ABSTRACT
Jake had been to Göreme before, in 1989, and felt pleased that it had not changed much. He came mostly for the landscape and the caves: ‘You have to go into a cave to experience it for yourself.’ Before he came the first time, Jake had not known about the Byzantine churches in the area, so they certainly were not a factor in his initial motivation for coming to Göreme. The couple also enjoyed Göreme being a ‘traditional’ village: ‘It’s nice for time to stand still in some places,’ said Susan. While in Göreme they chose to stay in a small family cave pansiyon situated in the back streets of the village. They ate the Turkish breakfast and the evening meal served in the pansiyon, and most days went out ‘exploring’ in the valleys. They also visited the Göreme Open-Air Museum and hired a local guide there to explain the history of the churches. They did not consider themselves ‘tour people’,
however, and felt uncomfortable about the pressure they seemed to be under to book a day tour from a Göreme tour agency. They thought it better to ‘discover it all for yourself ’.
