Cappadocia

During my last weekend in Turkey I went to Cappadocia, a region of the country filled with natural wonders. When I arrived in Turkey, everyone told me that I had to visit Cappadocia. I wasn't able to find an on-base tour, so I booked with an off-base company downtown. It was a lot of fun, even though everything was in Turkish.

Volcanic activity formed the region and it's unique because of how soft the rocks are. Wind and rain have created beautiful rock formations above ground, and the soft texture has allowed for the construction of shelters underground. The picture above is of me in Kaymalki, an underground city that provided refuge to villagers during attacks from invading armies. It was amazing because the this was no small network of rooms and passageways; it was an underground city!

After visiting the underground city, we went to a castle built into the highest peak in the region. The view from on top of the mountain was great (The very first picture on the post was taken from there.).

After visiting the castle our tour group had an amazing lunch at a local restaurant. I really enjoyed most of the Turkish food I ate during my visit, however I would say that their bakery goods and desserts left something to be desired. After lunch we continued to enjoy the sites around Cappadocia. The photo above is of a common rock formation in the region. Let's play a game; post what you think the formation is called. The winner will receive a treat from the other side of the pond.

In the evening the group enjoyed traditional Turkish entertainment. It was a lot of fun to see everything from whirling dervishes to belly dancers. There were opportunities for audience participation and the group I was with were always eager to volunteer me. I did a lot of dancing that night. The video above is of me with the belly dancer (sorry, no sound--but still worth watching). I competed against four other men. Needless to say, I won and therefore got to do a solo dance.

The next day we went to visit the Goreme Open Air Museum. This particular open air museum is made up of churches that were built into the rocks between the 11th and 13th century. The murals inside were rarely complete because pilgrims used to chip the paint off and drink it for its healing power.


After visiting the outdoor museum, we went to learn about making rugs. It was amazing to see the amount of detail that went into a hand woven Turkish Rug. Some of the larger rugs can take six months for one person to complete. Included in the rug tour was a silk making demonstration, totally fascinating.
Eventually we made our way back to Adana. We returned Sunday evening and I was able to see the Sabanci Mosque lit up at night. It was so beautiful that I returned on Veterans Day to get pictures.