Kuşadası

By the time our plane touched down in Izmir, it was late morning. We easily found our shuttle driver and in a few moments we were on our way to Kuşadası. 

The driver was a young guy in his 30’s. He was trained as a tour guide and was now working part time as a shuttle driver. He spoke excellent English and was very talkative. He offered to drive us around town or anywhere we wanted to go. After our early morning, plus having survived the sleepy shuttle driver on the way to the airport and the plane ride, we were all pretty tired and didn’t really want to see anything but our hotel rooms. Sill he stopped at a

lookout point where we could take pictures of the Aegean Sea, and a bit later stopped to buy us some local fruits. We were already having some trouble trying to figure out how much to tip the guy, and now he is giving us an extra tour and buying us food. This was complicating things instead of helping us. 

The most important thing we learned from the driver had nothing to do with the area, but rather how to correctly open and eat a pomegranate. It was a simple method that takes all the laborious work out of pulling the pomegranate apart and fighting with the white membranes and creating a huge mess like most of us are accustomed to doing. In fact his way was so easy, he was encouraging us to open and eat some in the van. We all declined, but we did try it out at the hotel and to our amazement it worked like a charm.

Kuşadası is a beach resort town on western Turkey’s Aegean coast. It is a jumping-off point for visiting the classical ruins at nearby Ephesus, and also a major cruise ship destination. The seafront promenade, marina, and harbor are lined with hotels and restaurants. Just offshore on Pigeon Island is a walled Byzantine castle that once guarded the town, and is connected to the mainland via a causeway.

For the most part, the town looked like any other seaside resort community. Vendors line the promenade where visitors stroll along and watch the waves from the sea crash onto the beach as they enjoy the balmy weather. We saw many Muslim women with their heads covered in scarfs, just as we had grown accustomed to seeing in Turkey, and strangely enough, even a few were walking the seaside fully covered in their full length black burkas.

It was in Kuşadası that we met Kirstan. Kirstan is from Germany, and is a long-time friend of Mark and his family. When she was a

teenager, she stayed with Mark’s family in the states for a summer program, similar to the exchange student program. Youth from other countries could come to the Unites States for the summer, but return in time to attend their regular school back home. It was through this program that Kirstan came to stay with Mark’s family, and they have remained good friends ever since. Kirstan is married and has two sons, but only she came to join us for the week. She was a delightful addition to our group.

Sleepy Shuttle

Morning came way too early as we were preparing to leave the Cappadoccia region. We woke at 5:45am, showered, finished packing, went downstairs and waited for the doors to open for the 6:30 breakfast buffet. By 7:00 we were checked out and on our shuttle for the airport. We were booked on a morning flight to Izmir, which is a coastal town on the Aegean Sea.  From there we took a private shuttle for a one hour drive south where we began our next five night stay at the Doubletree hotel in Kusadasi. 

We had flown across the Atlantic ocean, went up in a hot air balloon, and climbed on precariously steep mountain caves and through underground cities, but nothing caused us as much concern as the morning's one hour bus ride to the airport.

The minibus was full. Bags filled the cargo hold and were piled all the way to the ceiling, which completely blocked the back windows. The remaining bags were placed in the aisles making it impossible for anyone to leave their seat. For the first time on this leg of the trip, we were the last to be picked up, so we were relegated to the very back seats with the tiniest legroom. We were packed in tighter than our suitcases. 

As we drove away from the hotel, the air was calm and a thin blanket of clouds hovered in the valley. In the distance the hot air balloons could be seen scattered across the horizon as the first light of day illuminated them from behind. On this day there were no bright colors. The balloons were monochrome, and looked as if someone had poked a hole in the bottom and let their beautiful colors drain out, leaving them lifeless and ashy. 

As we pulled away from Avanos and onto the highway, the interior of the vehicle was silent. A few passengers were watching the distant balloons as they slowly faded from sight, while the rest were gently drifting in and out of sleep, lulled by the soft rhythmic thumping of the wheels on the pavement. I too was being wooed by the warm comfort of the interior and the lifeless terrain of the morning desert landscape. 

From my back row seat I had a perfect view of the driver in the large rear view mirror. He was a young man, perhaps in his 30's, well groomed and courteous, and sporting a perfectly manicured, thinly cut beard. His skin and thick black hair hinted that his nationality was more Arabic than Turkish. I wondered about his story. It seems that everyone has one. Our waiter from the previous night's meal was a refugee from Afghanistan. He told us of his riveting escape. He witnessed the death of his 27 year old brother, traveled through several countries, and arrived in Turkey only nine months ago. 

