Mount Erciyes: Skiing In Turkey
If you enjoy cheap skiing (or snowboarding) on uncluttered slopes, moonscape like views and "Fairies' Chimneys", then this Turkish delight of a different sort might be for you!
Background
Though not famed for skiing, Turkey is one of the few places in Asia that has ski resorts that don't require any mountaineering skills or the need to do any trekking. One of those resorts is at Mount Erciyes (pronounced Er-see-yee-ers), an extinct volcano, 3917 metres high (12848 feet), overlooking the city of Kayseri (pronounced Kah-yee-ser-ree) 25Km (15 miles) away, in the Cappadocia Valley. Having skied at all the other continents in the Northern Hemisphere, this seemed a great opportunity to add Asia to my list and thus complete the set so to speak. So over the last weekend in February I did.
Friday, 25th February 2005
Treacherous road conditions caused by sub-zero temperatures, rather than snow hampered my journey to Heathrow. Traffic on the A33 a few miles short of the M4 was stationery for a while as Berkshire and Hampshire fire brigades attended a serious road accident. I arrived at the airport with less than an hour to go before my BA flight departed. Thankfully I only had hand luggage and had checked in online via BA's web site the night before, so all I needed to do was print off my boarding pass at one of the BA kiosks and get through passport control, which I did without any problems.
As it transpires though, I wasn't the only one affected by the cold weather. The flight was delayed by over an hour, as the plane had to be de-iced along with every other plane at Heathrow before take-off. Apart from that though, the 3½-hour flight was a straightforward affair.
Due to the delay, I arrive at Istanbul with little time to check-in for my connecting flight. My entry to Turkey is temporarily hampered by the fact I don't have a visa and I'm directed along with just about every other foreigner to the visa office next to passport control. After getting through passport control, I had to go to the Turkish Airlines ticket office to collect my ticket. The ticket office was a line of small kiosks. A screen advertised the next free kiosk, just like at the Post Office. The queuing system though was like that at the delicatessen counter of a supermarket, in that you took a numbered ticket and had to wait for your number to be announced before being served.
After what seemed like ages I get served and rush over to the hand luggage only check-in desk. I get checked in only to discover that the flight is delayed for "technical problems" by over an hour!
The flight took about an hour and at Kayseri airport, my transfer greets me and takes me to the ski resort hotel. En route he enquires why I'm here and offers me a day tour around the Cappadocia Valley as the snowfall this year hasn't been as good as previous years. I said I would let him know if the skiing didn't amount to much.
I arrive at the hotel after 9pm, over 2 hours later than planned where I learn that the restaurant had just closed. However, without any prompting for me, the restaurant is re-opened to serve me. After my meal and thanking the staff for their kindness I head off to bed.
Saturday, 26th February 2005
At 7:30am I go for breakfast and find myself to be the first guest at the restaurant. One of the waiters and one of the chefs are sat at a table and I'm invited over to join them where they enquire where I come from. Then with guidance from the chef I'm invited to cook myself an omelette on a stove in the serving area. The waiter comments on my culinary skills saying I would have no problems working here!
After breakfast I head for the ski rental shop in the hotel. The chap there asks about my ability and after correctly guessing my foot size hands me some rear-entry boots. Oh dear, this looks like Morocco all over again I thought, until he then hands me some carving skis. Phew!
With skiing equipment sorted, I ski from the hotel entrance down to the first lift. This was a 4-man chair lift, but as I soon discovered, was slower than the nearby adjacent T-bar lift! I also learn that you buy a ticket on a per-use basis, rather than buying a ticket for the day. After using the chair lift once I opted to use the T-bar, where I buy a ticket that allows me 10 goes on the T-bar. Each time I used the lift some chap punches a hole in my ticket. It was like being back in the States a few years ago!
The top lifts were initially closed so I had to stay on the lower slopes, but by mid-morning the upper lifts were opened. This I welcomed as the lower slopes were wide with little gradient and having been recently groomed were providing little stimulus for me. However, at the top the slopes were narrow, steep and had seen little grooming. But with a bitter wind blowing loose snow around, making visibility poor and me cold, I head for hot chocolate stop at café half way up the mountain at around 11:30am.
Photo: Despite the blue skies, I needed to wrap up against the bitter wind.
I contemplated on what to do in the afternoon. I needed to find slopes that were in between the extremes I had experienced so far. It was also beginning to get a bit busy as the late day-trippers arrived. Though in saying that, it never got really busy and queues for the lifts never seem to exceed more than about 5 people at a time.
In the distance I saw another T-bar lift. So after I had warmed up I skied over there. Here I find I need to buy another lift ticket, as the one I had already was only valid for the other T-bar. I decide to buy one that allows me 10 goes as the lower slopes seem more interesting here.
