Almira Hotel Urgup

... have the most homophobic people jumping up and down celebrating gayness in spite of themselves. And I love it! Because really, who cares? From now on there should be a rule: if you have ever done the YMCA you cannot legally oppose gay marriage. I'll be the entire Republican caucus has done the YMCA. I wouldn't be surprised if it has ever been played at a Convention to stir up the crowd...I'd be that it has. Oh man, that'd be a good way to legalize gay marriage everywhere ...

... wedding anniversary with dinner at the hotel- multiple mezos then chicken with bulgar and fruit for dessert. not as robust or extra-ordinary as on the gullet but quite good.
today we started our hike in the rose valley of fairy chimneys and cave churches-over 2000 in the area at one time but only about 900 still in existence- the others having succumbed to wind, rain and general erosion. crossed valleys 2, 3 and ended up in valley 4 exiting in a small village ...

... should warm the plates. Tonight his plate was warm. We moved chairs as two smokers came beside us, the guys felt so bad we had to move that they brought us some complimentary apple tea, which we had with our baklava. They sure are thoughtful and want to keep customers happy. We didn't expect any compensation for moving, it was our choice. Back home to pick up our laundry. We will move tomorrow night to the Olympos area on the Mediterranian Sea. It should be warmer.

...

... did İ heard the words..."No photo, no photo". İ put the camera away not sure why İ couldn't take a photo since there was nothing but desolation all around. We went inside to pick up our luggage and it was very apparent that we were unusual to those around us. People openly, blatantly stared. But our hosts, as usual, were very warm and welcoming. There were 3 hosts. One very handsome ...

... We were taken by the endless varieties that we discovered on our journey... Most of the flowers were no larger than a fingernail... some only the size of a freckle... Mother Natures beauty marks... We also came in contact with an ant path that stretched for about 30 feet... a few ...

... Cappadocia!! We saw fairy chimneys on the plane. The reason why they are called fairy chimneys is because they say there are fairies living in the rocks. We were off the plane in a flash and our cab driver was waiting for us. He took us to the car rental and we started driving to our new hotel. We had a little trouble finding it. Once we got there, we had to wait a little longer because it was not ...

... that we would think about it. I found out later that we had probably made a sensible decision, as Sentez has a reputation for being very expensive. Still, as one of the rug sellers told me, 'It is not expensive, it is valuable'. Nice line. As we were leaving we noticed that a Spanish tour group had arrived and were being shown rugs. Apparently tour groups are there bread and butter. We would hardly have made a drop in this ocean anyway ...

... for a bit, he asked us to come into his shop for a suprise. He said he was a poet, and performed four of his own pieces for us, three of which were in english (translated by previous passerbys I guess), the fourth was in Turkish. He was an amazing performer and had us all rivited. His name was Crazy Ali, and when we asked why, he said his name was Moon Ali until 1969. He travelled to the moon in his ox cart and brought back moonstones which he sold ...

... about half way there, something I was not expecting at all. So we had a nice little play in the snow, throwing snow balls and making a snow man. Cold but fun. I also had a go at driving on the right hand side of the road. I don't think the others had a whole lot of faith in my driving skills. I am hoping that it gets a little warmer as we continue on to southern Turkey. Who knows? Well, until next time guys. Hope all is going well. See ya.