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2009-04-17 - 6:50 p.m. all photos � 2009 by elaine radford
a balloon full of tourists soars over my head as i hike the sword valleyHow about some photographs from my hike of the Sword Valley and down through and into the Rose and Red Valleys, as reported on March 27, the day of the Long-Eared Owl? It's easy to find the trailhead into the Sword Valley. Just stroll from G�reme town in the direction of the G�reme Open Air Museum. Before you reach the museum, you will notice a yellow sign on the left hand side of the road telling you that you have reached Sword Valley both in Turkish and in English. It was here, in the scrabbly trees near the creek not far behind the sign, where I heard the outrage of sparrows and was drawn to the perched Long-Eared Owl, but, alas, I can't guarantee such an owl to every hiker. Just keep your eyes open. There is a ridge that parallels the road. You ascend this ridge, taking as much time as you like to examine the rock-cut structures all around you, and then find yourself with a wide overlook of the valley. A tiled roof alerts you to the presence of a major rock-cut church:
![]() There is nothing to stop you from climbing down and then up again to the church, and indeed, I saw evidence that people have been camping on the site, no doubt when the weather isn't quite so nippy at night. Swords Valley is an interesting place to explore and photograph even if you go no further:
![]() ever get the idea that sword is a euphemism for something else?
i got my life syrian woodpecker in this area
a sword formation photographed whilst looking in the direction of the castle
still in the sword valley but getting closer to the rose valley now
kinda chunky "swords" if you ask meAt some point in my leisurely pokings about the Sword Valley, I wandered into a vinyard. Nobody around except us Steppe Buzzards, tee hee. Oh, and those lost files you've been wondering about? I think they're now a pigeon roost at the back of the vinyard:
![]() At some point you ascend a ridge out of the other side of the Sword Valley, to find yourself with a breathtaking overlook of the Rose and Red Valleys:
![]() By following the signs, often little more than arrows painted on rock, you can hike into the Rose and then into the Red Valleys and back down again to Göreme.
![]() the colors change with the light, this was mostly an overcast day with occasional bursts of sunlight
some plain tan structures between the rose and red valleys
a view of the rose valley from a red valley ridge
gimme that old tyme condo, if it was good enough for grandpa, it's good enough for me
All Rights Reserved, Copyright 2002-2017 by Elaine Radford
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