Sultan Cave Suites Nevsehir

... actually told us what valley or what places we'd been through and seen. So we really weren't sure whether or not we were getting to all of the places we'd been promised...<br><br>We were sure though, that after literally doing a circle around Goreme and then going up a hill passing right by Jess and Phoenix's hostel, we weren't too happy to be off our ATVs and sitting around at our sunset spot at 7:20...about 50 minutes before sunset...and well under two hours after ...

... with cheese...and...WEDGE-IT-TABLES!" He was so happy that he'd been able to make them what she wanted off the menu, which he treated as totally his idea. And he was just tickled to bring it out to her so magnificently. Pride beamed ear to ear.<br><br>Only his English was very off, so rather than "vegitables" it came out "wedge-it-tables," with emphasis on each syllable. Germans often pronounce the w as a v, as in Havaii rather than Hawaii. The Turks are the opposite ...

... s salad, stuffed zucch&#305;n&#305;, lamb meatballs on roasted potatoes and on&#305;ons, and watermelon for dessert). After wh&#305;ch three local mus&#305;c&#305;ans jo&#305;ned us to play trad&#305;t&#305;onal mus&#305;c (all men -- one of them was qu&#305;te a dancer, too. The locals were crowd&#305;ng &#305;n to the room to l&#305;sten.)<br> <br> More to come. All of you who sa&#305;d that Turkey would be fac&#305;nat&#305;ng were r&#305;ght.<br> <br> Love.

... of the smaller churches that had beautiful examples of the more-simple iconoclastic style of adornment. I wondered what dear St. Basil would say about these churches if he had seen them active in their day. Then I began imagining what a conversation would be like with Basil and one of the leaders of the Byzantine community that thrived here several centuries later. I stood in this simple space carved out of the rock trying to imagine if it ...

... a Turkish wintery drink, made from orchid root which is heated with sugar, milk and cinnamon. It is quite tasty. After a long ride back to Goreme we dropped off the bikes and headed back to our favorite coffee bar and A'laturca, where we are now enjoying a relaxing few hours of blogging and reading before we grab dinner. Tomorrow we will head back to Istanbul for our last few days in Turkey. We hope all is well at home, and GO SPARTANS!!! (That was obviously Michael) Until next time, Bianca and Michael

... squinty eyes and all... wondering how the people of long ago must have been blinded by the light after spending months moled away from the dangers lurking above...  One of the locals told me that there are over 36 tunnel cities throughout the area... and that Derinkuyu is linked by a 6 mile transit tunnel that links to another underground village in Kaymakli... I am always impressed what we humans are capable of when our very existence is ...

... quintessential Cappadocian village with loads of caves and fairy chimneys. In fact every hotel seemed to be a cave hotel. Including ours, the Anatolia Cave Pension, where we stayed in our very own cozy fairy chimney. It was like a little hobbit house and Jen was thrilled to live out her childhood fantasy of living in an all natural home (so natural the walls are rock!). Thanks to some good web recommendations we found a new favorite restaurant on our first try. The Goreme restaurant had ...

... that had been brought to this spot by mini-bus and fully airconditioned luxury buses. The vehicles sat in the distance taunting us. We were the true trekkers who made it there on their own steam - even if it was from the backside of the mountain where there was no option for vehicles. By this time, we ...

Our arrival into Ankara, the capital of Turkey, was just after 8am. We all slept so well we only had about 20 minutes to get ready... When the train stopped at the station we accidentally hopped off the wrong side of the platform and had to climb back through the train to get to the right side (the doors were locked for some reason). Our driver was waiting and we piled our bags in -- just as we pulled out of the car park we ...

... After a couple of hours we go to a Turkish handmade carpet manufacturer. We receive a well presented background to Turkish carpets and the double knot technique used on the carpets. This was followed by a sales session at which many carpets were purchased including ours. Another couple of fairy chimney vantage points and then a visit to a pottery. Some more valuable Turkish liras changed hands to assist the local economy. An early finish to the day back to the hotel. Wed 20 ...