April
1-3, 2016
The
weekend after my parents left, Alex and I visited one of the most beautiful
wonders of the world. We "gezmeked" to Cappadocia (the verb gezmek in Turkish means to wander/travel
around). This region is historical and a very popular tourist attraction, and
we visited just before the full tourist season started in mid- to late-April.
The weather was perfect, too. Even though I was cranky on this trip, I have to
admit Cappadocia is my second favorite place in Turkey after Pammukale.
Bus ride
We
took an overnight bus on Thursday and arrived to Cappadocia, or Kapadokya in
Turkish, on Friday morning. On our journey, we met a Pakistani family who is
originally from Lahore but currently lives in Saudi Arabia. The married couple
Nadia and Ayaz, who were lovebirds since their university years, had three kids
ages 10, 7, and 3. Being the social butterfly that I am, I mingled with them
and enjoyed getting to know them. Like us, they were also headed to Cappadocia
from Antalya. But unlike us, they were on a 10-day tour of Turkey—they started
in Istanbul, visited Seljuk and Izmir, Pamukkale in Denizli, then Antalya, now
Cappadocia, and will end in Istanbul again. What an ambitious trip, and with
kids too! My family came for 10 days too, but we were only able to cover two
cities. I guess it depends on the age of travelers; this couple was in their
mid-30s and my parents are well over 50. To travel to that many places in a
10-day time frame requires ambition, sense of adventure, and most importantly,
energy—last of which my parents definitely do not have at their age. I told the
couple that I had been to all the places on their list except Izmir, which is
scheduled for April or May.
After
10 hours of uncomfortable sleeping, the bus stopped and the bright sun rays
woke me up. Soon thereafter, a solider with guns came onto our bus and
collected everyone's ID's. Security around Turkey is tightening due to recent
events and buses are often stopped for a check. We were fine after we showed
our residency permits. The bus, which was supposed to go straight to Göreme
(Cappadocia's city center), dropped us and the Pakistani family off at
Neveşehir, a town about 15 minutes outside of Göreme. We were led into a
station where an old man tried to sell us a balloon ride as well as red and
green tours. His prices were: balloon ride for 130 euros (414 lira), red tour
for 80 lira, and green tour for 90 lira. At first I didn't want to ride the hot
air balloon because it's too expensive and out of my budget but then the
"YOLO" (you only live once) mentality overcame me and I changed my
mind. I was still skeptical to book through this guy though, so I encouraged
Alex to wait until we got to our hostel. At least, that’s what I was going to
do.
Lodging
 |
| Göreme Garden Hotel did not live up to expectation. |
We
stayed at Göreme Garden Hotel, which is run by a Turkish man (Deniz) and a
woman who was born in the USA but grew up in Australia (Lisa). The online
description for this hostel was deceptive; this place was not a garden
by any sense of the word, but more like a farm. We saw cows and chickens
roaming outside of it, and the plants appeared to be newly seeded with only
twigs to be seen. The rooms were minimal at best, and the location was tucked
away from the city center. We slept in a three-bed room with a communal
bathroom located in the hallway of a building that appeared to be occupied by
only us at the time we checked in. There was a plug next to Alex’s bed, but not
mine so I charged my phone next to the door. We had a small balcony looking out to the dried “garden” and the front gate. For what we were paying (26
lira/night/person), the accommodation was shabby but doable.
