where traders in camel trains on the Silk Road used to spend the night as a point of safety and replenishment. 
This photo shows the small mosque (without minarets) that was located at the centre of the accommodation where people could worship. These caravansary were spaced at a distance where it was considered that they could be reached (one from the other) between sunrise and sunset allowing for the terrain. This encouraged traders to use the route as they avoided being targeted by bandits along the way and also gave them somewhere to rest, eat, and sleep under the protection of the caravansary guards. In the camel storage area of the one we saw it was said that up to 600 camels could be cared for at a time.
We then headed further into Cappadocia and went to the underground city of Kaymakli. These underground cities were used to hide from approaching enemies and would serve as temporary homes for the village dwellers for periods of up to 3 months. 
After lunch we stopped at a couple of locations around Goreme to see the rock formations and installations. 
One valley (Pigeon Valley) had a series of pigeon boxes set into caves in the rock face to give them shelter and encourage them to congregate there. 
Evidently the pigeons are considered sacred birds and their droppings were also a good type of fertiliser for the type of soil in the area. Farmers would put lots of food in the boxes so that the birds ate, and then deposited the manure they needed as fertiliser. At one location there was an incredibly grumpy camel (you could pay to have your photo taken sitting on it if you were game enough) who tried to bite a couple of people who got too close. I kind of felt sorry for it though and was more on its side!
One valley (Pigeon Valley) had a series of pigeon boxes set into caves in the rock face to give them shelter and encourage them to congregate there. Evidently the pigeons are considered sacred birds and their droppings were also a good type of fertiliser for the type of soil in the area. Farmers would put lots of food in the boxes so that the birds ate, and then deposited the manure they needed as fertiliser. At one location there was an incredibly grumpy camel (you could pay to have your photo taken sitting on it if you were game enough) who tried to bite a couple of people who got too close. I kind of felt sorry for it though and was more on its side!
After checking in at our hotel we went back into a local village for dinner (where we were served a beef casserole that was cooked in a pottery urn which was broken to reveal the contents) so if we are suffering from pottery chip syndrome tomorrow you will know why!
We have a 5.15 am departure tomorrow to do our balloon ride at sunrise so its an early night for us. Hopefully we might have some good balloon photos tomorrow.
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