Since I have already written about my experiences in Budapest - the only time I have strayed from a chronological recount of my travels - we can skip ahead to.....TURKEY!! Prepare yourself a bit....I was in Turkey 10 days and loved every single minute of it (well, minus one day that I was felled with stomach issues) - but I don't even remember that ;) However, my stomach did not love Turkey as much as I did and it has taken all the way to Spain for it to regulate itself and get happy. I will write about Cappadocia first and save Istanbul for a second post.
Most of you know that Turkey was definitely on the list of places to visit when I set out on this journey b/c one of my best friends, Joshua Shannon-Chastain, has been teaching English there for over a year. My last time to see Josh was in August of last year as I flew to Portland to say goodbye to both him as he moved to Turkey and to the West Coast. I was on my way to Wilmington at the time. He and I had spoken about me getting over to visit at some point - but unlike many people who say those things....I was serious!
When Mom's accident occurred, I wanted to surround myself with my closest friends; especially those who could really understand what that loss meant to me and my everyday life. Josh lost his beloved sister, Zoe, who had just turned 18, to a car accident. If anyone can understand an abrupt loss, he can. Since Josh and I had been roommates for a couple years, and due to his love of history, he had met and spent time with Mom on several occasions - one being a particularly memorable Thanksgiving that had our house on 77th and Fremont in Portland busting at the seams, quite literally. It was me, Josh, Rob and our other roommate at the time, Patrick - Mom, brother Bill, Josh's Mom and Dad...and the dogs - Taggart, Banjo, Skunky and 1 other whose name escapes me...yep, 4 dogs. We made it work though and it was a Thanksgiving to remember. Josh's parents were the first people to send flowers to the house after the accident, and that sticks with me.
I boarded a plane in Budapest bound for Turkey with 10 days to discover that vast and varied country. I landed in Istanbul, "bought" my Visa and made my way to the line to get through Passport Control. As I was headed that way - I was confronted with my first image being in a Muslim country had to offer...and one that had just finished Ramadan. Scores...and I do mean "scores" of caftans, headcaps, burkhas, hijabs, prayer rugs, sandals, STENCH, man-dresses and the like stuffed into the airport...laying on the floor, mock playpens set up for kids, possessions piled into bags (not suitcases) and spread out all over the floor, cooking equipment set up!!, and "shouting". I admit...it was intimidating. Definitely out of my element. And if I didn't mention it...STENCH!! It's my blog, I can say what I want. PC be damned. I'm definitely not saying that all Muslims stink, but these certainly did...and not just stunk...REEKED!! The kind of horrible stink that gets up in your nose and wants to set up camp. You know what I'm talking about. Mucking out goat pens at the Farm was more pleasant than this walk through humanity. But okay, enough. I know I sound cruel, just painting the picture.
Got through Passport Control, retrieved my bag and met Josh outside. We were only in Istanbul that night before heading back to the airport at "Oh dark thirty" the next morning to board our plane for Cappadocia, an area of Turkey I was thrilled to be going. Cappadocia has received a lot of attention in the travel magazines lately. A place that looks "other worldly", is famous for its "Cave Hotels", has ancient roots, is filled with geologic marvels similar to the Hoodoos in Bryce Canyon Nat'l Park in Utah, and provided shelter to the fleeing Christians during Roman times. A treasure trove of history, hiking and sight-seeing....and I had 3 nights there...in a Cave Hotel!!
