Cappadocia

Uchisar Camel - Cappadocia, Turkey, on Flickr

Somehow I had lost my bus ticket I bought yesterday.  I went back to the ticket office and even though the agent didn’t speak the same language, he seemed to understand that I had lost my ticket and replaced it at no cost or fuss… Turkish hospitality at its best.

Riding into Cappadocia is a site to behold.  Whitewashed stone cliffs, blended with hues of red and lime, and remnants of a millennia old volcano eruption.  You can’t help but feel like you’re being transported in time or perhaps like you’re in an episode of the Flintstones and were driving into Bedrock.  As you drive into the town and eventually through the Goreme Open Air Museum, you can just imagine the church processions that must have engulfed the region.  There’s no shortage of places to stay, but you gotta take the chance to crash in a cave. You might think you won’t be able to rough it, but consider that I stayed in a cave fully equipped with a TV, Free Wi-Fi and a Jacuzzi! You just might be able to hack it… in comparison to every backpacker haunt I’ve stayed in before, and even to many of the hotels I’ve stayed in while backpacking, the cave was the height of luxury.   And I was in heaven every morning with the the breakfast spread – imagine plate loads of dried figs, apricots, mulberries, and dates, alongside heaps of yogurt, cherries, and various cheeses.  You can always opt for a ‘western’ breakfast of eggs – but the traditional breakfast is way better. Makes you feel like you’re a king from some old Ottoman tale!

Goreme Frome Above, on Flickr

 You can easily stay for days in Cappadocia, but I had only budgeted 4 days and it was a bit much to cram in the sunsets, trip to the Kaymakli underground city (over 4000 yrs old!), trekking through valleys, and of course relaxing on one of the many patios enjoying narghil (water pipe). But the crowning activity is a hot air balloon ride across the valleys.  Ranked by as one of trips you must try before you die, it did not disappoint! We spent this morning floating across massive spikes, dipping down low enough to see into old caves and pigeon coops and if you’re lucky even to pick apricots from trees. I’m a bit scared of heights so I might not have chosen to take a trip with the ‘highly’ ranked Kappadokya Tours had I known that they had a crash a week earlier where everyone broke their legs and one person even died of a resulting heart attack. Considering that it was only the first crash in over 20 years, I hope I would’ve convinced myself that lightening would strike twice – it was one of the best activities ever – despite having to wake up at 5 am to get there…

3 days in Cappadoccia is hardly enough – but I have to tear myself away to finally check out Istanbul…

Turkey Tips