I was right, the slopes were narrow, formed in part within natural gullies. The other advantages were that the wind was less apparent and there was hardly anyone around. At times I felt I had the slopes all to myself. My decision was further vindicated when I notice the upper lifts had been closed as heavy clouds had moved in to hide the top of the mountain, though where I was, blue skies appeared now and again.
Photo: Clouds from the west hiding the peak.
By late afternoon I had used up my 10 goes and decided to return to the first T-bar for some final runs.
It was 5pm and with sunset fast approaching, I ski back to the hotel to return the ski equipment. By now the wind, which ironically had died down a bit mid-afternoon was beginning to pick up quite fiercely now.
An hour later the wind had turned into a howling gale. I get a call from the taxi driver who had offered me a tour of the Cappadocia Valley when I arrived on Friday. The offer was still on and taking into account what the weather was doing outside I agree to do the tour.
The evening meal was a buffet with the restaurant packed with people. Most of the other guests were Turkish students up for the weekend. I ask one of the waiters for a beer. He returns with four. I sense a joke was on me here, as I knew his English wasn't that bad. However, duty-bound and for Queen and Country I accept all the beers, quaffing them over the course of the evening.
Outside a bonfire had been lit with people gathering round and a band playing. I investigate and notice a man with a large TV camera. The event I would find out later had been arranged as part of a publicity stunt to promote the resort.
Photo: Bonfire outside the hotel.
Sunday, 27th February 2005
I woke to hear the howling gale. The view from my window wasn't all inviting. It would seem I was making the right decision not to ski. After breakfast I wait in the lobby for my tour guide to arrive. Many of the people I had seen at breakfast wearing ski or snowboarding gear re-appeared later in the lobby wearing indoor clothes looking lost as to what to do for the day.
A chap arrives and talks to the receptionist before sitting down. The conversation was in Turkish so I couldn't work out what was said, but I sense this guy could be my guide. It would be half an hour and a phone call before I realised he was!
We leave the hotel in treacherous conditions. On the road people from Kayseri were turning back, unwilling to go further. My guide warns me that if the weather conditions continue like this all day, then he may be unable to get me back to the hotel. I reply that we shall worry about that when the time comes. With that we continue and manage to get to Kayseri where the weather is calm. In fact in the distance I notice blue skies developing!
Our first stop occurs about an hour after leaving the hotel. We pass through the town of Avanos, which we would visit later to Göreme, in the heart of the Cappadocia Valley. The area contains a panoramic view of a number of interesting rock formations and cave dwellings. The caves look like something out of a science fiction movie. This is a no big surprise as some of the Cappadocia area was featured in the original Star Wars movies! Göreme is one of the few places left in Turkey where people still leave in the caves. Though most are now restaurants and have been added to with conventional buildings.
Next we head to the town of Uçhisar. We make several stops to view a "castle". This is a large hill that has been turned into a series of caves and dwellings and is the highest point in Cappadocia. Unlike at Göreme, the dwellings here are protected and cannot be altered. Bit like being listed buildings. As my guide explains about the area he is interrupted by a call to prayer echoing from the loudspeaker of a nearby mosque. He apologies for the noise and continues after it stops. I explain that having recently been to Morocco I was getting use to it!
Photo: The castle cave dwellings at Uçhisar.
Our next stop is a place called Pigeon Valley. It is so called, as it's a valley containing purpose-built cave dwellings for pigeons! The land in Cappadocia is not particularly good for agriculture. The locals addressed this by keeping pigeons and used their droppings as fertiliser. With that in mind, we then have lunch at a nearby restaurant!
The lunch was a full buffet affair and it would seem to be the place for guided tours to visit, as soon after our arrival a large party of Japanese tourists and a smaller group of German tourists also arrived for lunch.
In the afternoon we visit the Göreme open-air museum. This is a small village containing cave dwellings. Many of the caves were in fact small churches. My guide explains that the place used to be a monastery and the Christians of the time hid here fearing prosecution. Many of the churches contained frescoes dating back to the 10th century. The earlier frescoes were simple cross designs. Later ones, which were often painted over the earlier ones, were of more complex designs. One frescoe depicted a local saint born in the Cappadocia Valley slaying a dragon. His name was George, the patron saint of England.
Photo: By George! It's a fresco of the patron saint of England.
Many of the caves were lived in until 1957 when the Greeks and the Turks agreed on a mass people exchange programme, with the Christian Turks being moved to Greece.
