The next day, while Ellie and I escorted the sick student to Kayseri Airport for a flight to Istanbul and an onward connection to Birmingham, the rest of the group trekked through the spectacular Cimbar Canyon, affording fantastic views of the north face of Mt. Demirkazit.
Ellie and I, on our return, we’re to meet the group in a mountain but in the village of Demirkazit, where we were to have lunch. As we arrived a good ninety minutes before the group we caught up on lost sleep, having started at 5.00am.
After lunch we walked down to the centre of the village where there is a small public garden for village use. There we were to meet with the mayor who wanted to thank us for making a donation to the school. It was all a bit laboured as all conversation had to go through Omer. We were given tea and then tubs of ice cream, not something I would normally eat but it would have been rude not to. Mine was particularly large. I was also presented with a rug made by the village.
Ironically, later that night, I suffered from a bout of the shits, as did a few others in the group. The irony being that we gave funds to renovate the toilets and in return thy gave us the shits!

The next day was another long trek over the Tekkekalesi Pass and down the other side for some distance before turning south and climbing another ridge to then drop into the beautiful Yedigoller Basin. I was still concerned about the health and ability to cope of one of the students so Jenny and I took them and left camp early. Yousef led at a good pace and things looked good to begin with as we reached the top of the pass. As the day wore on the walking became more laboured and by the time we reached camp it was a real struggle. We played word games to distract from the effort. It was a stunning walk with fantastic views from all of the high points. When we were low we were surrounded by magnificent cliff faces and escarpments. When we were high we felt on top of the world. The view down into the Yedigoller Basin was particularly impressive. There are seven lakes in the basin created by the melting snows during the spring and early summer. They are crystal clear and so, so blue. The descent into the basin is steep requiring, as Omer put it, ‘summer skiing’ down the fine scree. On all sides the basin is surrounded by high walls of rock including the massive ridge of Narpazbasi and Direktas, both above 3500m. Camp was situated a few minutes walk from the largest of the lakes and despite the coldness of the water the freshness it provided was well worth the pain.
We had two nights in Yedigoller, giving us a day to explore the surrounding peaks. In the morning most of the group headed up to the Celikbuyduran Pass to then climb Mt. Embler (3723m). It was a steady climb up to the pass but the ascent of the peak was much steeper and a bit of a lung buster. However, the views from the top are well worth the effort. As you reach the top you realise that there is not very much of a summit as it falls away vertically to the other side, allowing you to feel slightly exposed. On the top, wrapped up firmly in polythene and wedged into the cairn, is a visitors book for summiteers to sign, along with a home made banner to hold for photos.
Returning to camp for lunch the afternoon was free, although there was an optional opportunity to climb another peak in the middle of the basin. Most of the group opted to rest, as did I as I am still nursing a foot injury from my exploits on K2 earlier in the year.
The next morning the trek took us back up to the Celikbuyduran Pass, so I left camp early with Ellie and Lucinda to climb Mt. Embler, as they had missed out the previous day.
The student who was ill was not getting any better. In fact they were getting worse. In the morning we had to resort to a pony to get them to the top of the pass. We had to give serious thought to getting them back to the UK sooner rather than later. Although we tried not to use the pony on the descent, we had to as it proved too difficult without. The descent was long and steep, requiring some sections of ‘summer skiing’. It lead into a deep narrow gorge before opening out again, where huge marmot like rocks stood guard over the entrance to the gorge. The campsite at Sokulupinar was a patch of lush green grass amid a barren landscape. When campers are not in residence the grass is watered and provides a good play area for energetic young people.

