Blogs from Central Anatolia, Turkey, Middle East

Of the many places we visited in Turkey when we lived here, one we did notsee was Cappadocia (propounced Kapa-do-kee-ah). Sharon and I both were anxious to see this region of the country, which as it turns out, looks a lot like the American southwest. It is a high desert region, with dry scrub plains bordered by huge mesas. This region gets a lot of snow in the winter because of its elevation. The snowmelt caused erosion of the mesas which produces the unique carved topography. The mesas were formed millions of years ago by a volcanic eruption which left layers of soil that compacted into semi-soft, carvable rock. It is this rock that allowed the creation of hundreds of underground cities. We visited one which has been made into a museum, safe for visitor access. ... read more

Last night we walked around and found a restaurant that had a viewing area up high from which you could eat. We have a lovely dinner overlooking the town of Goreme which is lit up with lots fairy lights. It was a very early call for both of us this morning. Jeff headed off for a sunrise horesback ride and I headed off for the Hot Air Balloon ride. We both had a 5:30am pickup. It was a bit of a drive to the Hot Air Balloons and there were heaps of them. I later found out there are 162 hot air balloons operated by 32 different companies. By the time we arrived the my balloon was mostly inflated but the bursts from the jets were still lighting up the insides of the balloon like a ... read more

I made it to Cappadocia, a place I tried and failed to reach 18 years ago when I was last in Turkey. It is an area where early Christians lived in caves dug into the stone formations. ... read more

For my next short weekend Trekkup trip, my friend and I decided on Cappadocia. I had long wanted to do this trip and, while I had initially planned to do the trip on my own for a more extended period, I figured why not. Trekkup trips are generally packed and so I should get to see what I wanted without having to spend too much time organizing it, including the balloon rides, which I was not initially planning on, but now was excited about. It was a small group of 6 going and we all got along pretty well, which is crucial for small groups! This was my first time in the other Istanbul airport, Sabiha Gokcen Airport (SAW), which is located on the east side of the city. We had a 4 hour layover and ... read more

For those that have followed us over the years, you know that we enjoy exploring the country that we are in. With our birthday’s coming up we decided to plan a trip to Cappadocia, a place that had been highly recommended to us by many that have gone. First off, Cappadocia, is not a town, but a region in Turkey. It is a high plateau (1000 meters/3,280 ft) with hot dry summers and cold snowy winters so decided this was the perfect time to visit. Its name derives from the Hittite word “Katpatuka” which means land of the beautiful horses. When you do a search on Cappadocia you will see that the topography looks almost “out of this world” with what are called “fairy chimneys” scattered all over the area. This area was formed of soft ... read more