As more passengers drifted to sleep, the bus was completely silent. I glanced at the driver just as he made a long slow blink. I raised my eyebrow ever so slightly. A few moments later, again, the driver blinked with a long gentle close of his eyes. My eyes widened. I stared intensely into the mirror as the drivers eyelids were taking their time,,, too much time. The sleepiness from MY eyes was completely gone as I stared into his. Perhaps I was just seeing things; I did want to be alarmed for nothing. Perhaps this man just has slow movements. Perhaps he was thinking of another life, back before his migration to this new land. Perhaps... perhaps nothing, he did it again! This time he followed the blink with a quick shake of his head back and forth. He was trying to shake off his sleep. 

The highway was still a bit dark as the sun had not yet peeked over the mountains. There was very little traffic, with only the hypnotic movement of the painted lines on the road whisking by. I poked Bryan and made him aware of my concern. We both watched as the driver raised one hand to his mouth attempting to conceal a long drawn out yawn. I knew now I was not seeing things. This driver was falling asleep. We then nudged Mark awake and soon we were all glued to the rear view mirror. 

Another long yawn ensued, interspersed with the constant resting of his eyes. He was struggling to stay awake. Traffic was slowly starting to increase as the terrain began to fall away on the other side of the highway guard rails. We couldn't have been more awake. At some point the driver slowly drifted off the road and got very close to the rail on the right side of the highway, and then slowly drifted back into his lane. My adrenaline was pumping at this point. A few semi trucks passed on the left, and shortly thereafter we again drifted off the road toward the guard rail. Again he corrected, and we were back in our lane. I looked at my escape options. The back was still piled high with bags, and the aisles were still full of them. The windows were permanently shut with no escape hatches, but on each side of the bus was a tool that could be used to smash the windows should an emergency escape be necessary. A third time the driver veered off the road and this time Bryan kicked into action and spoke up loudly, “WE’RE OFF THE ROAD!” It wasn’t loud enough for the driver to hear but he did alert some of the closer passengers. Luckily this time he was exiting the highway and we were moving into heavy downtown traffic but thankfully close to the airport.

We arrived safely, but it was a nervous ride to say the least. The thought of successfully navigating the dangers of our trip only to die at the hands of a sleepy driver was an unsettling thought. We couldn’t get out of that van fast enough. 

Göreme

On our last day in the Cappadoccia region, we had nothing planned, yet there was still plenty to do. We had our breakfast and retreated to our rooms for a little rest before exploring.

Around noon we caught a cab and went to the nearby town of Göreme. Göreme is probably “THE” place to stay when visiting Cappadoccia. We drove through it each day picking up all the others on each of our tours. It seems that almost all the tourist here stay in this town. There is no wonder why, it is magical. If Aladdin were real he would be living here, for it is certainly a place that must have been created by a genie. The town is riddled with caves and fantastic rock formations with new construction mixed throughout. It is made up of hotels and shops and restaurants all intertwined with a fairy-tale mix of ancient and modern.

We spent our last day walking though the many streets and shops of this magical town. Tourist from all over the world were here sharing the streets with us. The shop keepers were doing as usual, standing outside trying to encourage us to enter their shops with the hope for a purchase.

The economy here is bustling, but still there have been economic woes in the country and lately the value of their currency, the Turkish Lira, is way down. The current exchange rate as of this

writing is approximately $1 for 6₺ (Turkish Lira). Most of the paper money is proudly displaying Ataturk, their beloved former president whom most Turks refer to as the Father of Modern Turkey. Their current yet not so well liked president is presently trying to change their laws so he can stay in power indefinitely. His name is Erdoğan, who strangely enough does not yet appear on any currency. Besides the paper money, they also have coins, although the only one we have seen so far is a 1 Lira coin. The most foreign sounding denomination to us is their 200 Lira bill.

After a little shopping and a nice inexpensive lunch at a sidewalk café, we decided to do a little “off road” exploring of our own.

From the town we spied a cluster of the bizarre rock towers in the distance, which had a few visible windows and doorways carved into them, so we headed that direction. The closer we got, the more complex the series of carvings became. Some of these Goliath rocks had windows or doors carved 100 feet or more up the rock face, with no apparent way to get to them. This kind of thing screams ‘challenge’ to me and I am eager to comply. I was scurrying up and around everywhere looking for access to the rooms but with little success. How intriguing to think that somehow people climbed these rock towers with no modern or electrical equipment and managed to carve entire rooms in the tops of these monoliths. All I needed to do is find a way up there, and I couldn’t even do that.