The following morning we had two students who were clearly unwell and the taxing trek up the Maden Valley was going to be too much for them. I was determined, however, not to give in to them too easily as there was a dirt road taking an easier route to the next camp. The advantage of this route was that if rescue was needed it could be applied much more easily as our two support vehicles would be transporting kit throughout the morning. Louisa and I set off with the two students while the rest of the group went to trek up the harder and more interesting Maden Valley. On our dirt road we were soon overtaken by one of our vehicles taking our kit. It would soon be returning for a second load. Soon after the vehicle passed one of the students began to feel faint and was clearly struggling to put one foot in front of another. We were only about forty minutes out of camp with several hours ahead if us. There was absolutely no shelter but by using Louisa’s sarong, a prickly bush and two walking poles we managed to create a shelter in which to put the two casualties. My umbrella came to good use again. Keeping the girls hydrated we waited for the vehicle to return, but it never came. Unbeknown to us it had broken down on its journey to the next camp. After some time I sent Louisa back to camp to summon help but none came. Louisa, having returned to camp discovered that the second vehicle had gone to a nearby town for supplies. The crew would not allow her to return where we waited as it meant passing the nomad camp with the potentially vicious dogs. So I waited, the students taking advantage of the makeshift shelter and dozing, while I took the full force of the sun. It was while waiting here that my thermometer registered 47C. After four hours, Louisa arrived with the second vehicle, now returned from its resupply trip, to rescue us and take us up to camp at Comce Lake, a lake with an amphitheatre of rocky mountains surrounding it. The rest of the group arrived at camp about an hour later having had a challenging and interesting full day of trekking. Most of them took the opportunity to cool off in the icy waters of Comce Lake.
That night we had some fun in camp. Each day we have nominations for the ‘Muppet of the Day’ award. The winner has to look after an 18 inch stuffed Kermit for 24 hours. Failure to look after him properly can lead to a forfeit being imposed. On this particular day Louisa was the custodian but while some of the group distracted her, others took advantage and kidnapped Kermit. Soon Louisa found a note slipped into her tent threatening that if she wanted to see Kermit alive again she had to ‘play the game’. During the course of the evening a series of instructions relating to the Seven Deadly Sins were posted to her. There were various acts or tasks that she had to perform in order to get Kermit back. Louisa thoroughly entered into the spirit of it as Johnny and James used all of their creative talents in devising the tasks. It caused much hilarity throughout the evening and Louisa’s performance ensured the safe return of Kermit and a deserved round of applause from the group. Needless to say she had suffered enough and did not have to face a forfeit as well.

The Taurus Mountains are a Turkish delight! They feature deep gorges, rock faces and crenelated ridges. To add spice to them there are a number of accessible peaks between 3000 and 4000 metres. The walking is not always easy with plenty of scree, which is fun to go down but tiresome to climb up. Thought needs to be given to the route taken to avoid some long, hot ascents; much better to descend by these long routes particularly when it is hot, and it can get very hot in July. My thermometer, attached to my camera bag, registered a high of 47C. I have by no means seen all there is of the Taurus Mountains, and I missed some of our itinerary while looking after a sick member of the group, but I have seen enough to want to return, perhaps in late spring or the autumn when the temperatures are a little more manageable.
Our introduction to the Taurus Mountains was in the village of Demirkazit with the rock wall that is Mt. Demirkazit (3756m) towering above. However, we were not there to look at the mountains but to visit the village school. The school was closed for the long summer holiday but a sizeable number of children were mustered for our visit. It was remarkably well equipped with computers and an interactive white board etc.
To break the ice we sang ‘Head, shoulders, knees and toes’ and they responded with a very loud, passionate rendition of the Turkish National Anthem. Ice broken, we handed out our goodie bags, playing with the toys in them and found out a little about them. It was all a little chaotic in the confined space of a classroom. There must have been seventy in there, adding to the already clammy atmosphere.
There were no teachers there; they were sensibly on holiday, but that was a good thing. When we asked the children what they would most like improved in their school their response was immediate and unanimous. They all wanted the toilets repaired and improved. The school caretaker, who was there, agreed with the children but also wanted the new boundary wall raised with a wire fence on top of it. With the sums done we were able to hand over sufficient funds for the two jobs to be done to everyone’s satisfaction. They have promised to send me photographs when the work is done before the new academic year starts.
Having finished at the school our bus took us the short distance to the trailhead village of Pinarbasi and the start of our Taurus Mountains trek. The walk to camp was a gentle introduction with just two hours to camp, overlooking the entrance to the Maden Valley. As we walked storm clouds brewed over Mt. Demirkazit and it started to rain. I had been the victim of much derision for carrying a small umbrella but now the rest of the group wished they had one as the majority of them, me included, had not put our waterproofs in our day sacks.
The campsite was impressively placed on a natural platform overlooking the lower end of the Maden Valley. Nearby, but not so near that the dogs disturbed us, was a nomad camp, their flocks out roaming the hillsides. These flocks are closely observed by their shepherds and protected from wolf attack by very large, often aggressive and threatening dogs. Some have spiked collars to protect them from retaliatory wolves who naturally go for the neck.
The campsite, like all the campsites we stayed in, was semi-permanent, set up for the trekking season. Occasionally we had to take down our tents in the morning so they could be moved on to the next camp but more often than not the tents were a permanent feature. It was only the large size of our group that sometimes necessitated the moving of tents. The mess tent, made of goat’s wool, was an open fronted structure with crudely, yet very effective tables and benches. The toilet tent had a porcelain squat toilet with piped water to flush it. Hose pipes from much higher up the mountain brought fresh drinking water into camp. There was even a shower tent, albeit with a hose of cold water, but even that was very welcome after a hot, sticky day.