Before I get into Cappadocia - I will let you know that arriving in Turkey ushered in the second, but hopefully last stressful period around money. American Express had suspended my card while I was in Poland for "suspicious activity" (I had purchased the flight to Turkey online) but that was easily cleared up with a phone call. Upon arriving in Turkey, I was "welcomed" with an email from Bank of America alerting me to "suspicious activity" and to call them immediately. I did, confirmed all the charges (again, purchasing flights online) but was told that my card STILL needed to be confiscated...leaving me with almost NO cash. The nightmare I thought I was going to experience in Budapest was coming true in Turkey. The guy on the phone - forever now known as "The Idiot" - told me I could make one last withdrawal at the ATM before my card would no longer be good and that they were expediting and shipping me a new card to Istanbul. I was skeptical that BoA could actually get me a card to Istanbul, but that was the only option I had. Went down to the ATM, put my card in, asked for money, was told "No" and my card was eaten by the ATM...leaving me in a predominantly "cash only" country with VERY little cash and no means of getting more. Nor could I call "The Idiot" back at BoA to tell him his little "last ditch" ploy didn't work and to come up with something else. So, a call to American Express allowed me to set my credit card up as an ATM card after tracking down my account number and routing information...but it was only good for a one time withdrawal of $500. Again...in a cash country...$500 doesn't go as far as you would think. Also, American Express is RARELY accepted overseas due to the high fees they charge their merchants, so finding an ATM with an AMEX symbol on it was going to be tough. Thankfully, we found the one in Goreme (Cappadocia) that had one, I got my cash and prayed that BoA would have my card in Istanbul when I returned. They did not. "The Idiot" made a mistake with the address and my replacement card was sent to Franklin (real helpful)...even though BoA KNEW I was traveling and had my entire tentative itinerary. Sigh. This was not resolved for another TWO WEEKS. BoA had to send me emergency money via Western Union to Istanbul...my card finally reached me in Florence. But not before it was sent to the WRONG address AGAIN in Italy. Sigh. I am so thankful that ridiculousness is over!! Back to Cappadocia - sorry for the long, seemingly unimportant explanation; BUT, it was important to write about the $$ snafu b/c it defined every decision in Turkey!!!
Checked into our rooms...and I again squealed and jumped up and down because I LOVED my room so much. A snug room with a rounded ceiling, an antique bed and a traditional turkish bathroom - i.e. no "defined" shower, just a shower head with lots of space around it - completed my "Cave Room"....and the view outside my room...SIGH. When I am finally able to post pics upon returning home, you will all understand. I could see for miles...and there was a swimming pool outside my room. Perfection!
First order of business...booking our activities. I booked a Hot Air Balloon Ride, a Horseback Riding Tour (which I later canceled so I could spend THAT money on gifts for other people....you will see who you are when I return...) and the "Green" tour which was a full day excursion around the area. Next order of business...Money, then Food, finally Sight-Seeing.
Remember - I am in a Muslim country - so 5 times a day, the call to prayer goes out from all the Mosques. This takes a little getting used to but is also a good excuse not to wear a watch, b/c these guys are precise (and it is always men doing the call, of course). As a true Westerner, this call only sounds like noise. I could distinguish a word here and there, but not much. However, I found a translation and here is what is said (forgive any typos or iPad auto-corrects...you get the point)...
Alla Akbar
Ashadu an Iailaha illaliah
Ashadu anna Muhammad ar-rasul Allah
Hayya alassalaah
Hayya alaifalah
Allah Akbar
Laa ilaha illallah
God is Great
I profess that there is no God but Allah
I profess that Muhammad
is the messenger of God
Let's come to prayer
Let's come to success
God is Great
There is no God but Allah
I don't know if it is said once or a couple times...I think a couple times, but I never bothered to ask that little bit of information. I'm sure I could Google it - but I'm cool with staying in the dark. I can still hear the call if I shut my eyes and that is good enough for me.
First - to acquaint you with the area, a little lesson on the geology...
The Geologic History of Cappadocia
Sixty million years ago the Taurus Mountains were formed and in their wake, the massive volcanoes later called Erciyes and Hasan. These, and others, erupted over millions of years and covered the surrounding plateau with layers of ash that developed into the soft volcanic rock called "Tuff". In some places, the tuff was overlaid by basalt lava. The wind, ice, rain and snow worked away at the rocks. Where there was no basalt, the soft rock was eroded into beautiful, graceful shapes and valleys...and cliffs appeared. Where there was basalt, it protected the tuff under it from the weather so columns of tuff were left standing under their basalt caps while everything else eroded away. That's how the "Fairy Chimneys" were formed.
