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Wednesday, September 14 - Arriving at Goreme, Shoestring Pension, Meeting the New Zealanders

Beautiful sunrise. Hot air balloon in the sky. We arrive to Goreme at 7:00 am. We were on the road for nine hours. Our driver took us to a hotel of somebody from Kahta. Nice place. He wanted 50 liras per night. The place is nice but seemed empty. Not our style, not our budget. We were told by other travelers to go to the Shoestring Pension.

We asked our driver to take us to the Shoestring Pension, but he said that he does not know where it is. He dropped us at the otocar. We were told that Goreme is a small town and that you can walk everywhere. Benny spotted a mini-bus with a sign “shoestring pension”, we flagged him down. It was the owner, Hasan. He drove us to his place. Lovely place, 28 guests, all young backpackers. It was Hasan’s parents home, and he was born in this place. It is a cave, like most homes in Goreme. We Get a suite. Two caves attached and a private bathroom, all for 10 lira per person. 20 lira per night. Nice communal garden for meals. The beds are comfortable the pillow are soft. Finally my Benny can have a good night sleep.

Why do you call your place Shoestring? I asked the owner. Because shoestring represent hikers and cheap place. More and more guests keep arriving. Beside the rooms there are also dorm rooms here. We have two caves, five beds, private bathrooms, towels, clean bed sheets, blanket. The place is lovely. Many young people sit downstairs in the garden. We exchanged travel information. Japanese, French and New Zealanders. The people from New Zealand told me that they had to go to Gallipoli. Why? I asked. They told me that many people from New Zealand died in the battle of Gallipoli in 1915. I will write more about it when we get to Gallipoli.

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Photos

[place holder for photos from September 14]
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