Cappadocia sunset - Kelly Benson

In the heart of central Turkey lies the beautiful troglodyte village of Goreme. Many people still live in carved rock houses that date back hundreds of years, but with natural erosion and the region's rapid development Goreme is at risk.

The Old Goreme Restoration Fund was created in 2007 to protect the wonders of Cappadocia and this year The Intrepid Foundation proudly contributed AUD20,000 towards projects that will help preserve the architectural and cultural heritage of the village and surrounds.

As you can imagine The Intrepid Foundation's donation was very welcome and on behalf of Old Goreme Restoration Fund (OGRF) we heard from Pat Yale about the exciting work that has been undertaken by this passionate organisation...

"We were thrilled with how much we were actually able to achieve this year with the help of The Intrepid Foundation. I have lived here for almost 10 years and this is the first time we have ever been able to embark on any of these small improvements, let alone start to sort out what to do with our frescoed Ottoman mansion. So we are very grateful indeed. Thank you.

In April the OGRF began work on small repairs to the fabric of the village. The first task we took on was restoring one of the old neighbourhood fountains. In traditional Turkish society, each neighbourhood of a village would have had a set of communal facilities in the vicinity of the mosque: fountain, laundry, oven and mill. Now that most families have washing facilities in their own homes and can buy their flour etc at the shops, these facilities tend to have fallen into disrepair; only the ovens are still used on a regular basis in Goreme."

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