Eventually we found our way in. One cave entrance was

Trevor sitting in high window

 just a very narrow crevice, and barely noticeable. We had to walk sideways to get to the end, and it lead to a small hole overhead. Wish some help, I managed to climb up and into the hole. It opened to a whole room, or perhaps a small house, that from the back side was at least 80 feet off the ground.

Another one I managed to reach by walking a very narrow ledge disguised by some scrawny bushes. Some well-placed handholds helped me inch slowly across the ledge until it opened into a whole house. It consisted of several rooms with lots of nooks and shelves carved into the stone. This was my favorite house. The ‘veranda’ overlooked the valley and was a good 50 feet off the ground. The only way in or

out safely was by carefully maneuvering across the almost hidden ledge. It could have been easy enough to carry food and firewood in on my back, but if the refrigerator ever went out then forget the idea of replacing it. lol

We spent a little more time exploring the area. There were some vineyards planted on some terraced areas between some of the large rocks towers. Some were still growing wild grapes. There were other caves and homes throughout the area, some we could reach and others we couldn’t, and others we just didn’t have the strength to maneuver through to the end.

Heading back to our hotel, we talked about the amazing day and the ruins that are left abandoned and open for visitors to explore. The countryside had more to explore than anyone could manage, with many  stories hidden within their concealed walls. It was fortunate that the government is leaving them for the public to use and enjoy, and enjoy we did.

Green Tour

There are quite a few tour companies in Cappadocia. Realizing the large number of tourists and the major destinations that everyone wants to visit, the tour companies have devised several tours that all companies offer so as to keep people from having to miss or duplicate locations. The two most popular are designated the Red Tour and the Green Tour. No matter which tour company you take, these tours all include the same activates and destinations. Our first day here we took the Red Tour, the next one we took was the Green Tour.

Our Green Tour guide was a young, petite and feisty woman named Tuba. She was very good with her English and her history. Our fellow tour members included Jeff who was a guy traveling alone from Mauritius, a newly engaged couple from DC, an older couple from Canada, a young couple from Singapore, a couple women from Hong Kong, a guy from Spain, and a couple Turkish girls. As usual, we were the first to be picked up. The rest of the group was all picked up at the same time in the cave town of Göreme. 

This tour first landed us at Derinkuyu, which was the deepest excavated underground city in Cappadocia. Derinkuyu is only one of many extensive subterranean dwellings containing many secret tunnel passages that various peoples utilized for shelter over the centuries. There are hundreds of these homes in the region, but Derinkuyu is the most famous. At a depth of more than 250 feet, with a capacity of up to 20,000 people, this multi-leveled city contained everything an entire population would need to survive through a history riddled with invasions. 

Cut-away rendering of the Derinkuyu underground city

The discovery of the subterranean dwellings occurred in 1963 during the renovation of a surface home. When a wall caved in, an underground room that led to a subterranean passageway opened up. Upon exploration of the passageway, the workers realized that it led even further into a deep labyrinth. It was an astonishing find. Within the enormous eighteen levels of the city (only eight are accessible), researchers found kitchens, bedrooms, bathrooms, food storage rooms, oil and wine presses, wells, weapons storage areas, churches, schools, tombs, and domestic animal stables. 

Underground city air shaft

There were rooms of varying sizes for different needs. Small spaces turned out to be rock-cut tombs, while large spaces provided the ideal rooms for community meetings and schools. It is evident that the people planned to be completely self-sufficient. More than fifty ventilation shafts brought in air from above, while thousands of smaller ducts distributed air throughout the entire city.

Although Tuba led our group through the city, we were relatively free to explore a bit ourselves. The rooms were all connected with an elaborate system of passageways that seemed to never end. Entering what looked to be a small bedroom may have a

narrow opening at the back which led to a whole new area or perhaps another level. Sometimes the passageways between levels were large enough to stand up in, others we had to squat and wobble though like a duck, but they all eventually opened back up into normal height rooms. I can best describe the place as a child's greatest dream come true. What a playground! At least it would have been for me. It was a nearly endless fort full of secret passageways.

 The only drawback to the whole adventure is that the researchers never found any kind of bathroom, indicating that all the waste for hundreds of people had to be hand carried to the surface in buckets. Makes me wonder who got stuck with that job. 

Our second stop for the day was the Ihlara Valley, which was another remarkable surprise considering we were in the middle of a desert. Ihlara Valley is possibly one of Turkey’s most stunning natural landscapes. The 8½ mile long gorge reaches over 300 feet deep in most places.  Historians have uncovered human dwellings and cave churches that led them to believe the valley was home to a large community of people for many centuries.