This region has some of the most amazing and awesome rock formations on earth. We first came across them as we approached Uchisar where there are two towers of rock sticking up out of the centre of the village. The bus then dropped over the lip of the valley and the whole panorama of rock formations lay before us. There was too much for the brain to observe and take in. Not stopping at Goreme, we continued a few kilometres to Pasabaglari, or the Valley of the Priests. Here there are numerous pillars of rock with hats of harder rock perched on the top. The soft pillars have had rooms carved into them, presumably inhabited by priests and monks.
Having explored the area we were heading back to the bus when an ice cream seller entertained the group with ice cream tricks before giving Tom Busher a free one. This was all done to encourage the rest of the group to buy from him. It would have been successful had Omer and I, not realising what was happening, summoned everybody to board the bus. The expression of disappointment on the ice cream vendor’s face was a picture to behold. The bus took us to camp in a field belonging to a hotel, which included a swimming pool as one of its assets. The hotel was largely empty as Sobek Travel had bought it with the intention of developing it but were awaiting planning permission.
The following morning I was awoken by the sound of a burner firing off close by. Knowing that balloon flights occur every morning, I opened my tent to have a look, expecting to see a couple of balloons in the air. What I saw took me completely by surprise; I counted 35 balloons! Wow! What an impressive sight. The other thing that went through my mind was, ‘I want to do this.’
After breakfast we went on a most amazing walk of about ten miles through all the best features Cappadocia has to offer. The area is abundant with ‘fairy chimneys’ or Hoodoos, which are tall, thin spires of rock that rise up from the valley floor. They are made of relatively soft rock but are capped by harder, less easily eroded stone that protects the column on which it perches.

To begin with we walked through the White Valley (Akvadi), which not only has layers of white rock that bears a similarity to liquid icing that has set, but also some rather fallic formations. These caused much hilarity. The route took us through the valley bottom with all the magnificently carved rock towering above us. Eventually we climbed out, just before the village of Uchisar, to find a man under an umbrella squeezing fresh orange juice for two Turkish Lira – very welcome and much needed refreshment. Reaching Uchisar we climbed to the top of the Citadel, the huge rock rising out of and above the village. From the top there were panoramic views of the whole area. Descending, we called into a restaurant for lunch before completing our walk through Pigeon Valley back to Goreme. Pigeon Valley is so named because many of the rock pillars have been carved out for dwellings. These also had lots of small holes allowing pigeons to enter. Inside, wires were string across allowing the pigeons to roost. Every so often the droppings were collected for fertiliser, a practise that went on until the ’50s when commercial fertilisers became more available.
Goreme is a very interesting town as the houses and the fairy chimneys combine to form dwellings, restaurants and hotels. We went to such a restaurant later in the evening.
Back at camp a small group went off with Josh quad biking while another group went with Ellie for a proper Turkish bath. How they could consider such a thing after a very hot day, I cannot imagine. For the majority the lure of the pool was all they needed to keep cool and relax.
Before we left Cappadocia Jenny, Paul and I decided to take an early morning hot air balloon ride. We were picked up from camp at 4.45am and taken to the office to register and pay before being taken to the take off site. There were twenty of us in the basket, mostly Japanese, and it was a truly memorable experience. Upon take off we moved very close to one of the fairy chimneys before climbing to 1000m for the sunrise. The early morning glow on the various shades of rock was spectacular. Having climbed and drifted over the campsite and then Goreme, we dropped into Pigeon Valley, where we had walked yesterday. I was really struck by the manoeuvrability of a balloon with such a big basket. The balloon. Sprain literally steered us around trees and rock formations. Rising out of Pigeon Valley we then flew past the Citadel and beyond. It was fascinating to watch the support vehicles chasing the balloons in an effort to reach the landing sites. Our captain chose his spot and landed us very smoothly. The vehicle withe the trailer pulled up alongside. Before we were allowed out of the basket the captain lifted the balloon with a short blast from his burners and planted it gently on to the trailer. How cool is that? We climbed out to a glass of champagne and orange and a certificate.
The experience completed we climbed into the minibus for the journey back to camp. As we were to be the last to be dropped off at camp the minibus took us to parts of Goreme that we had not seen before and you could easily spend more time in this fascinating small town.
Back at camp we just had time for breakfast before embarking on the next phase of our Turkish adventure, the Taurus Mountains.