Allstar Peri Tower Hotel Nevsehir

... phallically funny... We had a nice little stop for pictures, including awesome jumping photos. There was aguy selling fresh squeezed OJ, which was really good. It was a good stop in Love Valley before we hopped back on the ATVs to cruise a bit more.<br><br>On the map, the guy at the ATV shop had showed me an elaborate route of many valleys and cool stops leading us ultimately to the sunset look out spot high above Goreme... Of course, our guide, far ahead on a dirt bike ...

... Our smiley waiter was really sure he'd figured her out..."Venezuela!?" Phoenix could certainly pass for Hispanic and I'm convinced he simply threw out the only Spanish-speaking country he knew how to say in English. Haha, he sure was smiley.<br><br>But the highlight of the meal came when he brought out our food. Everyone was served before Phoenix...he was saving his best for last...<br><br>In a triumphant motion he brought down the plate, pleased with his creation ...

... 305;ven breaks every 20 to 30 m&#305;nutes (depend&#305;ng on the k&#305;nd of weav&#305;ng they are do&#305;ng), pays &#305;nto the health care and soc&#305;al secur&#305;ty system for them, and so on. It also subs&#305;d&#305;zes sh&#305;pp&#305;ng &#305;f you choose to buy someth&#305;ng. Booth and I walked &#305;n there KNOWING that we were not &#305;n the market for a carpet. Turns out we were wrong.....)<br> <br> Then back to the hotel for d&#305;nner ...

... has done superb restoration, and it seems lots of groups don't come here because there's an extra admission. So it seems by visiting there, I got out of the wave pattern of tour groups speaking Spanish, French, English (very poorly), Japanese, German, and several other languages I couldn't discern. After being awed by the Dark Church, I continued to make my way through all the places to visit. I managed once again to find myself alone in ...

... the valley, we continued on to Urgup, where we stopped for a lunch of Doner Kebap. We then headed south for one last stop in the village of Mustafapasa. This was an interesting village, as it was a mainly Greek village prior to the revolution in the 1920's. This was very obvious in the architecture of the homes and buildings in the village. We drove through the quaint town for a bit, and then stopped for some Salep at a beautiful little cafe overlooking the main square. Salep ...

... elixir of life...  providing a safe place to escape into when the Persians and other invading peoples canvassed the landscape, pillaging and plundering the villages along the way... Derinkuyu could accommodate around 20,000 people underground for an extended period of time... months if need be...  It is a remarkable feat... one completed out of necessity for preserving life...  after exploring the subterranean ant hill we entered back onto the ...

... on some sort of agriculture and crafts - mostly rugs. It was difficult to grasp how these people can eke out a living on this dry and dusty land. While driving through the moonlike countryside it seemed like the locals had managed to create an economy consisting entirely of squash, melon, and bundles of sticks as there was no shortage of ancient men on equally ancient tractors hauling these goods around. Our favorite village just happened to be the one we stayed at, Goreme. It's ...

... in general directions. We are back on 'a' path - whether it's the right one or not, we don't know - but we were happy just to be on one. We took many pictures along the way and eventually made our way to a spot that we could see people in the distance. As we got closer, we discovered that these were tourist ...

I went to the open-air museum today which has a bunch of churches built into the rock chimneys with amazing paintings inside... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Churches_o f_Goreme_Turkey I also bumped into an old friend! http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid =58356167052411981&amp;hl=en

... During the evening we go out to a folklore evening. Turkish folk dancing with loud drum accompliment. About 3 dances bit heavy but very energetic men's parts followed by belly dancer who was very agile. Late back to hotel 11.30pm. Tue 19 September. At Cappadocia Started the day with a visit to the Goreme open air museum an area which includes some 360 early churches carved out of the rock. We visit about 6 of them each with its particular characteristic. A busy place with crowds of ...