The Melindiz River winds through the canyon floor, and it was along its banks that we hiked. It was beautiful. Lush with vegetation, this place stood out against the desert landscape just above the canyon walls. We explored the remains of a cave church that still had an impressive amount of fresco paintings covering the ceiling and walls. Other caves could be seen scattered through the unique rock formations and groves of poplar trees.

Half way down the hike we stopped at a rest area with little cabanas built over the water. Each one was decorated with carpets and pillows and a table making a very relaxing place to rest after a strenuous hike through the canyon. Vendors sold drinks and food for a refreshing snack.

After a short break, we continued the hike through the gorge oasis. We crossed man made bridges and listened to birds as they flew between the gurgling waters and the many carved cave openings in the canyon walls.

At the end of our trek, a restaurant was built alongside the river, this was our destination for lunch. We had a nice meal under a large covered area just as a light rain came down around us. After lunch we were back on the bus and on our way to the Selime Monastery.

The monastery at Selime is an astonishing rock-cut structure incorporating a vast kitchen with a soaring chimney, three churches, stables with rock-carved feed troughs, and other evidence of the troglodyte lifestyle.

Selime Monastery is one of the largest religious buildings in

Cappadocia, with a cathedral-size church. Inside the cathedral there are two rows of rock columns, which divide the cathedral into three sections. The size of the church is astonishing. The columns and arches of the church are cut directly from the stone within the Selime monastery, and still bear the tell-tale markings of various generations that once occupied it. Rudimentary icons from the early days can be seen more clearly, but the detailed frescoes which were painted later are barely visible after many years and many layers of soot from when the Turks used the room for cooking. It also contains monks’ quarters, a large kitchen, and even a stable for mules. The walls of the chambers were at one time adorned with frescoes, but little of these remain intact. From the road, there is a short but challenging climb up a steep and slippery hill to the monastery.

On the way up to the monastery, one must pass through a tunnel-like corridor, which was part of the caravan path on which camels walked. The camel caravans came for a stopover as there was a large bazaar there, and for protection, the camels were led to the central part of the monastery.

The top section has a fortress-like structure, the walls and trenches of

which are still visible today. It also includes some secret passageways and a series of twisting, ever-steeper rock stairway-ladders. The monastery also has a courtyard, which was the section where important religious and military meetings were held.

We climbed in and up and around and through the many passages and rooms and only covered a small part of the carved compound before our time ran out. 

The tour led us to a couple more views of different canyons and valleys, and ended up at the Onyx Jewelry Factory for a short tour and sales pitch.

It was a long and tiring day, yet one filled with excitement and wonder. It was truly amazing to see what such ancient societies were able to accomplish with no modern technology of any kind. 

Up Up and Away

Our next morning was even earlier. 

Our guide picked us up at our hotel at 5:10. Yes, AM as in so early that the call to prayer had not yet sounded, and that happens an hour before sunrise. Today we were to participate in one of the most well-known attractions of the area, hot air balloon rides. 

We were dropped off at a central meeting spot where many balloon companies take their patrons for a bit of hot tea and coffee, a snack, and a bathroom break before heading to the takeoff spot.

As we drove toward the area where our balloon was being inflated, the sky was filled with balloons that had already launched. The sun had not yet peeked over the mountains yet the early morning light exposed a horizon of silhouetted ovals ascending into the sky. We passed dozens of balloons still on the ground, in varying stages of deployment. Some were just boarding their passengers, many were partially inflated and still laying on the ground, and other companies were just arriving in their vehicles to unload their large packages and unroll them on the ground.

There were more balloons than we could count. Sometime rows of partially inflated balloons lay on the ground in such close formation they were touching sides. When the balloons were mostly inflated, the skilled teams would release the grounding ropes and the massive bubbles would rise up and the waiting passengers would quickly scramble inside the baskets. As ours popped up overhead, we climbed a small ladder and clumsily made our way into one of the four passenger chambers in the basket. Without fanfare, the balloon lifted into the air so smoothly it didn’t even feel like we were moving.

Our basket was full with five people in each quarter of the basket. In the middle, the solo pilot had an area to himself. Our pilot was a young, cheerful Turkish man probably in his 30's. He spoke good English and had a nice sense of humor. He introduced himself and gave the official name of his balloon, then claimed it was nicknamed the Titanic. Immediately afterwards the song “My Heart will go on” began to play on his phone, which is the iconic theme song to the movie Titanic.

