Turkiye 2023: Goreme Open Air Museum

The afternoon schedule for day 11 was as packed as the morning's. We left Goreme town after lunch on the way to Goreme Open Air Museum. On the way, we passed by incredible scenery again with magnificent rock formations rising up high. Also, we passed by what looked like an adventure tour company with ATVs, horses, and bikes. I'm pretty sure this is where non-group tour people sign up for adventures.

Thousands of years ago, Mt. Erciyes volcano erupted. It spewed ash and lava across the region. These hardened to form tuff rock. Later on, the locals realized they could carve into the rocks and made them houses and churches. Goreme Open Air museum apparently has the best cave churches. In 1985, Goreme Open Air Museum was recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site to conserve the churches and the frescoes inside it.

As soon as we left the bus, the sky darkened and as we were showing our tickets to get in, the rain came down, light at first but soon began a real downpour. Since none of us were prepared for the rain, we all trooped into the gift shop.

The rain did not let up for some time; thankfully, those who were not keen on shopping like us were entertained by the resident cat.

After a while, the rain abated and the tour manager decided that we better start the tour despite the rain.

And so we did - walk in the rain!

The rain changed the way we toured the churches. We did not get the guided tour version, instead we were allowed to enter the cave/rock church and tour it on our own.

The first church was small. There are a few frescoes, but I hardly remember them. What I do remember was a cute kitten sitting on a single stool inside the cave - which seemed out of place.

We were told the next church would offer better and more frescoes. True enough, the frescoes were more plentiful and the church was bigger. Also there were evidences of preservation work being done with the presence of scaffolding on one side of the church. When we were inside the church, the rain returned and this time it poured like I have never seen in a very long time (having lived in California for decades). Thus, we were stranded inside the church, which oto be honest is not the worst place to be stranded.

Once the downpour subsided and became a drizzle, we were allowed to leave the church and explore the open air museum on our own. And we all scattered all over the place.

Looks like remnants of fresco.

Unfortunately, our time here was not enough to see every nook and cranny of these fairy chimneys. I am putting this wish out to the universe: I hope I get another opportunity to visit this country or just this region.

Can you see how big my smile was? This type of landscape is totally my cup of tea. As a matter of fact, I need a second and third cup of this same tea, please.