Discover some hidden parts of Turkey and Cyprus

Turkey was going through some tough political times whilst we were there. Whilst we were in central Anatolia, amongst the infamous fairy peaks of Cappadocia, we heard that there had been a military coup. There has also been a bombing at the Istanbul Airport recently which meant that we kind of had Cappadocia to ourselves! Great for us but not so good for the locals or for tourism. Hot air-ballooning, exploring, hiking, weaving in and out of houses that looked like they had once belonged to regal fairies were part of our daily routine for a week or so. We met great people and made lots of new friends.

The wild horses run through the fairy peaks of Cappadocia, Turkey.

The majestic peak of Chimborazo.

Whilst staying in Guaranda we decided to do a day trip to Mount Chimborazo, only some 50 kilometres away. Whilst it had been thought to be extinct, new studies show that it is actually active, having erupted at least seven times during the last 10 000 years; nothing on record however. The mountain was once considered the highest on the planet but was dethroned by the Himalayan and Peruvian peaks. According to the Earth’s geometry, however, the summit of Chimborazo is considered to be the farthest from the Earth’s centre.  This huge mountain is the highest point in Ecuador and has the highest peak near the equator at 6268 metres.