Wednesday
Visit to the Göreme Open Museum. Interesting. Here, as elsewhere, prices are catching up with inflation and it costs €20 to visit the church of Toplaki and the whole museum. There are many churches in the museum. Note that, in theory, you’re not allowed to photograph inside them ^^.
The last church on the tour costs €6 to visit. I thought they were exaggerating a bit and I didn’t go.

Thursday
I get up in the middle of the night to watch the sunrise over Cappadocia in a hot-air balloon. Although it’s not the height of the season, there are dozens of minibuses converging on the take-off site. The preparation of the balloons is quite slow and suddenly they’re almost all at the same time and we’re on board. It’s a bit expensive, and if you want the selfies and videos taken during the trip, you have to add a few pennies. Business is business. I also don’t really like pink champagne at 6am... but you need a festive atmosphere to encourage people to spend money 🙂

I’m going to visit an underground city. I’m going to Kaimakli because it’s a bit closer and I’ve read that although it’s smaller it’s no less interesting. But the descriptions I’d read about Derinkuyu (the other underground city a little further away) gave a completely different impression. In Derinkuyu there’s apparently a stable in the city... it’s hard to imagine herds of cattle passing through the narrow tunnels of Kaimakli. The visit was also difficult because you had to keep up with a steady stream of visitors, and you could hardly stop yourself because there were people behind you. And don’t bring anyone who isn’t flexible or claustrophobic : you have to bend in half in the narrow tunnels to move forward. I hit my head several times ^^

In Göreme there are lots of gendarmes and plainclothes officers... I end up seeing the group of celebrities and learn that he’s the head of the gendarmerie for the whole of Turkey ! A couple of tourists are very pleased to have their photo taken with the VIP ^^

In the evening I meet the French girl I met in Konya for the third time ! We spend a little time chatting and then she has to catch the last minibus to Uchisar.

Friday}

Last day in Göreme, I make a small loop via Urgup and the fairy chimneys.
Very pleasant, these magical landscapes.

Tomorrow I change my plans a bit : I’m going to Kayseri where I’ll try to catch a bus to Diyarbakir in the evening. I’ll be visiting what the Turks call East Anatolia.