When the first people came to Cappadocia, they wisely decided to move into these cones of rock. The rock is soft so it can be excavated, even with primitive tools, at around one cubic meter a day. Cave rooms are warm in the winter and cool in the summer so they provide the perfect living environment for the extreme Cappadocian weather.
Everywhere you look in Cappadocia, you see these "Fairy Chimneys" in all different shades of cream, yellow, pink and red. This is what looks similar to the Hoodoos of Bryce. But instead of in Bryce where they taper up at the top, many of the chimneys in Cappadocia have what looks like a big, flat rock balanced on top of the spire. The landscape is quite dramatic.
Our first sight-seeing stop after lunch took us to Kocabag winery where we sampled some lovely Turkish wines. What I noticed about Turkish wines is that they are very simple - basically a Red or a White table wine. This doesn't mean they are bad; on the contrary, they are quite good. But they are designed to go with many dishes as opposed to a certain category and they are not "Big" wines...not a lot of nose or tasting notes. For those of you that know me well, you will gasp to learn I purchased a bottle of the Rose...i.e. Pink Wine. I took one sip of it and was startled!! It tasted spicy and peppery. Cold, but very refreshing and NOT SWEET like you'd expect. It defied everything I have always thought about Pink Wine.
From the winery, we trudged up the hill to Uchisar Castle - a natural stone fortress. After climbing to the top - can't remember 400 ft. or so - we had a spectacular view of Goreme, Uchisar and all the surrounding areas. What struck me were all the poor Muslim women making the same hike up as me...up and up and up steps carved into stone and definitely not even or smooth...in HIGH HEELS!! I was in running shoes and shorts and was sweating. Trust me, they were struggling as well...but to have to do that in HEELS!! No way, Jose!! After taking many, many pictures at the top, we hiked back down into the valley that leads up to Uchisar, trying to figure out a way back into Goreme. It just happened (yeah, right!!) that there was a street side "market" selling all kinds of junk and trinkets. We browsed this for a hot minute...I bought a bag and a sampled my first array of turkish nuts and dried fruits (YUM - especially the peanuts dipped in honey and rolled in sesame seeds...Whole Foods needs to stock these little treats!)...and we waited for a bus. And we waited...and we waited. One might be so cynical as to think the waiting is to encourage buying. Not willing to give up and walk the several kilometers back to Goreme...I knew that it sounded like a good idea to start with, but after a kilometer or two in that heat, we would be hating life...we waited. The bus finally arrived and we made it back to town. The only item on my agenda that night was diving in that crisp, cold swimming pool and washing the dust off that had turned me a pale shade of yellow...which is exactly what I did as the hotel people cooked us up a delicious dinner of grilled chicken, rice, peppers, soup and salad. Good end to a good day. I went to bed early because the next morning, a bus was picking me up at 5am for my very first Hot Air Balloon Ride!!!!
What can I say about the Hot Air Balloon Ride - it was everything I expected it to be!! Sunrise over the area, the sky dotted with all the other colorful balloons carrying people like me through the sky, Fairy Chimneys for miles and miles, seeing the landscape change as the sun hit it first thing in the morning, and a funny balloon operator that knew it was also a show! - i.e. "Whose first time is this in a Hot Air Balloon??" Hands raise. "Me too!!" he hoots and hollers. Ba-hahahahaha. Thanks for getting me up and down safely, guy!
We landed after an hour and three minutes in the air, were given a glass of champagne to distract us as they took the balloon apart and loaded it onto a truck...and, were given "official" certificates that we had completed our Hot Air Balloon Ride...with our names on it ;)) Glad my Euro was going towards something worthwhile...a certificate!! Also, a guy came around hocking pictures (not included in the fee) that had been taken as we climbed in and prepared for take-off. Mine were kind of cute...but I RUINED this poor couple's next to me in the basket. It is a great picture of them...and then there is me in the background making some inexplicable face that is impossible to miss. I felt horrible!!! But could really only laugh...too bad for them! Back to Goreme and my cave room for a mid-morning nap. I was supposed to go horseback riding later that afternoon and didn't want to fall asleep on my horse.
