Quad Biking, Horses, Filming and Dancing

Today the group had been split up in to two. One half set out to scale Cappadocia’s valleys in there rented quad bikes. The other half, of which I was part of, decided to ride horses through Cappadocia’s valleys. Enio morricone eat your heart out.

Me and my horse

The horse farm was owned and managed by a man named Ismail, an ex hippie. We decided to interview him and gain a perspective from him of life in Cappadocia. We learnt that he preferred living a non-materialistic lifestyle and felt that Cappadocia allowed him to realise this type of life he wanted to live. The interview went smoothly despite the clouds coming and going which affected the lighting at first, but soon they dissipated. From a corner of the small farm classical music found its way to our ears and our hearts. It was being played from an old, dirty, seedy broken cassette player, yet the music it spewed brought a sheer ambiance and character to the place and the man. Under his lowly worn cowboys hat were the eyes of a worn, isolate man yet they were full of happiness. I often fantasised in my adolescence of living such a life, though my love for film making has far penetrated my past ideals and no more can I see myself doing anything else and having that same glee of happiness that resonated in Ismail’s character.

The horses bared our weight for an hour, scaling the dipping and rising valleys. Landscape open then cascading then revealing drops which our horses galloped down, throwing us back in our saddles; the sun was setting and our silhouettes lay on the meandering trails. The fairy chimneys stood tall hanging over us like goliaths. It’ll all be forever etched in our minds. All this in our short-lived spaghetti western-esque journey. The pain in our buttocks was all worth it.

Latter that night we travelled to Goreme and watched a traditional folk dance and music amidst a buffet, where  tourists laughed, and danced like horses. We had a day that encompassed us finding out about ourselves as filmmakers and got more then we bargained for. Each day we learn something new. The learning continues….