25 October

After the now usual procedure (except that still some of the group look at my Vegemite jar with amazement) of preparation, suitcase out, breakfast, finish preparations and then pack, check and leave, I was out to the bus by 0750.
Today we started out on a longish drive (I think some of the participants would faint on a drive with me) and left the fertile areas behind. The land became more like valleys between mountain ranges and became far drier and the soils changed from chalk to limestone. The farming changed from intensive cultivation to sugar beets, graving and irrigated crops. There were also sheep around, each flock with their own shepherd (which seems funny to me, being used to large numbers of sheep grazing unattended).
We stopped at a caravanasai, a cross between and inn and a fortified place, which were used along the Silk Road. Part of the road we are on was part of the original route, so it is funny going from one end to the other by other means. Perhaps another project might be to travel it by land transport, such as a vehicle.
We stopped not too long after for morning tea (that really does sound better than the real reason why we stop) and once again the bus, and especially the windows, were washed. It seems peculiar the number of washes the bus gets, given we can’t even wash our cars at all (except for recycling automatic car washes). Here there was a thriving trade area.
We pushed on for lunch and stopped at a service station/Supermarket. After a quick look at the food selection, Sue and I got something at the supermarket and then did the block. There was a lot of construction, many new buildings (we had passed through villages of mud brick construction in the morning) and a lot of new roads. The hospital in the town was brand new, only open for a year but still not finished.
After lunch we drove to an open-air museum of the cave buildings (mainly churches here) of Cappadocia. We walked through quite a few after an explanatory session. Naturally most of them were small, having been hollowed out of tuff. Some of the frescos were well-preserved. The homes had dovecotes, for food and for messages (so SMSs are to new – just the transmission system is different). I ran into the Australian group again, seeing Helen and Stewart as well as the chap from Adelaide. I managed to get the photo of two other girls and explained why I wanted it.
Finally we headed back to the bus (after being sucked in to buy another tourism book) and went to the hotel.
After settling in I went for a walk. The driver was fascinated by my hand-held GPS (he is using a SatNav on the bus) and explained the shops were a long way away but the centre of town was fairly close. I walked down and found shops close by (but not many) and a market square. On the way back I was chatting with a couple of older English ladies about travel.
At the hotel it was then time for tea and a departure to the Folk dancing show. This was set in a cave-like building, with a tunnel entrance, a circular performance area and five bays of some seventy-two seats arranged in tiers of four seats each side and nine rows.
The performance was very well given by ten dancers and a belly dancer. Each of them engaged members of the audience in what they were doing and received enthusiastic responses. Some of the groups had dinner; we had nibbles and drinks – unlimited drinks, which some of the party took advantage of (and I think regretted the next day). Aran played backgammon while we watched. The performance concluded about 2315 and we wearily headed onto the bus and back to the hotel.
For me, it was then charge batteries, transfer and process photos, do washing and then upload photos while dropping off to sleep.
I couldn’t upload my blog as the site has been blocked by the Turkish Government (“T.C. Diyarbakır 1. Sulh Ceza Mahkemesi 20.10.2008 tarih ve 2008/2761 sayılı kararı gereği bu siteye erişim engellenmiştir. Access to this web site has been suspended in accordance with decision no: 2008/2761 of T.R. Diyarbakır 1st Criminal Court of Peace”) so I will have to wait until Egypt or home to upload this and following entries.