A nap refreshed me and I went out into the town to do some walking around, grab lunch and hopefully see some "cheap" souvenirs (since $$ is an issue). Unfortunately, there were many, many great things to buy and I knew I would regret not getting some things for friends/family...ok, me as well, I'm not to - tally altruistic...so I went back to the hotel and canceled my horseback ride so that I could go shopping. I've ridden plenty of horses - always enjoy it, but always pay for it the next day. Shopping sounded better. This introduced me to my "Cappadocian Boyfriend", Mustafa. I found some lovely things at his shop and spent over an hour there trying to make my decisions. Mustafa was lovely and ended up getting me a discount at my future Hamam experience the next night, a significant discount on a gorgeous hand-crafted silver "Cleopatra" style necklace at a jewelry store he took me to(they accepted Credit Cards - woo-hoo!) AND took me for a hike on my last day through Love Valley! Great person to have met and be-friended. Not to mention the many cups of tea I shared with him and his friends who owned the cafe next to his shop. As Mustafa said and Turkey exudes..."There is always time for tea."
Next day, The Green Tour and The Hamam...
The Green Tour was a nice comprehensive way to get an idea of the history surrounding the area...the Underground City, a hike through the Ihara Valley, a visit to the Selime monastery carved into a rock and the mystery behind the local love and devotion to Pigeons. Yep, pigeons. Those hated birds in Europe and America (well, they are not hated in Venice...but stay tuned for that story!)
Our first stop on the tour was a lookout over Pigeon Valley. The Cappadocians revere the pigeon unlike most places in the world.
There is a legend that Cappadocia was once inhabited by fairies (Peri) but when the first people came to live here the Peri did not want to share with them so they turned themselves into pigeons and went to live high up in the rocks. Hence, the name "Fairy Chimneys". The soil here is largely made up of rock, rich in minerals but poor in bulk. Pigeon droppings make a fertilizer for the soil. The people organized the collection of pigeon droppings by attacting the birds into hollowed out fairy chimneys where they could roost and drop their waste in a place from which it could be easily collected.
Pigeon eggs were also important. They were used in making the paint that decorates the rock churches as well as the actual Pigeon Houses. The paint attracts the birds. Some are simply white but others are elaboratley painted with intricate and colorful examples of Islamic art. Unlike other cities - these pigeons are not constantly up in your business. They have their own houses and pretty much hang there. Fine by me.
Next, the Underground City (Derinkuyu)- Nobody knows how many underground cities there are in Cappadocia although the number has been estimated around 300. Not rooms....entire cities that stretch for miles underground! Some say there must be one underground city for every above ground settlement. This subterranean way of life was made possible by several different factors..
1. The nature of the rock
2. The extremes of the climate
3. The religion of the inhabitants
The Rock - The dramatic landscape of Cappadocia is formed from volcanic lava, which is easy to work but dries to a hard surface strong enough to allow the excavation of wide rooms with horizontal ceilings. This tuff (remember the tuff from the geology lesson above) goes down as well as up, so Cappadocia is one of the few places in the world where it is actually possible to live safely 20 levels (or more) below ground without the benefit of high technology. I think I went down about 10 levels...and it was FAR, FAR down. I cannot even imagine another 10!!
The Climate - The weather in Cappadocia can be dramatic with temperature variations from 30 below to 40 above (this is in Celsius) over 6 months. The temperature in the underground caves is always between about 7 and 15 degrees no matter what is happening outside so they are the perfect environment for living as well as for storing produce and keeping animals. Yes - they kept animals WAY far underground when under attack!! I saw the rooms where they kept them...I think there was still an odor, but that could have been from the mass of humanity down there with me. Even though I do get claustrophobic in places (Karolina can attest to this in the Uprising Museum in Warsaw) - I didn't get that feeling below ground. Strange.
