Cappadocia, Turkey

So we arrived safely in Goreme in the Cappadocia area of Turkey. We took an overnight bus from Istanbul, which was supposed to leave at around 11pm. An hour and a half later, the bus turns up at the terminal. The bus terminal is so chaotic with so many people, mostly who don’t know what’s going on, just like us! Before the bus turned up, we wondered if it was ever going to arrive! When it turned up, we still weren’t sure if it was the right one. But we tried to ask, and got the best answer possible with the language barrier. We were fairly sure it was the right one. We should have arrived in Goreme at around 9.30am, but because the bus was late, and then there were delays with traffic, we didn’t arrive until 1pm! We were just glad that we had arrived at the right place! Our hotel came and picked us up and they were so lovely, making up for the long and stressful bus ride. Our room is amazing (see pictures below)! It’s a stone room, built around the fairy chimneys with beautiful furniture and a lovely view from our windows! And air conditioning! (We were silly enough to book a room in stinking hot Istanbul without a fan OR air conditioner!). Everything seems like luxury after our bus ride, which was essentially our accommodation for the night.

Our room in amongst the fairy chimneys of Goreme

The bathroom. Wish I could have taken a better shot, its much better in real life. 

 The view from our window / bed

There is a nice little balcony right outside our room, which looks over Goreme.

 Another shot of one of the balcony areas of the cave hotel. 

Once we settled in, we headed to the main part of town, which is only about a 5 minute walk downhill. We just wanted food. Anything would do! Jason had a clay pot, which is meat and/or vegetables cooked in a ceramic pot, then they use a hammer to crack the top off, and inside is the steaming food that has been cooked in the pot. I just had a pide. We had a wander around the town, stopping for a beer in a nice garden restaurant. There was a huge grassed area with hammocks and comfy outdoor furniture under nice big shady trees.

One of the shops in the town of Goreme

I'll be honest, I forget what this was, but the door sure is cute and the flowers are pretty!

Hanging out in the shade at Koy Evi

We headed home and had a nap, eventually going out again only to have dinner. We had dinner at a restaurant called Topdeck just a few minutes from where we are staying. There is a big stone dining room, which I think is part of the owners’ house. The service was so friendly, and it felt really homely. We had a bottle of local red wine (Cappadocia has quite a lot of local wine) and delicious 

mains, followed by baklava (gotta do what you gotta do!). And that’s day one in Goreme!

Dinner at Topdeck restaurant  

Topdeck restaurant 

We started day two in Goreme with breakfast at our hotel. Such a huge spread of Turkish breakfast foods, like breads, olives, fresh and dried fruit, vegetables, cured meats, eggs, cereals and lots of other food (some I can’t list because I’m honestly not sure what it is!).  We were ready for our big day! We decided to do a tour, since Cappadocia is quite a big area, with an interesting history. We jumped on a mini bus, and first stop was a view of Goreme.

First stop, a view of Goreme

Next stop was Derinkuyu, an ancient underground city, all carved from rocks. We were shown different levels of the town; living areas, church, kitchen, winery, animal stables. At the lowest point we were 55 meters underground. Only a portion of the underground city is open to visitors, but we were told that the entire underground city is 4 kilometers squared. There were little tunnels and doorways everywhere. To access part of the underground city, we had to crouch right down to get through the narrow sections.

 Squeezing through the narrow sections of the underground city

After that, we went to a monestry. I wish I could tell you more about it, but there is so much history here that I’ve forgotten a lot! Again, all the different rooms and areas were carved into the rock formations, with tunnels, windows and doorways everywhere.

The Cathedral within the monastery 

 Part of the kitchen within the monastery

Peek a boo!  

Next was a lunch stop, then to the Ihlara Valley. We went to a little church at the beginning of our hike, then after maybe a kilometer we stopped at a tea house along the water for a rest and to soak our hot feet in the cool water. The valley had a path that followed a river and had huge rock cliffs on either side. It was really peaceful. About another 3 kilometers of walking and we were picked up by the bus to head back towards Goreme (about an hour).

 

 Ihlara Valley

The tea house along the way 

We stopped at a viewpoint to see Pigeon Valley again. Then, back to our hotel. We left around 9.30am, and returned at 6pm so we were pretty tired! 

 Views of the Pigeon Valley

Views of the Pigeon Valley

We relaxed on the terrace of the hotel for a while with some Turkish apple tea, finishing the day with dinner at Seten, a nice place just near us. There was a very welcome cool breeze and it had a nice atmosphere. I ordered Manti; a dish like ravioli with beef inside tiny parcels of pasta with chickpea and tomato sauce and garlic yoghurt sauce.

The view from just outside our hotel at dusk. The days are long, this would have been about 8pm

This is our hotel 

Dinner at Seten