Hmm, is this related to the circular conversation I had yesterday with a gap-toothed roadside fishmonger? He waved me over to warm myself by his fire, offered me tea and fish and asked if I was going to Israel. I said No and explained my route as best I could. A couple more times he asked me "Israel?", then he wandered off to clean something. No fish or tea was forthcoming.
Tonight, I'm camping at 1600 metres ASL near the top of Sivrihisar Pass, in the heart of Cappadocia. I'll make for the summit in the morning. This is the highest I've been on a bike and the highest I've ever camped. I expect it to be very cold indeed tonight; the last three mornings the ice on my tent has been worsening, and this morning my water bottles were completely frozen. Fortunately I'd taken the precaution of pouring enough water for coffee into one of my pans, then melting the ice on the stove.
The nights are clear, so the temperature just falls away. If you can bear the cold, the nights are also spectrally beautiful, as there's a huge moon which makes the landscape glow. Mount Hasan has dominated the horizon for these two days; last night I camped with a perfect view of it, and when I rose in the night to go for a pee, the moonlight reflected off its snowy slopes.
Since this is nearly a desert climate, the days are still fairly mild. It was up to 9 degrees today, short sleeve weather. It's amusing to be riding with only a couple of layers on and see the locals wearing full winter thermals. I'm saving my thick clothes for the real stuff towards Erzurum.
As well as being spectacular, this is a very jnteresting region; the Peristrema Valley along which I rode today is lined with ancient cave dwellings where early Christians hid from persecution. It's also something to do with Star Wars. I passed one place which advertised itself as the Star Wars place and invited passers-by to seethe panorama. There was also a photo of Harrison Ford, but I don't think he was there, and I didn't recognise the scene (my knowledge of the movies is fairly limited, though).
Tomorrow, more of the same, I hope, as these last couple of days have been wonderful. I suspect this would be incredibly hot and crowded in summer, but right now it's fabulous. And hopefully I'll get a cheap hostel in Göleme for a couple of nights, to do some laundry and have a shower and warm up.
