Toured Cappadocia with a guide, Sarcan (Sar-jahn), and hit all the big places. We were not off to the greatest of starts though, because we started at the Kaymakli yeralti sehri(Kaymakli Underground City) and descended underground shoulder to shoulder with tourists from all the corners of the earth, rarely to have more room the entire time we were down there. We all got pretty antsy and Aeden was a bear, so we talked to the guide about making sure to see places where we wouldn't be so crowded, even if we didn't see all the "must-see" places with him...and for him not to worry about Aeden complaining. He seemed much more at ease at that point and we continued on to the Goreme Acik Hava Muzesi (Goreme Open Air Museum).
The Open Air Museum was pretty full of tourists, too, except that things here were more spread out so it was a bit more manageable. Except at each of the churches, where our guide was allowed 3-4 minutes to talk to us inside before the next group's turn. Hmm. Sarcan started to just tell us what was inside and then sit back and wait for us to be done wandering around. And wander we did. Aeden and I did a lot of wandering around the paths between sites, and the rest of our group was busy ducking into cave rooms, churches, and climbing up ladders to investigate upper floors of the "buildings".
We drove to Avanos for lunch at Bizim Ev Restaurant, where our guide called ahead and ordered Rob, Brian, and me testi kebap (it takes a long time to bake). It was very tasty and the restaurant itself was amazing--we entered through the cave basement and wound our way up one set of stairs, to another set of stairs, and ate on the top floor with plenty of decorations and things to keep our eyes busy. A water pipe that was exposed in one corner was wrapped with neckties for decoration, there was an old kick-style potter's wheel, and even a "field surfboard" (my name)--a board with sharp blades embedded in it for a donkey to drag while the farmer stands on top of it to work his field.
After lunch we went to an amazing pottery workshop and showroom set inside a seemingly endless maze of caves. This was a highlight for Lacey and Maren, who got to play with clay on a wheel for a good chunk of time while the sales pitch was given to the "grown-ups"...a well-oiled sales machine. But gosh the pieces were beautiful and the tea was lovely.
On the way back to Urgup we stopped at two roadside viewpoints for more photos and exploring: Pembe Vadi (Pink Valley) and Pasabagi (I think that's where we were). At Pink Valley Aeden and I stayed in the car while he napped and I watched the ice cream vendor do his thing. I'm not in the market for taking up selling Turkish ice cream--too much work! I did enjoy watching his teasing though, when handing over the ice cream cones, flipping them upside down, serving them straight from the spade, and taking it away just as the customer was reaching for it. He made a good show. (Insert mini-video here once I figure out how to do it!)
At Pasabagi Lacey and Brian went for the top of the overlook (shown here but a split second after they disappeared from the ridgeline). Aeden and I stayed put in the van...I was pretty tired by this point and didn't want to chase him around at another stop.
We rested briefly back at our hotel and then headed back down the hill to dinner in Urgup at Somine. I had patlican kebap (eggplant kebap) which was very, very tasty--nice and smoky. Brian tried ali nazik which was very good as well, but more of a stew-type dish. Lacey, Maren, and Aeden were all pleased to find their favorites: tavuk sis, kasarli pide, and ayran. Rob tasted the Ayran and made the worst face yet...he will clearly not be wanting to share with Aeden at all. Aeden took a bug bite of beyaz peynir and turned into our table's Easter bunny:
Lots more photos:
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| 2009-04-11Cappadocia |
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