Ihlara Gorge

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The entrance to the gorge is down a steep flight of steps.  We walked beside these women descending  to tend the crops in the river valley.
We spent a most enjoyable afternoon hiking along the Ilhara Gorge, Ibrahim dropped us off and arranged to meet us several hours later.  It's about 14 km long and we did a 7km stretch.  Although the day was very hot it was cool and shady by the Melenditz River.  Not exactly a walk in the park, we did a lot of climbing and scrambling over rocks to find our way. 
By the time we reached the donkeys patiently waiting to carry weary trekkers the rest of the way, we figured the worst of the terrain was behind us.  There were a few locals tending fields and fishing and  even fewer tourists, but we felt very safe.  I have since seen warnings to tourists not to go into the gorge alone for fear of being attacked but I can only say we felt very comfortable there.
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We were invited to join some women and children taking a break in a shady spot by the river. Their  donkey was enjoying his break too. Again the lack of a common language was not a problem.  Children are great icebreakers. 

Further along the river a woman was  doing her laundry Ihlara style.
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