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- Walks in Cappadoce
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 Walking, riding a horse or a bicycle,
the mountains of Cappadoce are daydreams for anyone who dares
to leave the itineraries for tourists. The Fairy Chimneys or
Troglodyte villages are only a few hours far from Paris, then
why not going there ?
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- Text and photos by Jean-François
Vibert
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- Like every morning, the village
is waken up by the muezzin's song. Only the impressive outline
of Mount Hasan does not move : the volcano has been sleeping
since the roman Empire ! We are at Güzelyurt, a small village
in the heart of the Cappadoce. The UCPA made restored there an
old monastery which curved rooms offer a cheery freshness. In
this camp, Hamet organises trekkings by foot, by bicycle or by
horse, which can go from 1 day to 15. He also gives advice to
those who wish to look for the adventure alone. Once the breakfast
is over - tea, olives and bread- we get ready for a long riding
day.
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- The Fairy Chimneys - Our thoroughbred Arabs appear a bit
too brisk at first and we need a few minutes to get used to it
! We go trough rocky paths towards the Ilara Canyon. We soon
encounter fairy chimneys surmounted by oval rocks looking like
hats. Hamet explains how those strange cathedrals were made :
erosion attacks inferior volcanic stratum and the hat is the
vestige of a stronger one.
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- The explorers who came here
in the 17th century thought they had been made by men ! now we
reach the canyon. At the bottom, the vegetation is luxurious
like an emerald vein, and along the river, some poplars and fruit
trees are in blossom. On each side, huge cliffs of ochre rocks
erect in which many hole can be found. Simply the entrances of
underground churches. Some of them are more than ten centuries
old and are ornated with frescos. We explore several crypts with
electric lamps. This country is a real Gruyere cheese !
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- Strange Caves - Soon, we reach a whole troglodyte
village made of strange houses which could have come from a science
fiction movie. Chimneys, dovecotes, tiny windows and doors have
been made everywhere in the cliff. In this country, the volcanic
rock has been digged for ages. Men chose those caves to shelter
but also because the temperature was stable (in winter as well
as during summer) which is good to keep the crops. We are quickly
surrounded by children trying to take us into their strange houses.
Women invite us to seat on bamboo poufs.
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- We are offered some tea and
a fire is lit up in the oven made of rock. While we try to speak
with our hands, a woman cooks some bread, adds some olive oil
and cheese. Then she offers it and looks for our reaction. As
it is really good, she laughs and starts to make others. We will
only leave after having eaten three pancakes each, taken some
pictures and promised to send them as soon as we are back home
!
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 Güzelyurt
- It is the virgin Cappadoce.
Hotels are few, but what a change of scene !
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 Hotel
Karbala : Adjustable stays. Twenty rooms, a ranch, a traditional
kitchen, cultural entertainment in French. Güzelyurt 68500
Aksaray. Tel : 19-90 (382) 451.21.03
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- Boarding
Houses : they appear as soon as some tourist arrive. Between
45 and 100F a night including breakfast. Just find them.
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- How
to go there : Turkey is at the door of Europe therefore that
is not a real big deal to go there alone ! for the Cappadoce,
you'd better chose a direct flight from Paris to Ankara.
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By Driving
- Buses are really cheap and
they are equipped with air conditioning, stewards, bars and videos.
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- From
Ankara : Some three hours. Take the bus at the ultra modern
coach station.
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- From
Istanbul : This way is longer, ten hours, travelling by day
or by night if you can sleep.
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- Renting
cars : It's easy in big cities and will cost around 400F00
per day.
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- Göreme and Avanos :
- We are at the heart of the
Cappadoce and the atmosphere is more for tourists. Anyway, one
can appreciate there many geological and archaeological marvels.
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- Kirkit
voyage / Kirkit Pension : Tél
00-90.212.5182.282. www.kirkit.com
kirkit@kirkit.com
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- Other
Formulas : take advice once in the place, as bad surprises
are very few. Daily activities : visits of sites, walks, ridings,
many guides and agencies can be found there. Renting a moped
is great !
