Hello, Shirley. No one has answered you on the list, so I will have a go.
Turkey has wonderful plants; when to visit depends on the plants that interest you. Crocuses are already blooming at lower elevations. By May most bulbs will be over but there will be roses, poppies and myriad other meadow herbs and shrubs wherever there is water. And dust everywhere else. If you Google "Turkey botanical tour," lots of tours will pop up, with hints about plants and when and where to see them. You need not take a tour; you could organize your own travel, as I did; but I was not travelling alone. Travelling alone in the hinterlands of Turkey, a woman will encounter suggestions that she is not respectable; that might make you uncomfortable, but I doubt you'd be assaulted. Nonetheless it can be simpler to travel with a tour group. Greentours has some botanical tours in Turkey; I haven't taken one but I respect the guides they use there. In the rock-garden journals many other tours are advertised. I can't advise about plants around Ankara. I was there only once, to replace a stolen passport, so long ago that Hittite was spoken in the streets. Cappadocia is within reach of the Taurus Mountains, where there is excellent botanizing. But thanks to bus and air travel, you could get to pretty well anywhere else you wanted to visit without too much trouble. Cappadocia itself is known mainly for its otherwordly terrain of karst and volcanic tuff eroded into towers, castles and caves. People have lived in the caves for millennia. Some caves were once hidden churches. Now some have become hotels. Kayseri, ancient Caesarea, is important mainly for its airport. Goreme has the main historic sites, and it is where most balloon-tours begin, but I wouldn't want to stay there because it has no life beyond tourism. I don't know what things are like now, but in 2007 we stayed in Urgup, at the first cave hotel in the region, Esbeli Evi, which you can find online. (There are other good hotels now, but we did find Esbeli Evi delightful). Balloon tours? As in Jules Verne, in baskets high, high in the sky? Yes. There is nothing like seeing Cappadocia from the air, shadows caressing the extraordinary terrain as the sun rises. Paige Paige Woodward [email protected] Manager Alpenpix, the image gallery of Alpine-L http://botu07.bio.uu.nl/temperate/?gal=alpenpix ----- Original Message ----- From: "Shirley Whyte" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Monday, February 14, 2011 6:52 AM Subject: [Alpine-l] Plants in Turkey > Hello, > I will be visiting Cappadocia, and Ankara in March, April or May. > > In Cappadocia I will be around Goreme, Kayseri, Aksaray. > > While I am not on a rock garden field trip, I was wondering if I could > expect to see any interesting plants. I would appreciate it if anyone > could give me advice on: > - timing of visit -- March, April or May > - any hope of finding plants in Cappadocia or near Ankara > - logistics: I have been warned against wandering around alone > > Thanks for any help you can give me. > > Shirley Whyte > Montreal, Canada Zone 5a > > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > _______________________________________________ > Alpine-l mailing list > [email protected] > http://mailman.science.uu.nl/mailman/listinfo/alpine-l > _______________________________________________ Alpine-l mailing list [email protected] http://mailman.science.uu.nl/mailman/listinfo/alpine-l
