A night at the monastery

With a couple of weeks to kill before meeting family in Istanbul we decided to slow down a little and take a few interesting detours. Instead of following the flat highway east to Turkey, we headed south in to the mountains to visit some of the monasteries. Some very steep climbs were rewarded with stunning views and tranquil sanctuaries. At one of the places we visited one of the Monks in his limited English suggested that we could use the monastery as a hotel, so we took him up on the offer and camped in the grounds. This did however mean sharing our home with some furry friends for the night