Day 72. Sod the culture

Well obviously the most important thing to report today, much more significant than all the cultural highlights of Cappadocia -  which are many and impressive - is that the substantial Taiwanese and Japanese contingent on our minibus quite spontaneously told me that I looked very like George Clooney. 

I was, at the time, feeling pretty rough after a night trying to ignore a developing toothache and an inflamed lip (don't ask).  And I was probably looking even worse than I felt due to some pretty crummy sanitary facilities at the ShoeString. So it was just the sort of compliment that I needed! They then went and spoilt it by telling our guide, who was a standard, hirsute Turk (albeit with a nice smile), that he looked like Tom Cruise!

Like many of the pansione and hotels in Goreme, 

the Shoestring is built into the rock - very organic!

After several weeks of cycling across the continent with narry a taste of culture, I have done a pretty good job of catching up recently, with an agora of roman temples, history a plenty (Go Hittites!),  more than a splash of early Christian church decoration, and some solid chunks of geology (limestone traventines and Magic  chimney erosion). So hasn't Turkey done well? 

I'm shortly leaving on another overnight bus to check out the Dardinelles (disastrous WW1 campaign) and then all the Islamic stuff that Istanbul has to offer.  Stand by your Baedeckers!

Actually, chuck them away because here in the 21st Century I've been using the Rough Guide to Turkey that I downloaded on to my phone and it's been terrific! 

In the interests of balance, I have also been reading old fashioned books, mainly because I managed to leave my Kindle in the Lesvos B&B (whence it is being sent to Poste Restante in Istanbul). I wonder what George ıs reading...

No George doesn't do that humpy back look but my Taıwanese frıends sımply ınsısted on takıng some pıctures of me. Unfortunately they mıssed out the tourıst camel that ıs just over to my left - much more photogenıc!