A photo hike down the Rose Valley | Cappadocia, Turkey

I have done a previous post where I just gloss over the whole of the Cappadocia region. This time we are going to go on a real photo hike down the Rose Valley above Gorme. This whole region in the central part of Turkey is known for a very interesting formation of sand stone. Along with the natural beauty people have also carved into them for thousands of year. There were whole towns and cities mad into the rocks.

Cappadocia is also well known for its hot air balloon rides that take you down these beautifully painted valleys. The day before we took this hike we woke up early and took a balloon trip. It took off not far from where we set off on this hike I believe. The manager of the Bed Rock hotel dropped us off personally at the trail head and we started walking into this lunar landscape.

The landscape was pretty barren of veggitation at this part of the valley except in the very bottom there were a few trees. The valley was aptly named afte the rose colored walls of the valley. It is kind of a pink tone.

We traversed into the valley and down into it and started walking up the other side into the rock formations. Everywhere you look there are cut outs in the rocks.

Some fo the rock formations are quite phalic. This happens because wind and water erosion take away the layers of sandstone around the spire but there is a harder layer of rock near the top that puts a cap on the erosion around that layer.

You could get lost in a sea of rock formations.

There were plenty of vantage points for beautiful views of the valley below and surrounding terrain.

At some places in the valley the walls became very smooth and almost looked like sand dunes.

Windows in rocks everywhere.

The trail would even go straight through rocks at times.

I loved the contrasts, the benign sand stone, deep cast shadows, and strikingly blue skies.

Along the way there were a few side adventures to take. Giving another vantage point and little hermitages or dwellings in the stone.

One such intersting place along the way was this cafe that has a very old church in the rocks above. We were there in the off season so the whole place was quiet and actually deserted at the short time we were there.

This door to the inside part of the cafe was carved right into the mountain side. The outside had tables under a beautiful grape trellis.

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Inside hanging on the wall is this beautiful weaving loom with a project started on it

This rock towner you can see foot holds making a later up to the ramp that could be scaled to get to the top.

The walls of the valley began to show some signs of agriculture again.

A strange mix of nature and humanity rustic in appearance but pleasing.

Above the cafe up a bit of climb on a later is an church carved into the stone. These were very early Christians that lived here before Islam took over.

Much of the paitings and imagry has been kept in these historic places but you will often find that the faces have been erased to make them more pleasing for the Islam that has been dominant about the last 600 years.

The church was made up of 2 small rooms with a few windows letting light in.

The alter and baptismal.

There was a very intricatly carved cross in the ceiling of the church

We continued our way down the valley. We climbed up the side to stay near the top of the canyon as it narrowed below.

More formations changing in color as we get lower. More of a white and rounded feature now.

Looking back up the valley from the direction in which we had come.

At the end of the valley some of the side valleys made spectacular stone scales along the walls.

As the valleys ran out onto the valley floor slowly leveling out there is more signs on farming in the flat floor. I like how these little bunches of fields looked tucked into these rugged valleys.

We were on level ground now and leaving these giants behind for now.

We aproached a small town surrounded by tombstones. There was a large rock outcropping over the town. Can you believe in those time this would be like a thriving apartment building. All interconnected with caves.

More of the cemetery surrounding the village.

In the town cross roads there was a little most which with the blue sky and the anctent apartmetn building made for a great picture.

We jumped on a bus back to Gorme where our hotel was.