The Religion - The underground cities could be as much as 4000 years old but the first written mention of them occurs in the works of Xenophon who traveled to the Cappadocia area around 2400 years ago. Maybe they started out as storage areas - but they were certainly extended, developed and brought into use as refuges from Christians fleeing from the Romans. Right until the 14th century, when it was incorporated into the Ottoman Empire, Cappadocia was a hotbed of war and strife. During those centuries, the locals often needed to escape from invaders into the underground cities. They were never intended to be permanent homes but were built to withstand attack and shelter whole communities for months at a time.
It was a neat tour. We had a pretty good guide named, Haroun, who was fresh out of tourism school, so I think as he gets a few more years under his belt - he'll pick up more tidbits to share with us tourists. Also, I was on a joint Turkish/English tour (not sure how this happened) so he had to say everything twice. I noticed (and called him out a couple times) that he missed some details and facts along the way having to switch languages. I didn't mean this critically, only as a way to help him with his guide duties. I can't even imagine conducting tours in 2 different languages. AND - the Turkish language has many more syllables than ours does - so it always sounded like he was saying more stuff to them ;))
From the Underground City, we went on to the Ihara Valley for some light hiking, a cave church viewing and lunch...
The Ihara Valley is a glacier cut canyon about 15 kilometers long and several hundred meters deep. It has some of the best rock churches in Cappadocia with about 20 in various states of repair and preservation. We saw some beautiful frescos in the one we visited. A short little jaunt along the river bed brought us to our lunch destination - perched on the river. I decided to be adventurous and select the fish...since we were on a river....bad idea. It literally tasted like dirty mud (not that mud is ever clean). Oh well, the grilled vegetables were good - especially these long, green peppers that are served at every meal. I bought a couple of seed packets in Istanbul...hope they will flourish next Spring!
A short drive later out of the Ihara Valley took us to the Selime Monastery - another "cave church" of sorts. We got to climb all over this place for about half and hour - I could have stayed for 1/2 a day. Not that many of you reading this have been to Valley of the Fire out in Las Vegas - but this place reminded me a lot of that. Only major difference was the color. Valley of the Fire is a deep red and Selime is a pale gold. Wherever a particularly huge and impressive rock formation coincided with the need to extend the Christian community - a new monastery was founded. It is said that the first Star Wars film was shot in the area :))) And I do mean the ORIGINAL...none of this nonsense with Jar Jar Binks!
We were behind schedule at this point, so our stop at the Onyx factory was hurried. We were rushed downstairs where a guy carved up a raw piece of onyx into the shape of an egg. Then he took it over to his polishing station and did what you expect....polished it. This all took a total of about 3 minutes. My one useful fact was that there are many different colors of onyx. I only knew about black. In fact, most onyx looks like marble, with lots of veins - and the more "veined" it is, the farther down in the earth it is found, the older it is and the more translucent it is. I could have spent more time here...but that is the rub with organized tours...the schedule.
We were dropped back off in Goreme. I checked in with Josh and Elif and then made my way back to Mustafa's shop so he could take me to the Hamam and get me a discount. Oh, the Hamam.....
The Hamam, a brief history....
Hamams were an integral part of the Tukish-Ottoman culture for centuries with their roots lying in Greek and Roman culture. However, the Ottomans can be credited with turning the bathhouse into a place of luxurious feasting, fun and frolic (as well as a place to get clean, of course). In Ottoman times, every district of every town or city worth a name had a public hamam for the residents to use. Better off people had small hamams in their homes for private use. Most of the hamams were spacious enough to have separate areas for the sexes by declaring some days to be "Women Only" days (this is what I enjoyed at the Rudas Bath in Budapest...but nothing like what I experienced in Turkey). In a society where modesty and religious observances were the cornerstones of daily life, the hamams wer perhaps the only place where people, especially women, could literally let their hair down!