The
second thing that irked me about this hostel was their tour prices and how they
presented them to us. When we inquired about the balloon ride and tour prices,
as many hostels tend to have better deals than bus stations, they were
wishy-washy in their responses. For example, they told us that a green tour
would cost 120 lira (30 lira more than the Neveşehir guy) and that the 130-euro
balloon ride was the only one they recommend because they trusted the company
(Türkiye Balloon). However, they said they could not give us any guarantee for
the 90-euro balloon ride because it was through a company they did not know
(Atmosphere). I found this off-putting because how can you sit there and tell
me you've been on over 200 balloon rides and not know this one particular
company in town? I understand hotels have a greater incentive to push customers
towards pricier balloon rides, but it's rude to leave guests in a limbo because
they are counting on your expertise to make an informed decision. At the very
least, they could have told us what they don’t like about Atmosphere instead of
offering zero insight. I quote: “I can't tell you anything about
Atmosphere but we guarantee a great trip with Türkiye Balloon. If you don't like
Türkiye Balloon, you can come back and ride another one for free.” I was
annoyed by this response. In the end, since we didn’t have many options, we
took a leap of faith and registered through our hostel for the 90-euro balloon
ride and the 110-lira green tour (we bargained the price down by 10 lira
because we have museum cards). People typically just walk the red tour because
it’s scenic and saves money, so we decided to do the same.
 |
| The color-coded tours offer different destinations. |
Lastly,
the thing that pushed me over the edge with this hostel was when Kadir, the boy
running the place in Deniz's and Lisa’s absence, tried to charge us for
Friday’s breakfast without telling us it would cost us money. When we arrived
at 6am on Friday morning, Deniz served us each a kahvaltı platter without telling us that this
meal would cost us 10 lira each. We assumed this was included in the hostel
price, since we are staying for two nights and therefore guaranteed two
breakfasts. When we emailed Lisa about our negative experience with Kadir,
protecting her employees like any good boss would do, she clarified that
breakfasts are usually served after the night we book. She apologized
that Deniz did not mention the cost to us when he served us breakfast. I was
baffled again: if we are going on a balloon ride on Saturday morning which
includes breakfast by the balloon company, why would we need a second breakfast
by the hostel?? It was clearly a hidden rip-off, and I was not having any of
it. I told Lisa they can count our Friday breakfast as our Saturday breakfast,
since we would be eating with the balloon company on Saturday evening. She
wasn't happy but agreed. Needless to say, I'll be leaving Göreme Garden Hotel an ill
review. My recommendation for anyone visiting Cappadocia is to not stay at this undeveloped ‘garden’
whose hosts are clearly crooks.
History
Ancient
Anatolia or Asia Minor, the large peninsula where modern Turkey is located,
consists of several regions. One of the most important was Cappadocia, the
ancient name of a large region in the center of Anatolia, with natural
pinnacles and rock churches. Originally this region was vast, stretching from
Kirsehir to Malatya to the northern part of Adana. Its name was probably
derived from “Katpatuka,” meaning land of the beautiful horses, in Hittite language. Many
different empires have ruled and lived in Cappadocia, inherently making the
region a true melting pot of ethnic groups and religious beliefs: Hittites,
Assyrians, Lydians, Persian, Romans, Seljuks and Ottomans. Historians note that
the tuff-coned landscape of Cappadocia was formed after volcanic eruptions, and
Christians who were persecuted by the Romans sought refugee in this region.
They built underground cities and churches in every cave, where they inhibited.
The
city center is called Göreme, which literally means "see not" but
colloquially means "invisible." I find this to be ironic because
Cappadocia is so scenic so why shouldn't people see it? The word
"Kapadokya" is a Persian word meaning beautiful region.
For
a brief historical overview, I recommend this website.
Friday: Red
Tour on our own
After
checking in, I decided to take a nap while Alex roamed the city center a bit. The
plan was to meet up with the Pakistani family and roam the Red Tour trails
together, but due to some miscommunication, this did not happen. After I woke
up around noon, Alex and I trekked towards the Open Air Museum, stopping along
the way to marvel at the caves and to take pictures. At this museum, we ran
into some Americans with tall hiking backpacks and a lot of Asians with
cameras. I noticed that there were large groups of Asians on “silent” tours;
they had earphones plugged in and their tour guide spoke softly into her
microphone. I thought this was a smart idea for two reasons: first, it doesn’t
disrupt other tourists and second, it prevents tourists who sneak into tours.
