An Autumn Drive

by Fred Moore - November 2010

It’s a crisp and cool morning in Goreme; after spending three days, we’re leaving for home today. We drive for just over an hour to get to the road to Camardi and towards Pozanti. As we make the turn onto this nice two-lane asphalt road, we’re looking at the Taurus Mountains (at least a short section of them). We’re driving through a valley of beautiful vistas but I’m a little annoyed today; there’s a great deal of haze and I’m concerned that some of it is pollution which is truly a tragedy. As the road curves south, we simultaneously begin the rise and fall of the mountains on our left and the hills on our right. Much of the landscape before this geography is farmland in a number of stages of cultivation. However, as we continue the drive the agriculture begins to become more inclined toward orchards and vineyards.

It’s mid-November and the air outside our car is verging on cold (it’s probably 8 or 10 degrees Celsius). There’s a wisp of snow on the mountain peaks slipping past just above us, but winter has not yet come in all its capability. Once winter does blanket these mountains with snow, the views become even more spectacular. I’m talking about this drive today for a totally different reason; fall colors, rich brilliant yellows, dark rusty oranges, deep burgundy reds and every hue in between. As you may remember; this road is winding and it gracefully carries us up and down as it turns first one way then the other. The apple trees through here have been harvested but their foliage hasn’t dropped away and there are splashes of autumn color all across the hills. One can totally forget life outside this place and this moment as the extraordinary vistas leap into view around each curve.

There are a number of farmers out with tractors plowing today; their furrows aren’t very deep but the earth is a rich deep coffee bean brown. I’ve always been fascinated by the plowing here; as a young man I worked for local farmers using plows that always went a foot or more into the ground to turn over the earth. Here it’s half that so fields look quite muddled. There’s a lot of field burning going on here too but corn and sunflower stalks simply don’t burn well nor do they turn under well with shallow plowing. Therefore, some fields don’t look plowed at all, but most are. The tractors are a bright spot in these autumn fields; there are rusty orange Turk Fiats, bright blue New Hollands, red Massey Fergusons and even the occasional green and yellow John Deere.

As we continue our drive, we pass village after village, some are off in the distance clinging to the side of the mountain but others are straddling our roadway with some houses sitting directly on the shoulder of the asphalt. It’s obvious the villagers are preparing for winter as they have piles of cotton plant remains ready for their stoves. Here, once the cotton is picked either mechanically or by hand, the remaining plants are pulled, loaded onto wagons and hauled home for winter burning. A few wagon loads pass us on the road, pulled by tractors with 3 or 4 people on them and wagons piled high to near overflowing. It’s a treat to drive through this area; along with the tractors and wagons, we always see a number of men riding donkeys to and from their fields.

Now we make a sharp curve and the poplar trees of bold and bright yellow-gold leap at us, apple trees of rusty red-orange and tender burgundy all up and down the foot hills dazzle us with their fall coats of brilliant colors. Then of course, there are the evergreen trees dispersed across the landscape with their bright forest green needles punctuating the fall scenes that stretch out before us. As we traverse this mild rollercoaster of asphalt, we see the valley stream fast-washing through the creek banks below us following our same path. Carol comments on the water, “Bet it’s cold!” We’re certain it must be, but we don’t stop to put our hand in it although we could do that in a place or two but we simply drive slowly and deliberately onward. There are several springs running along this roadway as well and many of the locals are collecting water from them as we drive by; got to be the most pure water on the planet!

We stop several times so Carol can photograph the blazing landscape; one turn after another brings us a new and more beautiful fiery panorama. To think, in the spring this valley is awash in seven shades of green; today, it’s ablaze in the color of a flaming bonfire. As we turn the next curve, there’s a massive vine on an archway to our left, the dazzling magenta leaves leap from the arch to accost our vision! Then just as quickly, we turn again and are struck by a whole orchard of reddish-orange apple trees; next the grape vines all draped across the ground in mustard yellow; what a magnificent palette lay before us.


Also See:

Would you like to add your comment about this article? Click here!

Editor's Picks

Anadolu Kavağı – Anatolian Poplar Anadolu Kavağı is where you may feel at home with the familiar groups surrounding you, since foreigners are far more than the local people. more...

Consulates in Turkey The addresses and phone numbers of Consulates in Turkey are listed in alphabetical order. more...

Rakı & Meyhane Rakı, the national alcoholic drink of Turks has a high degree alcohol and should not be consumed quickly. more...

Traditional Coffee Service In Ottoman palaces and mansions, the service of coffee involved a ceremony that was prescribed in detail by custom. more...

Istanbul Atatürk Airport Atatürk airport is located 24 km. west of downtown, with the qualifications of Cat II according to... more...

Best of Open-air Museums The jury of the daily newspaper "Hürriyet", have chosen the best Open Air Museums in Turkey, which are mostly located in western Anatolia more...

Latest Articles