Sunday, August 21, 2011

Turkey Part 2 - The Magic of Cappadocia

Arising in the darkness for our early flight from Istanbul to central Turkey, Dan and I were sneaking around the room trying to get everything packed up when Amelia sat up and cheerily said she was ready to go. No complaints or fussiness about the early departure made for an easy trip to the airport followed by another quick and bumpy flight, but with no incidents, then we arrived in Cappadocia.
By far one of the most magical places I have ever seen. With surreal landscapes that look like they are from some far off planet or possibly from somewhere in middle earth. I think I walked around with a look of awe on my face the entire 3 days we were there. I couldn't help but to keep poking Dan and saying "Wow, look at that." Luckily he also seemed impressed, and thus was willing to tolerate my giddiness.
We rented a car and drove to many of the sites in the area, including many cave churches and dwellings, entire underground cities, huge scenic valleys, old stopovers from the silk road, and fairy chimneys. We did not partake in one of the most popular activities in Cappadocia, hot-air ballooning at sunrise. While it looked like an amazing experience, we decided that getting the kids up at 5am (again) was probably not worth it. However, I did get up one morning just to watch the balloons fly over the valley, which was in itself a beautiful site. I sat on the terrace of our cave hotel with the early morning peace and silence being broken only by the occasional hissing of the burner from one of the dozens of balloons floating through the sky. I cannot possibly find the words to describe this amazing place and my enjoyment of it, and my pictures likewise do not do it justice, but hopefully they give you some idea. Watch for my last installment of our trip and the complete set of pictures, coming soon.

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