The next stop was at the Fairies' Chimneys. This area contains a number of rock formations that looked like chimneys or mushrooms. The Fairies concept came about, as early settlers couldn't believe mankind could have made these, so it was assumed fairies did. In reality the formations are as a result of softer light-coloured rocks being eroded away faster than harder dark-coloured rocks sat above them.
Photo: Fairies' Chimneys.
The final rock formation of the day was near Ürgüp. There is supposedly a formation that looks like a camel. When I saw it, it looked more like a bird. Another formation though did look like Napoleon's hat. My guide informs me that the area is also known as "Imagination Valley" as everybody seems to have his or her own idea on what the rock formations look like.
We head back to Avanos, where I'm taken to a pottery workshop. Another guide here shows me around the catacombs of the place and to witness some pottery being made. He explains that the skill of making pottery can take a number of years. To become as master pottery maker can take 10 to 15 years. Two types of pottery are made, ornamental, which is fired once and simply painted, and functional, which is fired twice and glazed. Most of the pottery on displayed was either plates or jugs based upon ancient Hittites and pre-Ottoman Empire designs.
He then offers me some tea. I accept, but instantly remember the carpet factory in Marrakech two-week earlier. My suspicions are correct as I'm then invited in to the salesroom to make a purchase. Some of the pottery was quite exquisite and so I decide to buy a couple of pieces, one for my mother as I remembered Mother's Day was fast approaching! However my first choice of credit card gives me problems as I'm ask for my pin number, which I couldn't remember. So I use another card, which only required a signature.
The final destination of the tour was a winery where I'm invited to sample some of the locally produced wine. Most of the wine in the valley I learn is made from local grapes. Though some wine is made from "New World" grapes, the locals are proud of the fact that the dry air in the valley makes for excellent grapes. I choose to buy a fine red wine.
On the way back to the hotel the wind picks up where we had left it in the morning, but road conditions were better than they were so I get back to the hotel without any problems. One of the hotel staff informs me that the wind been blowing a gale all day. Seems I had made the right decision.
Photo: An evening view from my hotel window.
The restaurant in the evening was virtual empty. One of the receptionists tells me that most of the guests have left early due to the bad weather. I'm invited to eat my meal with the hotel staff, as there were few people for them to serve. Later, two of the waiters invite me to join them for a few beers at a restaurant a few minutes walk down the road.
Monday, 28th February 2005
At breakfast I bid farewell to the staff. After checking out, I wait in the lobby for my taxi to the airport. The wind had died down a little and the road was thankfully clear of snow, so the journey to the airport was an uneventful one.
The 1 hour and 10 minute flight to Istanbul was straightforward. Though ironically, I could have done with this flight being delayed, as I knew my connecting flight wasn't for another 4 hours. After checking in, which I couldn't do until 2 hours before the flight departure, I learn that the flight would be delayed by half an hour as the plane was delayed in leaving Heathrow. I naturally use the spare time to good use by once more sampling some Turkish beer.
I arrive at Heathrow in pretty much the same state as I had left it. Freezing temperatures with snow falling but not settling. But I get home without any further delays.
Some Facts
Languages Spoken
The official language is Turkish naturally enough, but most people I met also spoke some English, though speaking just a couple of words of Turkish is well appreciated. Many of the tour guides are multi-lingual speaking German, Russian or Japanese, as this seemed to reflect where most of the foreign tourists in the area come from.
Currency
From the 1st January 2005, Turkey has a new currency, the new Turkish Lira or Yeni Türk Lirasi. (YTL) This is slowing replacing the old Lira, which ceases to be legal tender as from 1st January 2006. 1 YTL is equal to 1 million old Liras, but since the new notes generally look the same as the old ones, they've basically just dropped all those zeros. However, most Turks will still quote prices in old Liras.
When I went, GB£1 was about 2.4 YTL with €1 about 1.7 YTL and 1 US$ about 1.3 YTL. Currency exchange for the major currencies was available at the ski resort hotel and the airports. I found the rates to be as good if not better than those offered back home. I didn't bother taking any traveller cheques.
Credit cards are widely accepted, but if your card is of the chip and pin variety then expect to be asked for your number!
Getting There
The nearest airport to the ski resort is at Kayseri about 30km (18 miles) away. There are few options available for getting to Kayseri by air. The easier option is to fly direct from Istanbul with either the state-owned Turkish Airlines, who I flew with, or Onus Air. However, non-Turkish nationals can only buy domestic flights via an approved travel agent or intermediary. I bought my tickets through Ekol Travel; an agent based in Istanbul who also sorted out my hotel and airport transfers.
Flights to Istanbul are no problem as most of the major airlines have direct flights from all over the world it seems. As well as Heathrow, you can fly direct to Istanbul from Manchester and Edinburgh. I opted for British Airways.
