Martin Bissig makes the most of a week in surprisingly snow-dusted Cappadocia.
Words & Photography Martin Bissig
Unexpectedly caught in a snowstorm on a biking trip in Turkey, I found the transformed landscapes so captivating that it turned our adventure into an impromptu photo shoot. From icy chills to T-shirt weather, this extraordinary trip served up all extremes and underscored the thrilling unpredictability of mountain biking.
It was love at first sight. In May last year, I’d stood shivering on the observation deck at 5.30am, staring into the dark night, punctuated by tiny, bright spots moving upwards. The backdrop was quintessentially Cappadocia. On clear mornings, over a hundred hot air balloons ascend over Göreme National Park. Fast forward almost a year and the sky was empty – the ground blanketed in white. Instead of dusty trails, at the end of March, we found ourselves knee-deep in snow, in the heart of Turkey!
The cold front caught not just us off guard – the locals were equally surprised. My friend Ahmed, who runs a hotel nearby and has been guiding tourists around the area for over a quarter-century, had just fitted summer tyres onto his car the week before. It wasn’t just the appearance of snow here in central Turkey, it was the sheer volume of snow. Even though it can snow here at 1,400m above sea level even late into spring, 30cm of fresh snowfall over 24 hours was truly extraordinary. Left with no choice, we spent the second of our five planned riding days hiking instead.
After a day in the snow, with soaking wet boots and cold toes, it thawed enough the next day for us to ride our bikes again. The ground was drenched with meltwater, transforming the usually dust-dry trails into sludgy, sticky mud paths – conditions reminiscent more of Scotland than of Turkey. Despite the challenging terrain, we couldn’t help but marvel. The snowfall had morphed the already spectacular landscape into a magical wonderland. The fairy chimneys, earth pyramids in cone or phallus shapes, looked like the sugared surface of a bundt cake.
If I had been nearly overwhelmed by the visual overdose last year, this year hit me even harder. My two friends and travel companions, Aldo and Thomas, had to ride the same spots repeatedly until I captured the perfect shots. Initially, I hadn’t planned on doing much photography on this trip. But I knew such an event does not happen often and is nearly impossible to plan for. Consequently, our five-day bike trip turned into a bona fide photo shoot. A photo shoot that couldn’t have been more diverse. We started in the snow and ended the ride in T-shirts and shorts, only to encounter fresh snowfields just around the corner.
Mountain biking in Turkey, in the snow? Check! I’ll definitely be back. But, next time, I would love to have high temperatures and dust between my teeth again.
