Avanos is famous for its potters and one thing to do there is have a go at throwing a clay pot on a wheel.

Avanos is a mere 9km north of Göreme and a Belediye bus connects the two on the hour from either village. It costs 2.5TL for the short ride. The town lies on the Kızılırmak River which flows all year round and features a small sand and gravel bar in its centre.

This has been covered with wide necked pots and trays which migratory geese use for nests.

Avanos is famous for its potters and one thing to do there is have a go at throwing a clay pot on a wheel.

There are numerous small pottery workshops around the town offering this opportunity. We chose a small one in a back street up the hill and there was no charge for the experience.

You can keep your creation if it dries out in time. It will never hold water or liquids of any kind as it won’t have been fired but, as our pottery ‘usta’ said: “You can put dried flowers in it or use it for pens and pencils”.

Unfortunately our pot didn’t dry out despite us going off to do other things and returning two hours later hoping to collect the pot.

Maybe if you keep the pot, so the potter doesn’t get to re-use the clay, there would be a small charge.

And we have just the place for you to go while you wait for your pot to dry – log on to read about the weird Hair Museum soon.