Gobble gobble, what a place!

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Here I didn't think Turkey could get any better and then I went to a magical land called Cappadocia which was full of fairy chimneys, kabobs and balloons! But seriously, this entire valley is full of cone/pillars which were formed thousands (some may say millions) of years ago from volcanoes. Ya know, crazy earth shifting and water rushing and hot magma lava forming insanely beautiful landscapes. And then us smart humans come along and discover a way to chip and carve cave rooms into these cones and there you have it! Thousands of old houses and churches carved out of rock which has lasted through the centuries. (they actually are nicknamed fairy chimneys because whoever found them thought fairies lived in it...as the name suggests�st part is people still live in these caves. K I lied, that is only the 2nd best thing. The BEST part is that I got to spend 3 wonderful nights sleeping in a cave! Cool in the summer, and warm in the winter...so smart. I may have gone off a tad bit on this, but it was pretty neat. Lindsay and I have been couch surfing as I mentioned before and this was a highlight! The owner/manager of a hotel had just made this cave suite and he said he could host us there for free, we just needed to test it out and let him know if everything was ok. So here we are, staying in the most expensive place in the town and waking up and and saying "ummm ya the vanity in the bathroom has a slight wiggle."Since we were saving money on accommodation, we used that for a hot air balloon ride. So beautiful watching the sun rise when you are 800 meters up in the sky. Very serene! Another cool thing we saw was an underground city. This city spans for miles underground and was built simply for protection. Apparently these peaceful people were farmers and just dug homes to hide in when enemies attacked. It became more extensive when the Christians were hiding there. Such a weird feeling being 8 stories underground and the guide is saying that the structure is a thousand years old. Seems funny that mines collapse now a days with all our 'modern' technology and yet this entire city is still just as strong as ever... It was such a wonderful 18 days in Turkey! I just heard about the riots going on now, which is sad but no surprise! Most expensive gas in the world (I believe it is a %280 tax on gas) which makes it about $3 per litre. And the $20 a day they make in wages makes for a tense situation against the government... I could go on about certain political opinions but that is all they are, my observations and opinions. Who truly knows what is the right thing to say (I am writing this after arriving in Israel and boy oh boy, have I ever had my eyes open and formed some opinions which I am smart enough to keep to myself). But since im talking about Turkey, I never felt unsafe and was always treated with respect, whether I was Muslim or not. I can say that the stereotype of aggressive Muslim men may apply more to Arab Muslim than the people in turkey. Felt like I was almost in Canada. Well, not quite but the friendliest, most generous people I have experienced lately! So, basically like Canadians but they don't apologize for everything 😊

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