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- Dirigibles
: Not far from Avanos, something must not be missed : an
incredible flight over the Fairy Chimeneys. Kapadokya Balloons
Goreme 50180 Turkey. Tel. 00-90.384.2712.442. www.cappadociaballoons.com
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Randonnée insolite en Cappadoce
pendant la fête du mouton
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- Une randonnée pédestre
dans les vallons et villages insolites de Cappadoce, une sorte
de communion avec la nature autour du Mont Hasan. Lors de votre
trekking, vous découvrirez des cheminées de fée,
des demeures anciennes représentant l'architecture anatolienne
et des églises rupestres byzantines.
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- Jour
1 : Départ de l'hôtel en véhicule pour
le village de Helvadere (1700 m) au pied du Mont Hasan. (30 minutes
de route). Visite des ruines de Mokissos, cité fondée
par l'empereur Justinien au 6ème siècle. Nous marcherons
à travers une forêt de chêne-kermès
en nous élevant jusqu'à 2200 m avec des points
de vue époustouflants sur le mont Hasan avant d'atteindre
le petit village de Yenipinar. 5 heures de marche. Retour à
l'hôtel en véhicule. ( 20 minutes de trajet).
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- Jour
2 : Nous nous rendrons au village d'Ihlara (1300 m).
10 minutes de trajet en véhicule. Marche dans ce canyon
portant le même nom et qui atteint par moment 100 m de
profondeur. Exploration des églises rupestres byzantines
ornées de fresques et situées sur les bords de
la rivière Melendiz qui serpente au milieu de la vallée.
Découverte des cheminées de fée spectaculaires
du village de Selime (1200 m).( 5 heures de marche).
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- Jour
3 : Départ de l'hôtel en véhicule. 1
heure de route. Visite de la ville souterraine de Derinkuyu.
Montée sur le piton rocheux d'Uçhisar pour observer
les formations géologiques de la région. Visite
du musée en plein air de Göreme. Les dédales
des deux plus beaux vallons de toute la Cappadoce : Güllüdere
et Kizilçukur. Puis, nous descendrons
au village de Cavusin. Exploration de la basilique St Jean baptiste.
Notre marche se poursuit jusqu'à la vallée de Pasabag
pour admirer de grandes cheminées de fée. ( 4 heures
de marche). Retour à l'hôtel. 1 heure de route.
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- Jour
4 : Court trajet en véhicule (10 minutes) jusqu'à
l'église Rouge du 6ème construite en pierre de
trachite. Dans un cadre champêtre, marche jusqu'au village
troglodytique de Sivrihisar. Continuation de notre périple
à pied avec des vues imprenables sur les monts Hasan
et Erciyes sur un sentier qui mène au lac cratère
Acigöl, ensuite au village de Nar. Notre randonnée
se ponctue au lac cratère portant le même nom.(
6 heures de marche). 20 minutes de trajet pour retourner
à l'hôtel.
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- Matériel
à emporter : 1 petit sac à dos. Une paire de
chaussures de marche.
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- Le
prix inclut : Le transport aller/retour jusqu'à l'hôtel
et votre lieu de résidence. Les boissons. Les dépenses
personnelles Un guide-moniteur francophone connaissant bien la
région. L'hébergement en demie pension à
l'hôtel Karballa. Les piques-niques pour le déjeuner
Tous les transferts entre l'hôtel et lieux de marche. Le prix n'inclut
pas : L'assurance Les
entrées des sites (Vallée d'Ihlara, Ville souterraine
de Derinkuyu, le piton rocheux d'Uçhisar, le musée
en plein air de Göreme)
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- Date
: 22/02/0225/02/02. Prix : environ 165 Euro. Infos
: http://www.kirkit.com
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- Découvrez aussi la
parution de ce reportage dans les pages tourisme de Point de
vue, Voici , FHM...
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- Point de vue (mai 98)
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- Voici (juin 96)
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- FHM (juin 99)
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- équestre
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- © Jean François
VIBERT - Journalist and photographer - Paris -
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- Specialised in travels, extrems
sports, leisure activities, adventure trips, outdoor sports,
deserts and mountains... Trekking, ski, snowboard, mountain,
bike, sailing, scuba diving, hiking, in line skating... Texts
and pictures for the press and the web, illustration, digital
photography, reportages...
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- Journaliste photographe - Spécialiste
des voyages, des sports de glisse, des loisirs, de l'aventure,
de l'outdoor, des déserts, des montagnes. VTT, trekking,
ski, snowboard, parapente, voile, plongée sous marine,
randonnées, roller in line... Textes et photos pour la
presse et internet, illustrations, photographie numérique,
reportages...
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