Costs
I stayed at the 4 star rated Dedemam Erciyes Hotel (Dedeman Otel Erciyes) for 3 nights with full cooked breakfast and evening meal included. This along with the Kayseri flights and the taxi transfer between the airport and the hotel came to £310, which I booked with Ekol Travel. At the hotel I discovered that rooms only without meals cost 120 YTL (£50) per night for a single and 160 YTL (£67) per night for a double. But as one member of the hotel staff put it, that's more expensive than the Hilton in downtown Kayseri!
The return flight to Istanbul with British Airways was around £173 (€245). The day tour around the Cappadocia Valley was 195YTL (£81), which included a personal guide and driver, buffet lunch and entrance fees as appropriate to the various sites. I did find out that the entrance fee to the open-air cave museum at Göreme was 12 YTL (£5), plus 2 YTL for parking.
Lift tickets at the ski resort (Teleski Bilet) are issued on a per-use basis. Instead of buying a lift ticket for a set number of days you buy a ticket that allows you to use a lift for a set number of times. To complicate matters, you need a separate lift ticket for each lift at the base of the resort, as different companies own each lift. A single use of a chair lift was 5 YTL. A single use of a T-bar lift was either 3 YTL or 4 YTL, depending on which lift you used. However multiple usage is heavily discounted and a ticket allowing you to use a lift 10 times came in at either 20 YTL (£8) or 28 YTL (£11) for the T-bar lifts. I bought two 10-use tickets to cover the various T-bars lifts, which lasted me all day, so I got a day's worth of skiing for under £20 (€28)!
Skis and boots rental cost 15 YTL (£6) per day. A cup of hot chocolate on the slopes costs 2½ YTL. Beer in the hotel cost 5 YTL (£2) for a small glass (330ml).
Quality wine by the bottle cost 25 YTL at the winery. The price of pottery varied depending on size and whether it was ornamental (cheaper) or functional (more expensive).
You also have to pay for a visa on arrival in Turkey that resembles a small postage stamp. This can't be paid for with Liras, but paid in either Euros or Sterling if you're from the UK. Visa costs were £10 for UK nationals, €15 for most EU citizens and for US nationals it was $15.
The Ski Resort
There are three small hotels at the resort with plans to build more. The hotel I stayed at is the longest established and largest one and the most popular with the locals. Most of the people skiing here are from Kayseri and the surrounding area. They usually only come up for the weekend. Consequently the resort is dead quiet in the week so I was told. At the base (2100m) there are 2 T-bar lifts and one 4-man chair lift, which is slower than the T-bars! All these lifts take you half way up the mountain, where you must then take either another 4-man chair or a T-bar up to 2970m. To get to the peak at 3917m you need to trek! The slopes are groomed but not regularly, and then mainly on the lower slopes for the benefit of the beginner skiers.
Piste maps were available at the hotel, with the slope ratings similar to those in Europe. You can get a 3-day snow report at the Snow Forecast web site.
Climate
Mount Erciyes like most significant mountains tends to have it's own weather system. On Saturday the skies changed considerably from overcast cloud to part blue skies, thanks to a strong wind that was quite bitter at times and which in the afternoon forced the lift operators to close the upper lifts. On the subsequently days it was nothing short of a howling gale causing snow blizzards, poor visibility and treacherous road conditions. Hotel staff told me that there were calm blue skies just days before my arrival!
In the Cappadocia Valley there was a mild breeze and by lunchtime it was warm enough to only need a T-shirt with a fleece top.
Transport
Most tourists get to Erciyes by coach or mini-bus as part of a group. Though taxis were also common. In Kayseri, traffic lights have a countdown feature indicating when the lights are due to change. Though this gives the driver an idea of how long he or she has to wait at the lights when they're red, it does seem to encourage Grand Prix style starts when the lights are about to change to green!
Local Customs
Though an Islamic state, it isn't always apparently obvious. Most of the mosques, which are of the dome-shaped variety, are in the cities and towns and though backed up by calls to prayer, in contrast many Turks freely drink beer and wine. As my Cappadocia Valley guide put it. Turks have been drinking alcohol long before Islam arrived.
Turkish tea or Çay (pronounced chay) is also widely drunk from small glasses, and is offered where bartering for goods still exist, a custom that seems to be dying out though.
Contacting Home
Mobile (cell) phones work fine at the resort and all over the region, though there was a slight delay between speaking and listening, like on the old TV satellite broadcasts.
Phone technology is as good as in Europe with camera phones a common place. However, I couldn't get MMS (picture messaging) to work, but was told by one of the hotel staff that that may be because I needed to update my international WAP or GPRS settings.
© Peter Dennett
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