He gave us a brief speech which included the fact that 150 balloons go up every single day carrying an average of 3000. This was the biggest tourist attraction in the area, and people came from all over the world to partake of this amazing experience. In the basket with us were people from Taiwan, Hong Kong, Portugal, Kurdistan, Japan and India.

Balloons continued to rise after ours until the entire sky was filled with the floating wonders, each with a different color scheme and design. Some had company logos and websites, others fun and lively pictures, and others just had varying degrees of color. Besides the occasional roar of the fire being blown into the cavernous chamber above us, there were no other sounds. The sun eventually came up and quietly climbed over the rocky horizon. The first rays of the morning light illuminated the colors of the balloons, and created a

rainbow of dazzling colors across the sky. The vivid colors of the

balloons amid the natural brilliance of the canyons were breathtaking. Our pilot navigated in and around rock formations and canyons as easily and skillfully as an artist controls their brush on a canvas.

As our time came to a close, the team could be seen below us following the balloon in their truck, with open trailer behind it. As we slowly sank, we watched the team as they anticipated the exact touchdown spot and parked the trailer accordingly. Our pilot skillfully managed to navigate the balloon to that exact spot, and then we plopped down precisely on the flatbed trailer. The balloon collapsed and the team of men managed to direct it off to one side. By the time we all climbed out of the basket they were already flattening out the balloon on the ground to roll into one long cylindrical formation, preparing it for storage until the next trip. 

Our transport van arrived and set up a table with champagne. We all celebrated the successful ride and were given certificates signed by the pilot showing our participation.  We were transported back to the hotel and arrived at 8:30 AM, right on time for our breakfast buffet.

Red Tour

Our first day in the Cappadocia region was no rest day. 

We woke early, had our breakfast and went straightway to meet our guide in the lobby for our first full day tour. Our tour guide Ozay was a 48 year old local that grew up in the area. He spoke very good English and had even visited the U.S. a couple times. He told us how in recent years the tourist have shifted. There used to be a lot of Americans but now days there are very few. He said it was the same for Germans. Both countries have had some political tension with Turkey and so the governments of both have released some travel warnings which basically stopped them from coming. The majority of tourists now days are from China and we had already figured that out. Our hotel was completely full and the far majority were Chinese.

After talking with Ozay about tourism we got to thinking. None of us could remember seeing any Americans anywhere so far on our trip, not even in Istanbul. I think perhaps twice I heard what I thought was American English but couldn’t even confirm that. Aside from the lack of Americans there certainly is no shortage of visitors. Out of the 15 guests on today’s tour with us they were from, Switzerland, Italy, the UK, Ireland, Japan, Singapore, Mexico and then the three of us.

As we have experienced in prior trips, U.S. news came up in discussion and not by us. The world is constantly effected by us and is always keeping their eyes on the U.S. So far we have not had any favorable reactions concerning Trump and there seemed to be a lot of disdain for the recent confirmation of Kavanagh on the Supreme Court. It seems that the world is more interested in our politics than most people I know at home.

Cappadocia is not a town but a region in central Turkey. The name means “land of wild beautiful horses” due to the large number of wild horses that inhabited the area when the region was first being settled, but the horses are no longer the focus. The whole area looks as if it were plucked from a whimsical fairytale and set down upon stark moonscape plains. Cappadocia is a geological oddity of honeycombed hills and towering boulders of otherworldly beauty.

The fantastical topography is matched by the human history here. People have long utilized the region's soft stone, seeking shelter underground and leaving the countryside scattered with fascinating cavern architecture.

This region of Cappadocia is well known for their pottery. Ozay said that absolutely everyone in town learns the trade at a young age. Not everyone pursues it in life as a career but they all know how to do it. The pottery ‘kick wheel’ was invented here in this place, or so we were told.

We were the first guests to be picked up for the tour and the first to be dropped off afterwards. In fact, there are very few hotels in the area where ours was located, only a few of the more upscale ones. The majority of the hotels, and the majority of the tourists, are in the nearby town of Göreme. Just driving through

Göreme is quite an experience in itself. Much of the town is built

on rolling hills. The streets are all cobblestone and often very narrow. They twist and turn between the aged stone houses, winding precariously along the hillside. 

Göreme is obviously very old, the buildings all made of rocks and homemade bricks, many of which are falling apart and in need of repair. Scrubby vegetation was growing everywhere throughout the town, many which appeared brown and dead. Also large rock formations stuck up everywhere, nestled among the man made buildings. Most of these formations were carved out and used as homes, hotels and stores. It was an amazing sight to see the mix of all the stone homes built between and natural stone formations.