While we didn’t have a tour guide, it was nice to just walk around and marvel
at the orange, rocky beauty. I have never seen something like this, though I
know such landscapes exist in western United States in states like Colorado or Arizona.
Alex
and I walked and walked and stumbled on the Rose Valley, which gets its name
from the reddish rocks. It seemed deserted to us but we ventured down the
winding path anyway. Water supply was low and my attire—turtleneck black blouse
underneath a string dress, complete with black leggings and high boots—was not
appropriate for the scorching weather. I figured it would still be cold
(Cappadocia is known to be freezing) and was pleasantly surprised by the early
April weather. Needless to say, I hiked while sweating buckets. We found an
abandoned car and some trash at the bottom of the Rose Valley; I made some silly
videos; and we decided to head back. I had zero energy left to walk down the
highway, so when an empty van passed by, I waved my arm and hoped the driver
would stop. He did. We hopped on (though Alex was a bit uncomfortable) and made
small conversation until we reached Göreme. We offered to pay
for the ride, but the gentleman didn’t take our coins. One should always take caution
when hitchhiking, but I made an informed decision seeing how Cappadocia is so
touristy and the highway was only going to one place. Meeting strangers is part of traveling.
It
was almost lunchtime. We grabbed some items such as large water bottles from
a nearby convenient store and decided to go for Chinese food. I didn’t like the
dried out noodles, but the service were nice. I’ve had Chinese food in Turkey
twice now, once in Istanbul and once in Cappadocia, and both times have been a
disappointment. I conclude that Chinese cuisine is not popular in Anatolia. We
walked around the city center some more, did some shopping, and ran into our
Pakistani friends. We retired to our hostel, and later had tea with the
Pakistani family in their cave hotel.
The
Dervish Cave Hotel, where our friends stayed, was splendid—it had all the
amenities of a hotel and it was in the shape of a cave. As we chatted over tea,
we learned about our friends’ plans for the next day. We changed our mind about
booking the green tour with our hotel, and instead booked it through the
Dervish Cave Hotel. Alex was hesitant about this because she didn’t want to
upset our hostel people and reasoned that it would be easier to get picked up
at our own hotel if our hotel booked it for us. However, I argued that Dervish
Cave Hotel was not only giving us a better deal (100 lira instead of 120), they
would also pick us up at our hotel so that solves her transportation concern. Plus, I wanted
to spend more time with the Pakistani family we had just met. It took some
convincing but she finally agreed. Later that night, we canceled the green tour
with our hotel.
Saturday: Balloon
Ride & Green Tour
On
Saturday, we woke up at 4am and were ready by 4:30am, as directed. The Atmosphere
Balloon Company’s van picked us up and dropped us off at their center, where we
had a small breakfast. It was a pleasant surprise to run into another
Fulbrighter, Nicole Ga, who was in Cappadocia for the second time with her
friend who was doing a Fulbright in Bulgaria. The van ride was bumpy and
twisty, and after about 30 minutes, dropped us off at the balloon site. There
were large crowds waiting to board balloon baskets, balloon people trying to
heat up a balloon, and people taking pictures. We took a few snaps and were put
into a basket, soon thereafter. I ended up with Nicole on the one side, and
Alex ended up with Nicole’s friend on the other side. They have to balance the
basket with about 9 or 10 people on each side.
Once
the balloon took off, I couldn’t believe we were air borne! The ride was worth
every penny! I've never been on a hot air balloon, so this was my time floating
in the sky in a basket. The views were incredible! We could see the pointy,
golden caves below us and a hundred other balloons in the sky among us. It
felt so surreal. I felt like I was in a postcard. The sunrise was just absolutely gorgeous, I felt as if I were staring into the eyes of the sun, parallel from it. I once co-piloted a
two-passenger jet with Steve White, son of my Bowdoin College scholarship
donor. Flying over Brunswick in that aircraft was an amazing feeling. It was
the first time I operated a machine while in the air, I was definitely nervous.
