Our guide Togay won us over right away by taking us on a hike.
Early that morning, on our hot air balloon ride, I had been amazed by the terrain below us, particularly the valleys with cones and pillars of white rock.
When Togay suggested that we hike in one of those valleys and get a closer look at the rocks, we enthusiastically agreed. Our driver Mahmut dropped us off at one end of Meskendir Valley. We’d do a mostly downhill hike and meet Mahmut at the other end. Sweet!
The trail wound between steep slopes of white “tuff” rock. Togay invited us to touch it, and sand came off on our hands. This relatively soft rock even showed grooves from the runoff from recent rains. Togay explained that the landscape here changed quickly and constantly as wind and rain eroded the tuff.
This was my favorite kind of hike, with amazing vistas around every corner and interesting features like caves and slot canyons.
Down here on the ground, we could see rectangular holes in the cones and cliffs. Togay explained that these were entrances to pigeon houses. For thousands of years, pigeon-keepers across Cappadocia carved out these bird houses and collected and sold the pigeon guano. The guano was used for fertilizing crops and for enhancing the colors of paint for frescoes. Some entrances had red designs painted on the rocks so that pigeons could identify their houses. Where rock walls had eroded away and collapsed, we could see rows of compartments, like mailbox slots, for the pigeon nests.
The tuff formations had fascinating shapes. Sometimes they resembled jagged teeth; other times they looked like soft serve ice cream. It was beautiful, in a slightly eerie way.
Near the end of the trail, we saw a church that had been carved into a rock. It wasn’t safe to go inside, but Togay assured us we would see more rock churches later.
After several miles of strange and wonderful terrain, we ended our hike in the village of Çavuşin, where Mahmut waited for us with the van. The village’s surreal backdrop was an imposing rock with abandoned cave dwellings. Seeing Cappadocia’s remarkable landscape from high up in the balloon, and then hiking through it, was a perfect way to spend our first day.
Meskendir Valley is in Göreme National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