These stone formations were typically cone shaped and resembled giant anthills. In fact, after driving up and down and curving through the narrow streets and rock outcroppings we started feeling like ants in a giant terrarium. The streets often had parked cars or buses which the bus driver very skillfully maneuvered between or around with great precision. At times it literally did not seem that we had even an inch of clearance. I often held my breath and looked away to keep from making noise as walls and vehicles came far closer to us than I was comfortable with. Yet the town was still fascinating and it was hard not to be in amazement at both the town and the ability of the driver.

Most of the tour consisted of exploring the large cavernous rock

formations. We stopped at several different areas including the remains of a former monastery which has now been turned into a museum. We were free to climb anything and explore anywhere. Groups of people from all ages and abilities climbed along steep slopes, narrow paths and into the cave ruins, most of which had no hand rails or assistive tools of any kind. This type of attraction would never be approved by Osha back home in the states. If a tourist were to fall off a cliff like these in the U.S. the property would be sued. Here the risk and blame lands on the person that fell for doing something to jeopardize themselves.

As early as the third century AD early Christians arrived at the areas to escape persecution. They hid in the many caves and setup their homes and schools staying hidden from the neighboring people groups, afraid that they would discover their religious beliefs and persecute them also. We explored many ruins of these early Christians, many which still bear the markings and paintings of Jesus and Mary, other disciples and Bible stories.

The number of caves in the area was extensive. Whole hillsides and

valleys were filled with these cave homes and buildings. Most are abandoned but still some are used today. There was hardly a rock formation anywhere that didn’t have a carved opening. Some were homes, some churches and some dormitories, kitchens, dining rooms, storerooms and even stables. 

The tour included a buffet lunch and then a tour and demonstration at a local pottery store. It was a busy first day and certainly a memorable one.

Morning comes early

Our first morning in Cappadocia came even earlier than it did at Istanbul. Even before the firsts rays of light the early morning call to prayer gently drifted through the open window and into my ear. The prayer call originated in the nearby village of Avanos. The melody here was different than it was back in Istanbul, and the voice was calm and even somewhat pleasant to hear. It was welcomed as a gentle alarm clock is, as opposed to the clanging annoyance of an old fashioned mechanic alarm that sits on your nightstand. Although still dark, I answered the call, not to pray, but to get up. I sat at my computer reflected on my experiences. I glanced out the window which faced east toward the small village, just as the sunrise hit. Flaming reds and yellows silhouetted the mountainous ridge at the back of the village. Lights from the many homes dotted the foreground like stars, and in the sky a crescent

moon looked down from the stark blackness of space. It was a masterpiece. I marveled that this was not being observed on the wall of a museum, this was happening before my eyes. Pictures could not adequately catch the beauty. I wondered if we had sunrises, back home. If so I scarcely saw one. Lol

The breakfast buffet here was quite extensive. There were fruits

Fresh Honeycomb on buffet

and nuts and cheeses and all sorts of different kinds of meats and breads and yogurts and cereals. The strangest item on the buffet was an entire honeycomb taken from a bee hive. People were cutting entire chucks out of the honeycomb and putting it in little ice cream cones.

Most items on the buffet were not marked and it took some studying to figure out what things were and often the only way was to taste them. For example, there were 4 different kinds of thick white substance in identical bowls sitting next to each other. I took a little of each for some taste testing. Two of them were different kinds of yogurts, one tasted like buttermilk, one was sour cream. A lot of the buffet was like that. It’s like trying to order off a menu in another language or in another country. HEY, that just might explain it! Haha

Cappadocia

Saturday morning was time for us to say goodbye to Istanbul. 

We had our usual breakfast in the basement of the hotel. People came and went during our tenure there, but one couple and their infant baby girl had been there the whole time we were there. They were Russians. Bryan and I only saw them at breakfast, but Mark had the pleasure of seeing, well, hearing them more often as their rooms were adjoining. The baby girl was constantly cranky and crying and making noise and Mark had the pleasure of participating in this young girl’s first trip abroad. At breakfast time the child was usually calm. The mother was another story. She usually showed up to breakfast wearing lovely clothes and when she smiled, which was not very often, she looked beautiful. Most of the time, however, she looked cranky, demanding, and irritated. Her husband always showed up in his ordinary street clothes looking like he was on vacation. She would bark some orders and he would comply. It was a perfect symbiotic relationship, the kind you would find between a crocodile and a duck.

Our shuttle driver showed up early and of we wound around through the bustling traffic. We arrived at the airport early, checked in for the flight, and then retreated to the executive lounge awaiting our flight to Cappadocia.

