Goreme

 Goreme

We stopped for a truck lunch at Akarsay where we parked opposite a restored caravanserai. I was tempted to go in but it was only 15 minutes before lunch would be served. We would see plenty more on our route along the Silk Road, so I was not missing out on even the briefest of visits. 

After lunch it was another two hour drive to our next camp site. By the time we reached Nevsehir, the rolling plain of wheat had slowly changed to a few outcrops of limestone. As we approached Ushicar, we saw our first outcrops of tufa and fairy chimneys. These are soft pointed formations that the locals have carved out rooms with doors and windows. Only a few are now used, mainly for novel hotel rooms and B&Bs.

Cappadoccia and Goreme in particular are known as the capital of ballooning. More than half of the group had signed up for a balloon flight. We had some bad news. The weather was predicted to be poor for the next few days and balloon flights had been cancelled.

We reached Goreme and found our campsite, Panarama Camping on the outskirts of town. I would be surprised how the town has changed. I had visited several times but it had been eight years since my last visit. It used to be a back packers haven, full of hostels, camp sites, cheap hotels, street food vendors. 

It has been developed beyond all recognition. There are five star hotels with five star prices. Every former cafe, corner shop and house along the main street is now an upmarket restaurant, five star hotel, souvenir seller or a carpet seller. There are also several ethnic restaurants, with multiple options of Indian andChinese cuisine, signs in Chinese and Russian in addition to many local delicacy options. Many of the old houses have been replaced with new concrete and glass structures.There are a few camp sites and hostels left but none in the centre. There are a few on the outskirts, quite a walk into the centre and their prices have also risen.

Before even putting up our tents, we walked down the road to see our local fixer, Jodi. She ran a tourist agancy and balloon company. She reconfirmed that flights had been cancelled. She had a number of different options on offer. And if we booked up a trip and a balloon flight became available, she could transfer the booking

That made life a lot easier to plan. People could book alternatives and not miss out or lose money by changing bookings. Two local tours were particularly popular. The Turkish evening was also popular. The was billed as an all you can eat and drink evening with entertainment. The all you could drink option was a great pull for the youngsters in the group and it was not expensive. That was booked for the following evening.

With our preferred options booked, we walked back to the campsite and set up our tents. We walked back into town for our evening entertainment. We were going to have dinner in a carpet shop.

The front of Ali's carpet shop.

The back entrance to the carpet shop.

The array of lights inside the entrance.

There was a table set up in the main room on the ground floor. We were served wine. We were served with our evening meal, a beef stew, couscous and a salad.

A view along the table with carpets decorating the walls.

After dinner, we walked down some steps to the shop floor that faced the main road. We were introduced to the carpet weavers skills and the finished products. There were woollen and silk carpets. Some were handmade and some were machine made. Handmade carpets often have a few anomalies, what deriders would call mistakes or flaws but that adds to their charm. Machine made carpets are just too perfect and regular. 

The patterns vary considerably but there are some long standing traditional patterns. Ome carpets are specially commissioned. Even if you like a carpet but it is the wrong colour for your home, you can order the colour of your choice. When most of the world was illiterate, stories were told by pictures weaved into the carpet. There are also traditions associated with carpets. In previous centuries, when marriages were arranged, the promised bride would add knots to the tassels of her carpet which would be on display. This indicated that she was spoken for. Visitors knew the tradition and it avoided loss of face or a declinature as visitors would know that the girl was already promised to another.

The quality of a carpet is based on the number of knots per square centimetre. Numbers up to 45 by 45 knots are not uncommon, and can stretch into two and a half thousand. A lot of concentration is required and carpet weavers working at these levels can only work for a couple of hours a day, hence it takes a long time to produce a high quality carpet.

ALi, the owner of Sultan Carpets, demonstrating the weavers skill.

Just a handful of the thousands of carpets on display and available for sale. I was solely tempted. For the more expensive carpets, insurance, permits, export licences, certificates of authenticity and shipping is all included so you can purchase it and have it delivered and you don't need to carry it home yourself.