The religious importance of the hamam has its roots in the frequent exhortations in the Koran to keep high standards of personal hygiene (I found this odd, considering the ever present stench). However, the contrast between the straight-laced outside world and the laid-back steamy atmosphere of the hamam made them the place to meet your friends, catch up on the gossip, make business deals, find a new daughter-in-law and be entertained by musicians and dancers. Many men worried about their wives "losing their virtue" by visiting the public hamam, but if he didn't have enough money to build her a private one - too bad, so sad. The men couldn't keep their wives from going to the hamam!!
For the Ottomans, and for later Turks, getting ready to go for a day trip to the hamam meant finding, preparing and packing up towels, brushes, henna, kohl, special soap and mother of pearl inlaid pattens. Then, there was lots of food and drink. If there were servants in the household, they would be taken along and some people even took their pets! After their bath and massage, the ladies would tidy their eyebrows, dye their hair, hands and feet with henna and remove unwanted hair with either wax, sugar or a thread of cotton.
So - my Hamam experience....
I had read about what to expect online, but that did not prepare me for what was in store. I was escorted down to the locker rooms and given a red plaid "towel" (I bought one as a souvenir) with some ugly, croc-like slippers. I asked in "mime" if I was to take everything off or leave on my bikini bottom. She said "leave bikini on" and motioned to her southern parts. Okey Dokey. I went back out to the waiting area and was told to "sit" - where a woman appeared with a bowl of sludge. She slathered a mud mask on my face and then directed me through another door saying, "You go steam". Hmmmmm...alright again. I stepped into a room that made my mouth fall open. Huge, circular, and white marble with a soaring ceiling and a big octagon-shaped, raised marble slab in the center of the room. Around the walls are little "seats" carved into the marble next to individual sinks. Nobody was in there at the moment so I passed through into the sauna. Inside were 10 or 12 women of varying ages - all with mud masks on - and all clutching their little red, plaid towels to their chests. They greeted me with "Bonjour" and upon realizing they were French, thought it odd that they seemed so modest with the towels. The French are known for having few inhibitions. I didn't know anyone, so I let my towel drop and steamed away topless. The French eventually left, but I stayed a bit longer...really feeling that sweat from the Green Tour making its way out of my pores. When my mask started dripping all over me, I figured it was time to exit...and see what was next.
I exited the Sauna and stood there a little shocked for a few seconds. The placid, empty, white marble room I had passed through earlier was now filled with stark naked women. The only clothes (scant at best) were on the "cleaners" (and by this, I mean people who clean YOU), one of whom was belly-dancing and shrieking at the top of her lungs on the big marble stone. It was then I realized....I am going to be totally naked in front of more than 20 strangers. Hmmmmmm. Well, when in Turkey, I guess! I exited the room, peeled off my bikini bottoms and tossed them in my locker and headed back for naked time...
Steamy, steamy, steamy the place had become. You are given an exfoliating mit and you sit by your own little sink and wait to be called onto the marble slab. Then, you spread your red plaid towel out and lie down, face-up on top of it and hand your exfoliating mit to your "cleaner". You are lying on this slab with 8 other women and another 10 or so watching all this happen to you. The cleaner takes a little metal bowl and slops you with warm water a couple times. Then, she puts on the mit and begins SCRUBBING you. Not the way we do in the shower...I mean, SCRUBS you. SCRUBS you raw...you see your dead skin coming off in little ribbons (gross, yes). She scrubs your boobs and your southern private parts, then directs you to turn over, slops you with more water and attacks your back, butt and legs. SCRUBBING!!!! You are doused with more water and told to turn back over.