The Cappadocian Region is located in the center of the Anatolian Region of Turkey. It is famous for its valleys, canyons, hills, and unusual rock formation created as a result of the eroding rains and winds over thousands of years. More importantly, it is known for its troglodyte dwellings carved out of the rock and entire cities dug out

underground. Originally created by volcanic activity, flood waters and strong winds eroded the geological formations and created bizarre shapes called Fairy Chimneys. There are mushroom shapes, pinnacle, capped, and conical formations. The origin of the region's name comes from the old Persian word Katpatuka, which allegedly means "the land of beautiful horses". The cave dwellings and underground cities are attributed to the Hittites as early as 2000 B.C. and much later served as a shelter for the early Christians escaping persecution.

Our plane landed and we disembarked into the middle of the desert. There was no visible town, just a few buildings or homes scattered on the hillside. We boarded a shuttle and made the nearly one-hour trip to our hotel, the Double Tree Avanos Cappadocia.

Cagaloglu Hamami

Patricia Schultz’s book “1000 Places To See Before You Die” lists

the Cağaloğlu Hamam as a must do. The Cağaloğlu Hamam, finished in 1741, is the last hamam (Turkish Bath) to be built in the Ottoman Empire. It was constructed in Istanbul as a public hamam to raise revenue for the library of Sultan Mahmud I. It is the last example of its kind to be built in Istanbul, and is still operational today after 300 years of continuous operation.

The beautifully detailed building with high domed ceilings, internal marble fountains, interior garden, and two levels of individual changing chambers, is still an architectural delight. Built in the center of the old city, Cağaloğlu is easily accessible from the Grand Bazaar, Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque, and Topkapi Palace. 

The hamam is a good place to refresh after a day of sightseeing and exploring. I think everyone has heard of a Turkish bath, but like me, without going to one then no one really has any idea just what it is or what goes on behind those walls. What I did know is that I wanted to experience it, or at least I thought I did. Mark was also on board for the experience but Bryan declined. He suffered heat exhaustion a number of years ago and he has never since been able to stand a sauna or steam room, or Arkansas summers for that matter.

In preparation for the event, Mark and I read blogs and reviews on hamams. We watched professional videos, such as when Rick Steves visited this same Hamam, as well as amateur videos. I think I studied more for this visit than I did when I got my first driver's license. But even with all the preparation we were still a bit apprehensive about it. 

The desk clerk was very considerate and explained everything to us. We were led to individual changing rooms where we were told to strip down and put a cloth around our waists, which they provided for us. We were also given a pair of comfy faux wooden slippers. We were then led into a back room to a large ornate wooden door which lead to the hamam. It was the point of no return. The door creaked open and we entered the main chamber and immediately escorted into a dry sauna to slow cook for a while.

We were each assigned an attendant that came and to retrieve us from the sauna after we were well basted in our own sweat. He stayed with us for the duration of the experience. All around the perimeter of the room were water basins, some containing hot water and some cold. The attendant dipped large wooden buckets into the basins and then proceeded to douse us till we looked like alarmed cats caught in an unexpected rain storm. Mark and I were in different parts of the room, even so I easily identified his ear piercing shriek as he got doused with ‘freezing’ cold water.

Next we were directed to lay down on the large granite slab in the middle of the room. The area was large enough for six to eight full grown men to lie on it without touching. First the attendant gave us a good head to toe scraping with a scouring pad mitt. They were professionals and skilled at being able to remove layer after layer of old dead skin, and still manage to stop before they drew any blood. Next came another dousing with warm water, probably to try and wash away any evidence of mistreatment. Then came foam, foam and more foam, until we were buried in it by maybe ten or so inches. The attendant then rubbed and massaged the foam into all the sore areas that he just created a few minutes earlier.  

Then more water. Buckets of it. And it kept coming. Shortly thereafter we were back at the basins around the edge of the room for more buckets of water. We then received a good hair shampooing followed by even more buckets of water. The attendant dried us off a bit before giving us a fresh dry wrap to change into. Several more dry towels were placed on, around, and over us till we looked like we had fallen into a cotton bin while covered with honey.  

We were escorted to a small cabana room with two lounges. We were brought snacks of nuts, Turkish delight, and Turkish tea. Our same attendants returned, all changed and wearing new dry outfits, and gave us a relaxing foot massage. After a little more snacking we returned to our changing rooms, put back on our street clothes, and were once again met by our attendants. They thanked us, smiled and bowed to us until they received a sufficient amount of tips, then we all went our separate ways.

