#5) Cappadocia and My Istanbul Birthday

I apologize for keeping you all waiting for my next post! My last weeks in Turkey have been both extremely exhilarating and hectic to the point where I was too busy to sit down and write. So much has happened, but I’ll just fill you in on the major highlights – my adventures in the Cappadocia region and my birthday in Istanbul.

Cappadocia is a region in central Turkey known for its gorgeous valleys, unique geological formations, and the hidden churches carved into the rock faces by the early Christians. It’s also famous for the dozens of hot air balloons that fill the sky at sunrise - but more on that later. The towns in the area are pretty touristy so I knew not to expect an authentic cultural experience, but even still my time in Göreme was definitely some of the best I had while in Turkey. I arrived via bus at night so there wasn’t too much to see, but in the morning I was struck by the natural beauty of the area and I knew I had to get out and explore immediately.

One of many stunning views out across Cappadocia

You could spend hours hiking through the many canyons and valleys

I wasn’t keen on hiking alone, but thankfully I made fast friends with a man at the hostel who was about to leave on a hiking excursion and he welcomed me to join him. His name was Olivier and he was from southern France and he was a really interesting guy to talk to – the only complication was that he didn’t speak any English and so instead we communicated entirely in Spanish. He had lived in a coastal, resort town called Sitges in the north of Spain for about eight years and so he spoke it fluently. I had studied Spanish throughout high school and a couple years in college so my Spanish was significantly rougher from being underutilized for a few years, but still it was an even platform for us to be able to communicate and get to know each other better.

We set off together to hike through the Red and Rose Valleys and then to eventually circle our way back to town before dark - it was probably overambitious on our part since we only completed about a third of our proposed route. We made our way through the winding canyons so slowly because we kept stopping to explore the various pathways and to climb up into the various rock churches and other rooms littered throughout the valley. The area had a truly magical feel about it and we couldn’t help but explore every hidden nook and tunnel that presented itself. The whole route was meant to take around 6 or 7 hours – but we ended up spending that just in Red Valley alone. Just as it was beginning to get dark we fortuitously came across the vineyards at the base of a hill known as “Sunset Point” where other tourists had gathered to watch the sun descend over the valleys. It was quite a spectacular sight to see, but now we were faced with the dilemma of how to get back to town after dark and hiking wasn’t really an option. Thankfully Olivier quickly caught the attention of some other French tourists and we hitchhiked a ride back to town in their car. (Sorry Mom)

Rose Valley - you can see a precise line across the center of the rocks where it changes color from yellow-ish to red-ish

The exterior view of a rock church and various other room in the face of the cliff

A small Chapel that Olivier and I discovered in the valley. What remained of the frescoes was really difficult to make out, but beautiful nonetheless.

Olivier sitting in a room that we reached by free climbing a vertical rock face - there were ladder-like notches carved into the side to make it easier to get up, but it wasn't any less terrifying and getting down was the worst part.

Sunset - you can also see the famous Cappadocian grape vines at the bottom of this picture. There were thousands of them throughout the valley and you were allowed to pick off the grapes for a little snack. They were so fresh and delicious - and even more so after they were converted to wine. 

It was the end of eventful and adventurous ay and it was only my frst in the rea – the rest of my time here proved to be just the same. Went on more adventures with Olivier to the underground city of Derinkuyu, went on a regional ATV tour with another group of awesome friends I made at the hostel, hiked the valleys four more times, and became the alpha-male of a roaming pack of street dogs who followed me around to the town on a midnight stroll.

One of the entryways in the underground city of Derinkuyu. We weren't allowed to go through the whole complex, but it had a total of 8 levels and at one point could hold thousands of peo

One of the main halls inside Derinkuyu

Pre-ATV Selfie - the hair net is a regrettable, but necessary accessory to the helmet.

Post-ATV Selfie - I'm covered with a layer of dust in this picture and you can sort of tell because my eyebrows are usually much darker than that.

A hike through Love Valley - can you guess why they call it that?

The only thing I did not actually do was ride in a hot air balloon – but not for lack of trying. On two separate occasions I awoke before the sun rose and was carted off to the company’s base to enjoy some pre-flight breakfast and all, but unfortunately the elements forced the cancellation of both flights. Sorry if I deceived you all with that Facebook picture, but apparently hot air balloons are really temperamental and flights are only safe/advisable under very strict conditions. It was disappointing, but ultimately the rides were pretty expensive and I’ve decided to use the money I saved from the ride to do something even better in the remaining 7 months of my trip. (Scuba diving certification, anyone?) I did at least have the forethought to wake up early one day with my friend Stephanie (who also missed her chance to fly) to watch the other hot air balloons fly and snap some pictures. The other good bit of news is that my hostel owner felt so bad that I missed out on the balloon twice that he said he’d hook me up with a free ride on my next visit - as if I didn’t already have a reason to go back one day!

I think these pictures mostly speak for themselves.

If you look closely you can see the hot air balloons filling up and getting ready to take off still from the valley below.

After Cappadocia I returned to the city where it all began for me – Istanbul. The group of friends I made in Cappadocia all reunited to take on the city and we all stayed together in the same hostel. Although I had already seen most of the major sights that I wanted to, I hadn’t experienced the Istanbul night life and there was no better excuse than my 23^rd birthday. Thankfully, I had a native of Istanbul to show me the cool places where all the locals hang out. His name was Kadir and we became very close during the brief time I had remaining in Turkey. On the Saturday before my birthday he brought me to a hip bar called Café PI and we had a few Bomonti (another Turkish beer and better than Efes in my personal opinion) before moving on to Love Dance Point - one of the local gay clubs. It was interesting to see what the Turkish gay scene was like and I had a really awesome time there.

On my actual birthday I went out to dinner together with everyone from Cappadocia at a place that Kadir suggested. It was right off of Istiklal and had a rooftop terrace which overlooked the Old City and across the Bosporous to the Asian side - it was absolutely stunning to see everything lit up at night. We wined and dined and even though they had only known me for less than a week everyone surprised me by signing a birthday postcard and they even got me some excellent Turkish delight as a gift. I was really grateful and their sincere kindness made it one of the most memorable birthdays I’ve ever had.

My 23rd birthday dinner! From left to right: Nicole (Canada), Thomas (Australia), Kadir (Turkey), Me, Sarah (Australia), Josh (Canada), Bridgitte (Australia)

On October 1^st I left Istanbul on a flight bound for Zimbabwe and sadly my time in Turkey had come to a close. It was an extremely memorable month filled with all sorts of beautiful, interesting people in a land with a rich history and deep culture. I was sad to say goodbye to my new friends, but I’m excited to see what the future holds. I've learned so much already and it’s hard to imagine that I still have another seven whole months to learn and grow. But adventure is out there and now it’s time to tackle southern Africa!

Keep up to date on my location on this handy map.

(As a side note about the photo albums – I apologize, but I’m still struggling to figure out how these separate photo pages work. I made one specifically for my trip to Istanbul, but when you click on the link it redirects you back to the home page for some reason. Hopefully I can figure it out soon so you can see more pictures. I’ll keep you updated on my progress!)