Castles in the Sky… Uçhisar, Turkey Oct 2020

The interesting terrain in this part of Anatolia lends itself to exploration by foot, and we have come prepared with our hiking gear (in Dan’s case an old pair of trainers and his school backpack!). We were grateful for our walking boots as the terrain became increasingly treacherous as we made our way along Pigeon Valley the following morning. After a few wrong turns, we were glad to make a pit stop at the Calgary Tea Room which surprised us as we rounded a steep bend on the route. The scenery resembled the American Wild West, with sandstone arches, majestic canyons and the ever present fairy chimneys. The Valley is named after the copious amount of pigeon houses carved into the rock. Apart from a food source, but now regarded as “sacred”, the ancients used their droppings as fertilizer – no sh#t!