What made the balloon ride different and exhilarating is the fact that the
basket didn’t have closed doors or windows. I could freely wave my arms in the
air without a seatbelt or goggles. I took some pictures, made a “happy
birthday” video for my family members who have an April birthday (Mom, Laraib,
Maryum, Dani).
After
the basket landed on top of a truck, the balloon pilot gave us “certificates of
completion” and popped open champagne bottles to celebrate. I opted for the
sparkling water and we all raised a toast for our accomplishment. The van
dropped us off at our hostel at around 10am, so I took a quick nap before our
Green Tour began.
The Green
Tour
The
Green Tour was a full-day affair. It was long and exhausting, but incredibly
informative and eye-opening. It’s called a “green tour” because all the
locations are located near luscious greenery. When we boarded the 12-person
van, a tall Asian-looking lady welcomed us. As our tour guide, she asked
everyone their names and country of origin. Our van consisted of the Pakistani
family from Saudi Arabia with their three children, Alex and myself from the
States, two Canadian young girls, a young Asian couple, and a Turkish man training to be a tour
guide.
We
started with the Derinkuyu Underground
City. We started at the ventilation shaft above ground and made our way
down to the climate controlled underground tunnels—I wish I had brought a
jacket because it definitely cold! We walked down dark, narrow stairs (using
phone flashlights at times) and had to watch out for big open holes. According
to the guide, only 25% of the troglodytic city is open to the public and
excavations are ongoing. The underground city is said to be some 8 stories
deep; we saw a winery, a baptismal, meeting rooms, a church, tandoor (in-cave oven), a well, many
graves (some with bones still in them), and a kitchen, but no toilets, which I
thought was interesting and a bit gross. However, this could be because the
underground city—which held up to 2,000 people at one time—was used only during
invasions to hide from enemies and only for a few months at a time. “The
structure dates back thousands of years. Apparently, the Hittites used the
first two floors for their animals. Over time the different local inhabitants
dug deeper and deeper. They say that every house in the town has a basement
that connects to the subterranean metropolis. The above ground invaders must
have wondered if they had entered a ghost town or magical land with
disappearing people!” (Source)
Next on the itinerary was the Selime Monastery, a very cool rock structure carved out from within
a ginormous mountain. According to the guide, the monastery dates from 8th-10th
centuries and included a missionary school, a living area, and at least one
church, as well as monks’ quarters, a large kitchen and even a stable for mules.
It is therefore the biggest religious building in Cappadocia. After some
upfront information, the guide let us explore the monastery on our own. We
carefully walked through the walls and trenches of this fortress-like
structure. We played hide-and-seek using “secret” passageways, twisting
stairways, and ever-steep ladders. There were even holes big enough climb into.
Click here
for more on Selime Monastery.
We
had lunch at a riverside restaurant, which included soup, salad, and a choice
between trout, chicken, vegetarian, or meatballs. Most of the dishes were
baked/broiled except for the grilled chicken and Adana şiş. I ate fish because
I love fish. Drinks were extra (a can of juice cost 4TL and a half-liter bottle
of water was 1TL).
Next,
we drove 30 minutes out to Ihlara Valley
Hike, a lush, green river canyon. The valley is 14 km long, and we were
dropped off at about the 3km point. After descending a couple of hundred stairs
to the canyon floor, our guide showed us the Ağaçaltı cave church dating to the
4th century with paintings from the 10th century. Then we were allowed to roam
around freely. I walked with Nadia, since her husband decided to skip this
portion of the tour and stayed in the van with the kids who were becoming
grouchy. The walk near the water bank was lovely; we stopped every so often to
take photos by picturesque water stops and tall cliffs with caves shining from
them like jewels.
