Marko

Up for an early morning flight to Kayseri. The security at the airport is fairly rigorous, but pleasantly applied and very efficient. Our guide and driver picked us up and we drove through Kayseri ( a fairly uninspiring place, except for the huge snowcapped mountain looming behind it !) The guide ,Zafer, gave us a pretty good overview of the area on the way to our first stop, Soganli. As a first introduction to the ancient building methods of the area, Soganli was great. We had the advantage of being the only non residents there. The Hidden church and the Snake Church were the highlights. Having somewhat of an interest in wine ( I do my bit to keep the Australian wine industry viable ), I found the methods of vine growing where they are grown as a prostrate plant to be interesting. The whole area was a joy for the kids as they could run and climb and explore, they loved it !In fact the guide said that Andrew managed to get to places that he had never seen people at ! The kids voted it the best place in the world to play hide and seek. The local village ladies make wonderful dolls, hand sewn. The lively chattering and smiling of the local ladies was infectious and we ended up buying 6 dolls ( a grand total of $10). Morning tea , apple tea all round sitting in the warm sun.

Marko

Next stop was Mustafa Pasa and lunch at the "Old Greek House hotel", what a wonderful place ! It looks like it could fall down at any moment but you walk in and it is so interesting, frescos on the walls, next to old old rugs and antique bits of furniture. We were led upstairs and all sat on cushions and carpets on the floor at a low table. No menu, the food just starts arriving, dish after yummy dish, the creamiest yoghurt, the spiciest meat dishes, the firiest peppers....it was a feast !! Washed it down with a local red, "Fairy Chimney" I think. The fifth piece of Baklava was the end for me, we were gorged to the eyeballs, the rolled us down the stairs and back on the mini van. Lisa grabbed the recipe for the Eggplant and Beef goulash... if you are anywhere near Mustafa Pasa you should eat there ! A short drive and we arrived at Kaymakli, an underground city. A very interesting experience except for walking along some of the very low tunnels with a huge gutfull of food !! Once again the kids went wild, the explored and climbed and generally adapted to underground life very well....I think I have bred troglodytes ! The concept of a complete town hidden underground was hard to imagine prior to seeing it, the skill and organisation required to develop it was astounding. All the normal village facilities were available, including wineries. A note for intending travellers... don't wear your white trousers or shirts, oh and don't eat too much before you go in

Marko

On to the Esbelli Evi, a small hotel in Urgup. It is a cave hotel with some of the rooms built directly into the moutain. Our room was huge, with a big cast iron king size bed, a large carpet and cushion covered raised area to sit and read and an enormous ensuite! The kids next door in a room about the same size. The service was low key and friendly and we felt at home. Good facilities including the laundry that lisa took adavntage of and free internet, the fridge in the kitchen was well stocked and you served yourself on an honesty system. A really friendly place.We were so full from lunch and tired from the climbing that we hit the sack early and slept like babies ( burping and passing wind ) Breakfast the next morning was on the terrace overlooking Urgup, very civilzed. Zafer picked us up in the morning and we headed to the Zelve valley, stopped on the way for a photo op of some of the rock formations, my kids have strange imaginations !!! mind you the one they thought looked like an ice cream looked like Richard Nixon to me. The was a small group of trinket stalls nearby, there was a tiny little Turkish girl (4 or 5 years old) knitting a scarf at one of them and one of my daughters gave her a Koala keyring, the little girls parents thought that was fanatstic and there were hugs and kisses exchanged and they dressed the girls up in traditional clothes and we had to take photos with the girls and the parents. Lots of smiling and very bad english and turkish spoken, a packet of turkish delight was opened and a round of Apple Teas, a wonderfull example of the commonality of us humans. Once again the experience was made even better by the fact that we were the only group there, we ended up buying scarfs(not the mass produced ones) and glass evil eyes and the price was cheaper than anywhere else we saw in Turkey and the experience itself was beyond value.

Marko

The Zelve valley was once again a lesson in the tenacity that humans exhibit, a really pretty little valley.
Interesting to note that up until the 1950's people still lived there. There has been a few rock falls in the last little while which has led to some areas being fenced off. Time is the enemy of history !! Down to the town of Avanos for the obligatory stop at the ceramic factory, the kids got the chance to get their hands dirty and I got the chance to get my credit card zipped ( we now have some lovely ceramic pieces on display at our house). The sales pitch was very enthusiastic !! Lunch at Bekim Evi in Avanos. That afternoon we went to the Goreme open air museum, very well presented and preserved. By this stage we had seen an awful lot of holes in the ground and even the kids were getting weary. There was one room that was interesting though with a long communal dining table carved from solid rock. The Blue church was impressive and a lot of its frescoes and paint intact. On the way back to Urgup we stopped at Usichar and the fairy castle, the kids interest picked uo with rides on camels ! Great photos of them on the camels with the Fairy Castle in the background. Back to the Esbelli Evi and a couple of ice cold Efes as we watched the sun go down . We walked down to the centre of Urgup for dinner at Somine. A great meal, including a main course of Testi Kebab, a dish cooked in its own ceramic pot and brought to the table with a flourish. The waiter then invited Andrew to use a machete to smash the top off the pot and the contents are then put in a serving dish. YUM !!!!! We had a bottle of a 1997 local red which was great (I lost the card with the name on it, sorry !!) A really meaty full flavoured wine perfect with the stew !
Dinner for 5 with wine $100 Australian, a bargain !!

