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Tucked away in central Turkey we found a wonderland. Cappadocia. This is an area of strange geological formations which have been shaped by the erosion of ancient volcanic deposits. The soft tufa rock has been hollowed out by successive peoples over the ages to form houses, churches and even multi level deep underground cities. Cave houses are still the the most common type of accommodation. Part of the kick of going there is to stay in one.

The lovely people here lead a life not very much different from that of their forebears. Everybody mucks in - especially every woman. All arable land is planted with subsistence crops. We ate delicious simple foods harvested from the area. Perfect yoghurt curds made fresh daily courtesy of the house cow, dried apricots and grapes, freshly laid eggs, scrumptious mixtures wrapped in grape leaves, intriguing casseroles in handmade clay pots - all mopped up with various Turkish flat breads. The local wine comes recommended.

Nothing is wasted. I volunteered to help the women in the fields with what I thought was weeding only to soon sense polite bemusement. I was 'weeding' the smallest grasses. They were 'harvesting' the largest grasses only - to feed to the animals.

These rock columns are known as fairy chimneys and are formed by the differing rate of erosion between the basalt tops and the lower tufa layer. The name evidently evolved because it was believed they could not have formed naturally and must be the chimneys of underground fairy houses.

The town of Goreme has a unique open air museum of many ancient churches carved out of the rock. There are a reported 600 old churches in the area. A number are decorated with intricate well preserved frescoes. The acoustics made even my average voice sound passable.

Teşekkür ederim - (two sugars a dream), indeed! - wonderful Cappadocia.

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