Chapter 6: Mad Dogs and Englishmen(Yalova to Göreme, Turkey)
My first wild camp of Asia… amongst rubble and brambles behind a giant billboardA late evening view as I climb into the mountain range which separates Istanbul and AnkaraOne of several scenic wild camps in this mountain rangeThe mountains giving way to a Martian land of bare red, orange and yellow rocksThe Martian scenery continuing between Nallihan and IstanbulLooking behind me as an immense wall of dark cloud chases me down near the summit of my last pass before CappadociaRacing down the descent at 70km/h, aiming to break through the storm threatening to swallow me up before I reached the sunlit plains of Cappadocia After a long, cold wait, we caught our first glimpse of these silhouetted hot-air balloons rising above GöremeThe sun finally peeking above the horizon, lighting up the landscape belowLooking down on the distinctive fairy chimneys this region is famous forThe amount of hot-air balloons in the sky was verging on ridiculousTaking an unorthodox shortcut back to the Zemi Valley track, visible far below. Here Rob was preparing to slide down the rockface with the aim of catching the tree below to stop his fall.Josh setting his sights on the ancient three-storey cave houseJess dwarfed by the huge rock formations of Zemi ValleyThe carved interior of the cave house’s ground floorJosh reaching the top of the first chute up to the second storeyLooking back down the last chute from the third storeyRob admiring the sound structural integrity of the cave houseOne of the hidden cave churches at the end of Zemi ValleyThe remarkably well preserved frescoes adorning the interiorAdmiring the unique Cappadocian landscape just before five large wild dogs decided to make their unwelcome appearance
Irregular Adventures 