Flying things is the euphemism for hot air balloons. Because the operators lack insurance Trafalgar neither offers nor endorses flying in them. Bookings were made simply on your own. This is considered a once in a lifetime event by many. 28 of the 41 on our tour thought so. Alice and I passed. Lucky for us, later in the day, Karen airdropped her videos and photos to my iPhone. How kind is she? Thanks again Karen.
All of the flyers made it back in time to join us for a day visiting fairy chimneys and an outdoor museum. The fairy chimneys are both beautiful and awesome. We knew before booking this tour that Cappadocia was special, we really did not know how special. We cannot think of a natural wonder that has had such an impact on us.
In the afternoon we visited the Goreme Open-Air Museum. The attraction there was the churches carved into the stone. Alice, Karen and I visited four of these. Each one was different in size and appearance. All of them made this another impressive visit.
Next we visited Avanos, still in Cappadocia, for a pottery exhibit. I am sorry but I have failed to tell you that Cappadocia is a region not a city. Avanos is a city in the region. This proved to be more than a pottery demo. The demo was great. A craftsman made a pouring vessel from raw clay. He showed it around upon finishing it. It was a beautiful object and I got a 10 minute video of it while one of the company owners narrated the whole process. Just when we thought the maker was about to take it to the kiln, he took a wire and sliced it in half from top to bottom. Now he was able to show us the interior. Then the clay was added to the recycling bin to be used again.
We were then taken to a workshop where we watched an artisan painting a large tile piece. The owner explained that the man was doing lacework. Next we were shown a very large custom piece that will go to Japan to be incorporated in a table. The artwork was very intricate and took months to complete. The whole thing would take over a year to complete.
Now we were led to the showrooms. Plates, bowls, tea servers, pitchers, wall hangings and tiles were all available here. So were exclusive limited edition pieces. Everything was beautiful. We did a cursory review but our objective was tiles. We finally found our room. UnOh! That is where the owner was. These were not nickel and dime tiles. We expected that because these were the quality pieces we wanted to consider. Alice and I both spotted a blue Tree of Life tile. The owner showed it to us and explained that it had been done by the artisan we saw working on the new tile downstairs. The blues are cobalt and turquoise. The design incorporates some red with the blue and the border is lacework with white.
After some negotiation we came to a price satisfactory to each of us. A clerk came and took it to be bubble wrapped and boxed. We talked a bit more with the owner. By the time I caught up with the clerk she was sealing the bubble wrap. I did not get a picture. Drat! She did insert a stand for the tile before sealing the box. I have been carrying it with me ever since. It will not go inside a suitcase.
We returned to our hotel for our final dinner and night in Cappadocia. But first Alice and I attended the optional whirling dervish ceremony.
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