Today was mainly a driving day to Urgup. As we approached the town the first stop was an underground pottery where we were given demonstrations, history of the pottery and then invited to visit their showrooms! The decoration on the pottery was their own family decoration and also the Ottoman style. A small purchase was made.

The second stop was a natural pinnacle structure and man made living quarters in the pinnacles. The unique aspect of these pinnacles was the balancing of separated sections balanced on the tip of the pinnacle.

The third stop was the Goreme Open Air Museum, another UNESCO World Heritage site. This is a vast monastic complex composed of numerous monasteries each with its own church carved out of the rock.

All of the churches we visited had been built in the 10th, 11th or 12th centuries with frescos which still retained their vivid colours.

The next stop was our hotel where we will be staying for 2 nights. The Divan Cave Hotel is a hotel built in the rocks. Although a bit of a walk uphill and out of the town the hotel has been modernised, is comfortable and clean, and the staff are very friendly.

We had dinner at a nice local restaurant and followed this with a display of the Whirling Dervishes. The Whirling Dervishes are men in long white dresses whirling to the music and drone of ancient Islamic hymns. They walk and dance such that one of their feet must always be on the ground. Though all dervish orders were closed shortly after the foundation of the Turkish Republic, they were soon allowed to perform as a "cultural organization," as they were not overtly political and reactionary as were some other orders. Unfortunately no pictures were allowed during the performance.

We crashed into bed quite late ready for our early morning start to go ballooning.