Next up - the Bubble massage. This is the coolest! They have these little bags that look like laundry bags which they dip in a bucket with water and some soap. They swing the bags back and forth for a couple seconds then gather the top together somehow forming a "bag'o'bubbles" which they then squirt and sluice all over you. This takes place a couple times to make sure you are totally covered in bubbles. It feels amazing!! The bubbles ooze and tickle their way over your skin, sliding over your legs and stomach, down your shoulders......Then, the massage. Ahhhhhhhhhhh...you are massaged and massaged and massaged. Front and Back - more bubbles for your back, of course!! At this point...the ultimate in relaxation....and just as you are about to fall asleep. You are doused with water again...and then sent to another room for your oil massage. ANOTHER massage...after the bubble massage!! Ok, if you say so!! At the end of this one, you feel like a limp noodle. You are directed to the "rinse-off" area to get most of the oil off your skin and then you are taken to the "relax" area to enjoy tea, juice or water. I dozed off for a couple minutes here - totally savoring the ultimate feeling of relaxation. You are warned not to really eat before visiting the hamam because the environment can be hot and uncomfortable on a full stomach. However, you leave RAVENOUS!!! I got dressed and stumbled back out into the Cappadocian night ready to tear an animal to pieces. Instead, I made my way back over to my buddy, Mustafa, had some more tea and gratefully accepted the snacks he prepared....I don't even remember what they were I was in such a fog. More tea...and that concluded my day of the Green Tour and my night at the Hamam.
I slept like a baby - who wouldn't - and awoke with the prospect of a hike before me. My buddy Mustafa took me back up to the Onyx factory where I purchased the silver necklace mentioned above. We then headed for Honey Valley - but first, a cup of fresh-squeezed orange juice from a lone kid on the side of a "road" with a massive juicer. Definitely an entrepreneur!! We hiked down into the valley and made our way along the bottom - beautiful sight after beautiful sight was around every corner (don't worry...I took LOTS of pictures)...we stopped every now and then to eat some of the fresh fruit off the trees - apples and peaches - or to grab a tomato off a vine...and continued to Love Valley. Love Valley is aptly named and is a big joke in the area. What can I say....all the "spires" are hugely phallic and look exactly what you think they look like...I won't say the word....but huge male genitalia. There is no getting around it. It is what it is. This is one of the most impressive Valleys in the area with a huge concentration of these formations - and gave me that feeling of "I am one of the few people in this world who will actually see this special place". It is the same feeling I had in Belize last Christmas while hiking through the ATM cave. With an incredible view before us, we stopped at this random truck with a canopy and couches set up and had freshly-squeezed pomegranate juice while kicking back on the couches (yes, random couches set up in this desert valley...and they were clean!) to get out of the heat for an hour. Refreshed - we plowed on and got back to the main road - only a couple kilometers from Goreme. Thankfully, a friend of Mustafa's happened by in his car, picked us up and whipped us back into town - deposited us at Mustafa's shop and delivered us Turkish Pizza a couple minutes later. I was FAMISHED!!
Food and Tea set me to rights, I went and grabbed my bag from the Cave Hotel and settled in to wait the hour for the bus to haul me back to the airport in Neveshir. Cappadocia had come to an end. I am amazed at everything I packed into 4 days and 3 nights. And that was just the beginning of Turkey! I still had a week to go in Istanbul...
But that is the next post...I know this was a long one, but Cappadocia is one of the high points of this trip. Spectacular scenery, unforgettable experience at the hamam and Turkish hospitality that allowed me to really get close to the local culture.
I probably should have been writing about what I have been reading along the way - sometimes when people ask me where I have been or when I was in a certain area, it seems I'm better able to recall the information based on the book I was reading. In Cappadocia, I finished reading "War and Peace" - OMG, one of the best books I have EVER read - and moved on to something I would NEVER have thought I'd get so into..."Game of Thrones"...and so began the addiction to the series, "A Song of Ice and Fire". I have now finished all 5 books in the series and now know how those fans have felt for years, waiting on Mr. Martin to get it together to write the next book. His latest just came out, so I have a while to go...ahhhhhh.
Next up, Istanbul. I promise it won't be as long!!
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