Cappadocia/Kapadokya ....Day two

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Good Friday AM...up at 4:00 again today....bad news at 5:00 too much wind to fly. Back to bed until loud pounding on door at 7:00. HURRY....We are going to fly! In air by 7:40 after being literally picked up and tossed into basket!!! Most amazing adventure ...no words to describe....our most excellent pilot, Mustafa, even had an evil eye hanging in basket to protect us from harm. It worked :-) and once back on ground we celebrated with Champagne, cake and beautiful red strawberries.

Once back at hotel (only 9:00am) we enjoyed a Turkish breakfast and started our leisurely stroll through the village, up a long hill to the Goreme Open Air Museum. Here there are many chapels cut into the hillside . inside each are still beautiful Byzantine frescoes with scenes from both the Old and New Testament. UNESCO has declared this site in the Goreme Valley a World Heritage Site. it is said "in the 3rd. Century, Priests with very strong Personalities made this region a center for Religious thought and life. A very moving place to be on Good Friday. After a break for tea and some snacks in a neat little Turkish Cafe ....spent the rest of afternoon shopping and site seeing in the village.

Our hotel in Goreme was the Saksagan Cave Hotel. Hewn into a huge fairy chimney and decorated with Turkish rugs, weavings and low pillow couches we felt like we had fallen back into another time..... Millions of years ago! We also had a great view of the Village and cave dwellings in the hillsides below. In the center was a quiet little court yard with lovely flowers , tables and antiques. A great place to "hang out " sip wine and visit In the late afternoons.

Dinner was at the Manza roof-top Cafe .....we watched the sun set over Cappadocia and had a delicious dinner of Lamb Kebobs and rice. Beautiful Day!

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