Four days and nights in Cappadocia
Before I left my cousin Sandra wrote me a message on facebook saying to make sure I checked out Cappadocia. I wasn't really sure what to expect and didn't read anything about it before I went. I like to think this is the reason I was SO impressed with Cappadocia, along with its natural beauty and fascinating stone structures. Basically it is just an area filled with amazing rock formations, some of which have been carved out into dwellings way back when. Sort of Petra-like, but cooler, although I feel blasphemous for saying that. You guys can look up pictures on your own, and I will publicly endorse here how awesome it really is to see in real life.
Somehow our group swelled temporarily to six people, all people i either met on the bus or in the hostel (shoestring cave pension, highly recommend. sleeping in caves is a little cold, but it's dark, quiet, and they have really good showers).
Day 1: I went hiking. yes, i went hiking again. yes, in flip flops again. it was a lovely hike though, even better than Bcharre...the rock formations were really interesting if not a bit too phallic shaped for my tastes ;)
Day 2: Goreme Open Air Museum - this was cool, but maybe not necessarily worth the money to see. It's a little small but is interesting to see the old cave dwellings and rock churches. There are still some pretty well preserved frescoes (erm, maybe the wrong term, but the first that came to mind. just pretty, colorful paintings of jesus, saints, etc?)
Day 3: This was by far my favorite day. The 6 of us rented a car together (4 in the backseat, but we managed) and drove to the surrounding areas. The underground cities were amazing, especially the smaller "free" one (sorry the name escapes me now), mostly because we were the ONLY tourists there and we climbed through tons of pitch black tunnels with nothing but head torches and little flashlights. I felt very bilbo-esque a la the hobbitt when he's trapped in that mountain with Gollum!
After that we picnicked in the incredibly picturesque Ihlara valley (again, not a tourist in sight after a mere 10 minute walk along the river) and hit up Selime Monastery. The monastery, another "carved out of the mountain" structure, had some impressive churches and an incredibly steep climb (hands and feet climbing!) to the top which made me use the very miniscule rock climbing skillz that I had. No other tourists again. Matt said it was like a huge playground for adults, which might have been why we all enjoyed it so much.
On the whole I've realized that seeing a country by car allows for some much richer experiences--you can stop whenever you want, wherever you want, usually hitting up small little villages and towns that have never seen tourists, and you can have big sites all to yourself because you get to avoid all the tourist buses! well worth the extra money you might be spending on renting the car.
Day 4: this was sort of a lost day since there were no buses until 8 that evening. I got to catch up on postcards though. jeff have you recieved yours yet??
Somehow our group swelled temporarily to six people, all people i either met on the bus or in the hostel (shoestring cave pension, highly recommend. sleeping in caves is a little cold, but it's dark, quiet, and they have really good showers).
Day 1: I went hiking. yes, i went hiking again. yes, in flip flops again. it was a lovely hike though, even better than Bcharre...the rock formations were really interesting if not a bit too phallic shaped for my tastes ;)
Day 2: Goreme Open Air Museum - this was cool, but maybe not necessarily worth the money to see. It's a little small but is interesting to see the old cave dwellings and rock churches. There are still some pretty well preserved frescoes (erm, maybe the wrong term, but the first that came to mind. just pretty, colorful paintings of jesus, saints, etc?)
Day 3: This was by far my favorite day. The 6 of us rented a car together (4 in the backseat, but we managed) and drove to the surrounding areas. The underground cities were amazing, especially the smaller "free" one (sorry the name escapes me now), mostly because we were the ONLY tourists there and we climbed through tons of pitch black tunnels with nothing but head torches and little flashlights. I felt very bilbo-esque a la the hobbitt when he's trapped in that mountain with Gollum!
After that we picnicked in the incredibly picturesque Ihlara valley (again, not a tourist in sight after a mere 10 minute walk along the river) and hit up Selime Monastery. The monastery, another "carved out of the mountain" structure, had some impressive churches and an incredibly steep climb (hands and feet climbing!) to the top which made me use the very miniscule rock climbing skillz that I had. No other tourists again. Matt said it was like a huge playground for adults, which might have been why we all enjoyed it so much.
On the whole I've realized that seeing a country by car allows for some much richer experiences--you can stop whenever you want, wherever you want, usually hitting up small little villages and towns that have never seen tourists, and you can have big sites all to yourself because you get to avoid all the tourist buses! well worth the extra money you might be spending on renting the car.
Day 4: this was sort of a lost day since there were no buses until 8 that evening. I got to catch up on postcards though. jeff have you recieved yours yet??
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