Turkey

I took a bus from Bodrum down to a small town on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey called Kas (pronounced like "cash"). We rented a car and drove to Patara Beach, where sea turtles often go to lay their eggs. The beach is 18 km long and the sand was so soft and warm that you didn't even need to lie on a towel! We swam and bodysurfed in the waves and suntanned and relaxed in the sand.

Patara Beach

The next place we visited was Saklikent Gorge. Saklikent is Turkish for Hidden City. We hiked deep into the canyon and the water was waist-deep at parts! We had to climb up waterfalls on the way in, but we got to slide down them like waterslides on the way out!

Saklikent Gorge

At the end of the day, we relaxed near the hammocks by the river and ate traditional turkish cuisine. Sitting near the water cooled us off after a long, hot day!

Relaxing Hammocks

I (Garfield) first arrived in Ankara, the capital of Turkey, by mail from a third grade classroom in Alabama. In Ankara, I visited the busy streets of downtown, the grassy parks of the suburbs and the library at a university. The Turkish word for library is kutuphane.

Library

Next, I took a bus to visit the tiny village of Göreme for a weekend. The Kapadokya region of Turkey has a unique landscape because it is made of soft volcanic rock which is easily shaped into hoodoos and pointy "fairy chimneys" by nature. Many cave churches and underground cities have been carved into the soft volcanic rock.

Kapadokya Landscape

We did many activities in Kapadokya, but my favorite was the hot air balloon ride over the Göreme valley. We had to wake up at 5:00 in the morning so we could fly for 2 hours before the the sun heated up the sky. We flew so low we brushed the tops of trees, and so high that the world looked miniature down below. Ballooning is a very popular activity in Göreme because the climate is ideal. I counted at least 30 other balloons in the sky that morning!

Balloons in the Sky

In the afternooon we we went mountain biking in the Red Valley and the Rose Valley. I loved exploring the rock formations of the landscape! Sometimes I felt like I was on the moon! The next day we went for a long hike through the Pigeon Valley with a dalmatian named Spotty.

Mountain Biking

Rose Valley

Red Valley