnels and staircases back into the sunlight. (With a number of paintings and black ceilinged kitchens to be found). 

  
Near the end of the trip, one of the Bulgarians came up to us, planted his feet firmly and gestured “10 Lira” he said (Turkish money). The Japanese men sitting near me had huge eyes as they tried to figure out why their money was being demanded. But there was no way that you were saying no to that man. It turned out to be the tip for our guide. He was thrilled of course. Rather funny as the Japanese don’t tend to tip. I was told by Emma that it was part of their culture. For them its rude to tip. Anyways, it made for a rather movie-like scene. And of course I have to mention “donkey man” who was one of the Bulgarian. He told us that he loved donkeys but he just didn’t know why. He was completely serious about it but you would never have expected a man like that to be so crazy about donkeys! And of course every time us single travellers came across a donkey it became a point of giggles.  

View from the Monastery



Back at base, I teamed up with the Aussie and Kiwi we found a lovely cheap restaurant where the waiters reminded us of Faulty Towers. Really rather special.

Rose Valley

The Kiwi left us and the Aussie (Tim), Irish (Emma) and I went exploring the hills the next day for a huge day long hike, estimated by the locals to be about 16 km. We really saw a lot and a number of the different valleys and besides being drenched with cold rain for about half an hour we has stunning weather.

Love Valley and shop

Hiking in the rain

We travelled from Goreme, past the open air museum up to the campsite, over the Red and Rose valleys to Cavusin. From there we took the Love valley to Uchisar and then back along the road to Goreme. I have to say that this was my favourite day of the trip so far. We came back exhausted to Goreme to our pre-ordered Turkish dinner (not supper!). It was stunning. A jumble of beef and veggies put into a clay pot, put in a fire oven for some hours and then they break the clay pot when they serve you and this gorgeous meat smells so good. You have to book at least in the morning to have a hope of having dinner at this place. And of course red wine is the essential ingredient.

Emma, Tim and me in love valley

I also went to the Goreme open air museum which holds a huge collection of churches centred in one spot. The murals tell the Bible stories and I over-heard  a guide telling his group that it was used for teaching.  They had the story of Lazarus, the Baptism, the Nativity, the Last Supper and the Ascension. They were really beautifully done in amidst the stone caves.

One day with Tim and Emma, we got stuck in an Uchisar tea house while it was pouring outside! To negotiate in Turkey seems to require a lot of time and some obligatory flirting for some reason and by the end of the negotiation for a lift back into town, the locals had thought of a partner for each of us. We joked with them and I think it was a close call for Emma in particular to make it back to town.

I have to say that some of the places we went to were a bit crazy if you don’t have a head for heights! What passes for acceptable safety ratings in Turkey would probably be illegal in most places in the world.

Uchisar Castle - 175m high



On top of Uchisar Castle - the biggest fairy castle in the land



When exploring you constantly had to be aware of random holes in the floor (either through erosion or man-made), how thick the floor beneath you was, corridors and rooms that ended in cliffs and of course the low tunnels. We ended up with a lot of roof in our hair and on our backpacks and – well it was a lot of fun! Uchisar fairy castle is the largest castle in the area and I was told it was inhabited as late as 1960s. They judged to be unsafe and the government moved all the people out. There are spectacular views from the top if you can handle the fact that there are no guard railings at all.

Crazy German geocachers!

Oh and I have to mention the hike I did on the last day when my new found friends had gone home. I bumped into some Americans on the bus and they decided to come geocaching with me. The first cache I looked for with them was one of those death defying on the edge of no-where places with a steep slope and slippery sandstone. Hence I placed myself firmly at the top of the cliff and didn’t go any further. But there were some crazy Germans geocaching at the same time so, I provided the clues from a safe distance and they acted like mountain goats for me. Half way through some Turkish men came clambering up the sloped cliff with normal work shoes on as if it were the most normal think in the world to climb up a sandstone 60 degree slope wearing a suit! I love the Turkish.



Our path following the shepherd!



We didn’t find that cache unfortunately and we said goodbye to the crazy Germans. We then wended our way down into Pigeon valley for a nice easy hour walk back to Goreme. However, all paths that we took seemed to end in 100m high cliffs. We were on a ledge with (I thought) the only possible way being to go back. We picked up another 4 people who had the same idea as us and as we were looking for a possible path, the Americans found a shepherd who said that he would lead us the scenic route. So, the now 8 of us set off behind this shepherd with his 9 dogs running up and down the steep slopes around us. Note to anyone going to Goreme. Don’t follow a shepherd taking the scenic route! I don’t think I have been that scared in a while. He took us up a steep slope with the sandstone giving way beneath our feet.

Rope climbing with shepherd

We then (one at a time) had to perch on the top point of a mountain with our legs either side of the escarpment and swing ourselves over onto some sort of thin rope and climb down about 2.5 meters. We slid across the sandstone - trying to go sideways and not look down. Loosing footing would not have been a good idea. He guided us along a 40 cm wide path at the top of the escarpment with steep drops either side. By the time I made my way down out of the sky onto firm ground I was eternally grateful that my prayers had been heard in amidst of my telling myself how crazy I was to do this. Many thanks to the Dutch person who helped me over the really bad areas!

So many memories in this area it’s difficult to really remember and appreciate them all. But I have to say I’m having the time of my life!

Balloons!

Goreme is also known for its hot air ballooning. I have to say that budget prevented me going on one, but I ended up on the last morning with balloons right outside my door. It was a perfect end to visiting this very special place - I was rather sad to leave.

More pictures if you are interested.



Hiking in Cavusin





Inside the Monastery



More Monastery



Goreme at night with lightning



Caching in Cavusin



Goreme