By
5pm, the group was super tired and energy was low. We made a very quick stop at
Pigeon Valley, overseeing another
beautiful part of Cappadocia. Unlike other places on this trip, I simply didn’t
have energy to pose. Alex, Nadia, and I took turns taking each other’s quick
snaps before joining tourist crowds across the street at sweets stores. Lokum
was overpriced, so I didn’t buy anything, but the free samples for pistachio,
rose, and chocolate lokum were delicious. The sugar rush was just what I needed
to make it through our final stop.
Last
but not least, everyone mustered the strength for the final stop on the Green
Tour: Onyx Jewelry Factory &
Demonstrations. We saw an artisan make onyx “eggs” and other cool shapes
from stone. There was dust everywhere in the shop. Nadia’s two kids won the
token pieces. We then walked through a jewelry shop. I tried on plenty of rings
made of precious stones, including Turkey’s famous turquoise stone, but nothing
was in my budget and I hesitated making a valuable purchase due to the fear of
losing it. I’ll put these gems on my wish list and have my husband buy them for
me. Soon after the tour ended, we crashed.
Sunday: Fairy
Chimneys & Roaming Around
On
Sunday, we wanted to wake up early and hike up to “Sunrise Point” where
balloons could be seen flying over caves. Despite our efforts to set alarms, we
simply couldn’t get up. Instead, we enjoyed an adventure to Fairy Chimneys. And
it was an adventure. The city bus dropped us off at a random location; we
wandered like nomads along roadsides; and after much dehydration, finally
stumbled upon the famed fairy chimneys. The tall sculptures surely looked like
fairy houses! We were accompanied by an Indian boy whom we had met the evening
before from Nicole’s hostel group.
I
don’t know why, but I was grumpy again so while the fairy chimneys were lovely,
I was just didn’t enjoy them as much. Part of it was petty disputes with Alex
and another part was the weather. We all had lunch together, and then I excused
myself. I told Alex I would meet her at the bus stop in two hours. I walked
around Göreme on my own and shopped for gifts—mini purses, postcards, coffee
toasters, coffee runner for mom. At one store, I spotted mini Cappadocia caves
and chimneys made out of pottery. I smiled at the elderly woman selling them
and walked towards her. I purchased two from her. Then I saw her husband
sitting nearby, smoking a cigarette and drinking çay. I spotted a tavla board nearby,
and pulled up a seat next to him. “Oynamak
ester misiniz?” Do you want to play?
My excitement for life returned, as if a soul had reentered my body. I smirked
at my opponent, and rolled the dice.
Sunday was a super exciting
day! Ben, Alex, and I signed up for paragliding trip for 110 lira. I have never
done parasailing or parachuting or anything of the sort, so I was both nervous
and excited for this new adventure. Paragliding is essentially running off of a
mountain until you’re flying in a parachute in open air. The ride up to the
mountain was quite bumpy, even scary because of the close proximity to the
cliffs. Once we got to the top, we were assigned a professional paraglider, with
whom we would share the ride.
On my first attempt at
running off the cliff, I lifted my feet too soon and fell down, implicating my
paragrlider as well as the helper. I apologized profusely, yet was still met
with rudeness. In America, I am used to a response such as “it’s okay, don’t
worry, everything will be okay.” In Turkey, I got “why did you lift up your
feet? He’s hurt! What’s wrong with you?” I felt bad as we stayed still for 15
minutes to allow the professional paraglider to recover from his knee scratch.
Our second attempt was successful and we were in the air before I knew it. We
“paraglided” for about 45 minutes or so, taking in breathtaking views of the
turquoise coast. We made small talk and I learned that my paraglider did this
gig in both Izmir and Fethiye and uses it as an opportunity to improve his
English. He took photos with his tiny camera and made video of flying in the
sky. This reminded me of the balloon ride in Cappadocia, but this was much more
open and vulnerable: I was held together only by a few straps. I trusted the
professionals and enjoyed the experience. It was AMAZING!!! Afterward, we had to make a tough decision: to buy the priceless photos or not. After much contemplation, Alex and I caved and purchased the expensive 130 lira photos and video.