nancy

Sounds like you had a wonderful time, especially the kids. Cappodocia is one of my favorite places in the world, as is Turkey in general - so amazing. The fairy chimneys are incredible. I'd go back in a heartbeat.

Marko

Nancy, above and beyond the history of the place, its the people who make Turkey such a wonderfull place to visit. I know I will return one day.

Marko

A nice relaxed breakfast on the terrace, we had a day of travel today. A drive to Kayseri, then a flight to Istanbul and then a drive to Gelibilou.
Its the first time I have experienced having to identify our luggage on the tarmac before we boarded the flight, at least you feel confident its going to arrive with you ! The drive to Gelibilou was boring, a brief interlude was lunch at a turkish truckstop where the manager rushed out opened the doors for us and welcomed us individually like family. the food was OKAY and he shouted us coffe at the end......must have been a slow day!
Arrived at the Otel Hamzakoy in Gelibilou, I know it was early in the season but this place is a dump ! The Hotel very tired and the beach absolutely covered in rubbish, the staff what there were of them tried hard with what appeared to be minimal resources. We went for a walk and as we were coming back to the hotel three guys carrying musical instruments stopped us (us the obvious tourists) and burst into tune !! Quite good traditional turkish music and I didn't really mind when they finished and all three in unison held their hands and said "US Dollar" !!!. Dinner was a set menu... edible... a bottle of Kavaklidere Cankaya washed it down, a dry white. Early night tonight as we have an early start for the Battlefields and memorials of Gallipoli.

Nat04

So jealous. I was there 5 years ago and absolutely loved it. The people were so friendly and the country so interesting. I look forward to returning.

sandi

Brings back the wonderful time we had in Turkey back some 5-years ago. Unfortunately, we only spent 2-days in Cappadoccia area, but found it all so fascinating. Had hoped to find the dolls made by the women in Soganli, but didn't - just not enough time. All the more reason to get back there.

Turkey is such an amazing country with so much history and past civilizations; the people are so warm and welcoming and it's so reasonable to travel throughout the country.

Thanks for your report.

julies

Marko--

I've been following your posts with great interest since I am trying to convince my husband that the two of us should take a last minute trip to Turkey. He is somewhat apprehensive because of security issues (we're from the US) and I think he's nuts.

Can you answer a couple questions for me? We are thinking of renting a car for Cappadocia as we have done throughout the rest of Europe. Do you think we would still need a guide? How much did your guide charge? Did you book your flights to Kayseri ahead of time or just wait until you were in Turkey? What did this marvelous cave hotel charge per room? Finally, if you had it to do all over again, what would you eliminate from your trip, and what would you absolutely not miss? Thanks so much.

CharlieB

Marko- I am so glad you made it to Turkey! I have enjoyed all your planing and then your concern over the bombings in Istanbul. Glad you finaly decided to go. Your trip report has brought back fond memories. The doll makers must have a secret semaphore type system - once one learned my wife's name every one would call out "Marsha! Marsha! Marsha!" as we passed. Felt like we were the "Brady Bunch". We also enjoyed our dining experience at the Greek House and Somine. While at Somine, I was toasting my wife with some excellent Turkish wine and the waitress heard me toast "I Love You" in Spanisn, Greek, German, French, Polish, and English - she giggled and offered "Seni seviyorim". My romantic vocabulary grows with each trip!
julies - I can only say that when we were in Turkey last August we never felt the least bit insecure. Indeed, there was an Israeli couple with us on our Cappadocia tour and they commented that Turkey was a popular destination for Israeli tourists. The Turks are probably the most friendly and welcoming people we have ever encountered in our travels. I hope you decide to go - it is truely magical!

Marko

Julies, the flight to Kayseri we booked well before we arrived. Which was a good idea as we got the flight we wanted which was FULL ! We had a guide and driver arranged which made it less stressfull for us as we had the kids with us. I think that Cappodocia is small enough that you could do it by yourself with a hire car and a good guide book and of course material downloaded from here ! The Esbelli Evi I can't find the details as we prepaid before we left home, but here is the website.
http://www.esbelli.com/
Cappodocia....a wonderfull amazing part of the world.

buck1116

thanks for your post. we are considering going back to Turkey this year and seeing Cappodocia then. we have been in Istanbul and Blue Cruise from Dalaman. An incredible country.