Central Anatolia - fairy chimneys, balloons and Hittites

Eskişehir (known in antiquity as Dorylaion) is one of the largest cities in Turkish Anatolia, with a population of 706,000, and serves as the capital of the province of the same name.

Göreme - After a few years, acquaintances that arose during the Travel Turkey trade fair in Izmir led us to travel again to Cappadocia, this incredibly fascinating landscape that has been shaped over thousands of years by volcanoes, soil erosion and erosion in the interaction of the natural forces of water and wind were created.

Karaman - On a Tuesday morning in the hot September season of Alanya, we took off to witness a few days of the internationally participated (Pal Takats, world champion in acrobatics, Mads Sydergaard, editor of Cross Country magazine, Olivier Laugero, world renown xcmag.com photographer, Fredegar Tommek, Fabrice Sibille) great sports event of paragliding shows in its first leg at Karaman.

Beyşehir - Our program would be taking us to XC paragliding event once more on Sunday. However, we were to meet with Beate whom we knew from West Virginia Ranch. We knew that she was taking a group of riders to İbradi uplands.

Meke Gölü - The weather is still such that we can drive across the Taurus Mountains towards Konya without the danger of snow and ice. So, we decide on a somewhat longer day trip via Karaman to Ereğli, then on to Lake Meke and back to Konya.

Cendere Köprüsü - In the southeast of Turkey, as part of our project, we followed the traces of the Roman road from Samosata towards Militene and came across the ancient Roman arched bridge over the Chabinas River near the town of Eski Kahta.

Atatürk Mausoleum - This time our journey was to take us to Ankara especially to Anıtkabir, because while looking for a used vehicle we followed two advertisements that seemed so interesting that the trip could be worthwhile.

Beyşehir - On our way from Manavgat towards Konya, we passed through the town of Beyşehir. We noticed the steady climb of the road along the way, so it was no surprise that we reached an altitude of 1,124 meters above sea level in the town itself.

Pessinus - About 13 kilometres from the small town of Sivrihisar lies the village Pessinus near the main road between the Turkish capital Ankara and the city of Eskisehir on the Anatolian plateau at an altitude of about 950 meters above sea level.

Patrick Andre - It was not a coincidence when I could beat Turkish Record with about 262 Kilometers in June 2010. Indeed, I fly since 20 years and my years of experience was a big part of this success.

Kayseri, the Roman Caesarea, extends at the foot of the Erciyes Mountains (3,916 meters), an extinct volcano and well-known winter sports centre with good hotels and slopes.

Kayseri (first name was Mazaka, later name was Caesarea) ist he capital city of the region of the same name in Cappadocia in Turkey of about 500.000 inhabitants. Kayseri is one of the very few capitals of Turkey which number of inhabitants is not increasing rapidly during the last years.

We were coming from Niğde / Cappadocia in the direction of Aksaray, when we probably had chosen the wrong junction in the village of Bor, which had now led us along the mountains of Hasan Dağı to the village of Altunhisar.

In the history of human settlements, there have been a wide variety of structures in the creation of village communities, all of which have by no means been explored and thus known.

Once again, the cloudless sky on the Turkish Riviera near Alanya promises good weather conditions for a trip across the Taurus Mountains towards Konya. Since winter is over in the high mountains too, we decide again to take the Mahmutlar route in the direction of Taskent.

Especially in the last 5 years, the provincial capital of Konya (the province of Konya is as big as Switzerland) has developed at breakneck speed.

In the immediate vicinity of the city of Kırşehir, which now also has around 110,000 inhabitants, there is an important local recreation destination for the city, which is now also attracting a lot of attention among friends of bird watching and nature conservation, the Seyfe Lake.

Coming from Güzelyurt (Province of Aksaray) we stop at the parking lot of the Ihlara Valley (Ihlara Vadisi), which is known for its numerous rock-cut churches, which is cleverly framed by several restaurants at the entrance area.

During our tour through southwestern Cappadocia, we came to Güzelyurt, a small town of approx. 3,100 inhabitants, which is about 32 kilometers east of the provincial capital Aksaray.

When you talk about the great rivers of Turkey, you immediately think of the two great rivers, the Euphrates and Tigris. However, both rivers leave Turkish territory again after relatively short stretches.