Day 22 - Cappadocia to Konya

After a disappointing start to the day we left Cappadocia for Konya but first we had some more sight seeing to do. We were meant to go ballooning today and even though one of the other companies did go up ours decided it was too dangerous with the wind. Better to be safe than sorry but we were all very disappointed.  When the sun came up there was snow on the mountains around Cappadocia so it had been a cold night so not only would we have missed the sunrise due to the late take off but it would have also been very cold and cloudy so best to save our money for another time.

Last night we went to the night club to see the folk dancing and belly dancing. It was a very sleazy place, the folk dancers looked bored and the belly dancer was more like a booby dancer, the boys enjoyed it. I have seen better belly dancing in Australia, this girl made it into almost strip club show. Lucky the drinks were included so after a couple of the local Arak's which is 45% proof we got through the show.

We started our trip to Konya with  a couple of stops first, we went to our guides village and saw where he lived in a rock house as a boy that his cousin has now converted into a boutique hotel. We then visited a hand made Turkish carpet centre and saw the whole process. Such intricate time consuming work which was also apparent in the price.  No shopping today which made Noel and Mark happy.

We then started our 340km drive to Konya with a lunch stop at Askaray on the way. We visited the Caravanaseri of Sultanhani on the way. Our drive today actually follows the silk road.  There used to be one of these every ten miles as that was about the limit the camels could carry the heavy loads in one day. 

When we got to Konya we visited the tomb of the founder of the Whirling Dervish Rumi sect, Mevlana. This was under renovation so we only got to see the main tomb and the school buildings. The inside of the tomb is beautiful and there were many Muslims there visiting and most of them would kiss the glass display cabinet that has a mother of pearl box inside that is said to contain a beard hair from Mohammad. 

We arrived at the hotel around 4.30 so time for a rest before dinner. It will be an early night I think as I have been up since 5.30am. We start heading towards the Mediterranean tomorrow so we should get some warmer weather.  Cheers J&N