Kapadokya, Turkey

B and I flew several days ago from Istanbul to Cappadocia.  It's a fantastically sculpted landscape, bristling with what they here call fairy chimneys and what we would call hoodoos, though the hoodoos are mostly pyramidal.  The town of Goreme is situated in the middle of an array of canyons (which they here call valleys), each sporting a different flavor of chimney.  There's Sword Valley (gray and bladey), Red Valley (not Canyonlands red, but rather paler), Rose Valley (which features pinks and golds), Rocket Valley, Pigeon Valley... etc.

We've pretty much hiked them all in the last few days, which is no mean feat considering that it's about four billion degrees here.  We have to take what we get, weather-wise, and don't want to hide in the hotel room until dark falls and we can't see the canyons.  So we pack a ton of water and sunscreen and head out into the sun.  

Some things of note: Pigeon Valley is named for all the pigeon cotes that were carved into the rock during the Stone Age (about 5000 years ago).  Actually, these cotes are everywhere, but in Pigeon Valley they contrast nicely with the bright white stone.  At the top of Pigeon Valley, the heatstroked hiker is rewarded with The Castle, an ancient fortification rising above Uchisar and everything else around.

Rocket Valley: 

Red Valley contains some Byzantine-era churches, containing frescoes from the 10th century.  Column Church (Kolonlu Kilise) is a massive cave church that just keeps going and going into the rock. B says it's his fave church he's ever seen, and I have dragged that kid to A LOT of churches.

One more thing about Cappadocia: the balloons. Every morning. It's apparently why people come here. It's a big thing. Folks seem puzzled when we say we're here for the hiking.

(Though we also rode a balloon.)