In retrospect, it was still a bit of an odd situation, yet it was enjoyable to have someone fawning over us like we were royalty. I am glad for the experience, but next time I may just buy a box of Turkish Delight, make some yummy tea, and take a hot bath. It certainly would be a lot cheaper!

Galata Tower

The Galata Tower is one of the highest and oldest towers of Istanbul. It is located on a high hill and rises an additional 206 feet to provide a panoramic view of the city. It was built in the 14th century and was used for the surveillance of the Harbor in the Golden Horn (a horn-shaped fjord on the European side of Istanbul). After the conquest of Constantinople by Mehmet II, it served to detect fires in the city. Galata Tower was restored and opened to the public in 1967. The tower houses a cafeteria on top and a 360° viewing balcony.

The Galata Tower was our first item on the agenda for the day. We took our time wandering through the old city, walking along the train track route. The trains are people movers. They go all through the city and have stops every few blocks, not unlike many other

large cities. These are particularly interesting because they run down streets shared with automobiles. A train will travel in one lane and a car in the next lane going the same direction, with no barrier between them, just like a two normal vehicles driving beside each other on a two lane road. Also, some of these train roads have no rails, or curbs, or anything else to keep the pedestrian from being in the line of the train. In some areas the sidewalk is so narrow that when train passes you could literally just hold out your hand and run it along the side of the train as it whooshed by.

While dodging trains we spotted a baklava shop. Who doesn’t love baklava with its yummy honey and nuts on thin multi-layered pastry? Here in Turkey there are entire shops full of different kinds of baklava. They make it in all different sizes, shapes, and flavors and use different ingredients including many different kinds of nuts and toppings. Similarly, this shop also had Turkish Delights of every different color, fruit, nut or flavor. We went in and talked to one of the bakers. He was interesting and delightful and informative. We all picked out several different kinds and sat at a table eating them while sipping some hot Turkish tea. This day was off to a good start.

We made our way down to the river front and looked at the different boat rides touring the Bosphorus River. Bosphorus is a natural strait, 20 miles in length, connecting the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara, thus being a very strategic waterway. The Bosphorus strait separates the European part from the Asian part of Istanbul. After checking out the different options and times for the boat tours we walked over the large bridge to a more modern and lively part of Istanbul.

Although this side of the bridge was more modern, it still felt like a movie set. The quaint, narrow cobblestone streets lined with vendors and colorful shops were very reminiscent of streets in Paris or Barcelona. The Galata Tower was erected on a high hill, already

giving it a height advantage as a lookout. The tower incidentally can be seen from all over Istanbul. We saw it many times as we walked throughout the city. The hill was a challenge to climb. The streets were narrow and winding and steep, and all full of people, vendors and vehicles. Cars would come whooshing up or down a steep hill, weave back and forth between scattering pedestrians and other vehicles and spin into a cross street with ease. It felt like we were in a video game. But with only one life to lose it was a bit tense.

Once we reached the top of the hill we got in line for the tower. It

was a simple but impressive structure and stood in the middle of the street like a monolith, demanding the attention of all passerby’s.  It took about 45 minutes to enter the tower. We paid the fee and took an elevator to the top. There was a restaurant taking up both the top two floors. It was enclosed by glass windows, and all around the outside was a little stone walkway that completely circled the tower. We made the rounds and took our pictures. Most of the city of Istanbul could be seen from up there. On the way down we stopped to watch a short 3D movie featuring many of the star attractions of the city, most of which we had already visited.

After the tower tour we had a bite to eat in a restaurant. Their lunch specials were the equivalent of $2.50 and included a sandwich, vegetables and a drink. We then walked back across the bridge and arrived at the dock just as the boat we were planning to take for a tour was pulling away from the dock. They took our money anyways and sent us out to the loading ramp. The boat had been docked with its left side against the dock and had pulled away. The boat then started turning around and as soon as the front of the vessel touched the dock we were given the word to jump on board. We did and the boat never stopped. We found some seats on the top deck and proceeded up the Bosphorus River.

The river cruise took about 90 minutes for only the equivalent of $5 each. There were maybe a couple hundred tourists on board in a variety of nationalities. The boat cruised up the west European side of the river and then changed over and came back down the river against the Asian side. Along the way an announcer was pointing out interesting sites.

The cruise concluded just as the sun was setting, creating some dramatic silhouette views of the city. We docked in a different port and it must have been at river rush hour. That dock was swarming with people and vendors and shops and boats. We slowly maneuvered our way through the people and entered an underground walkway. This path went underneath the busy street above and emptied away from the street traffic and back in the old city side. Now to find the Hamam.