Asian Turkey

Photos: Caves of Cappadocia

Oct. 21, 2022- Goreme Cappadocia Yeah! Finally got to the Asian side of Istanbul. That’s where the airport was for our domestic flight. We crossed the Bosphorous on a jammed super highway bridge and piled out of the van with our bags like clowns at a circus. We were given sandwiches on the 45 minute Pegasus Air flight but had to buy drinks. I didn’t think that would be enough so grabbed bread, cheese, and a hard boiled egg at breakfast and stashed it in a carry-on. It came in handy. Tom, who worked for Billy Graham, and David had an interesting discussion on the ride to the airport. Heaven, hell, original sin, Messiah, Jesus were fair game. It was predictable on Tom’s part. He quoted New Testament and robotically stuck to the party line. It was cordial. Evidently, Tom and Cheryl are not aware of some issues that are at the forefront of the news in the US. After a discussion about transitioning from male to female and vice versa, Tom clearly was confused. Vicki gave him a tutorial. We’re here to see the cave dwellings of Cappadocia. We landed at the Kayseri airport named for Caesar. Of course the Romans were here too.. Our hotel was an hour away in Goreme as is the main attraction. We’ve upgraded to a 46 passenger bus so we’re not suffering lack of leg room anymore. Rudy kept talking about this being an area of fruit farming and pastrami pork. What the hell? He bought some meat for us to taste. It’s extremely salty and reminiscent of something similar they have in Canada. Blech! One of the reasons we came to Turkey again is to see the World Heritage site cave dwellings of Cappadocia. There have been underground cities here since around the 8th and 7th centuries BCE. What we saw were the paintings and decorations in these caves occupied by persecuted monastic Christians in the 4th century CE onward. We climbed cobbled trails of moonscaped hills to enter small alcove-like rooms. Some had paintings. Most didn’t. The remarkable thing to me is the topography of conical hills and natural beehive shaped structures. We’re staying in the Alfina Cave Hotel. It’s built into the hillside and rooms are refurbished ancient caves. It’s quite cute, but Wi-Fi stinks. The safe isn’t great either. It works with a key instead of a combination. David couldn’t get the key out when he tried to lock it. The hotel clerk got the key out but couldn’t open it. They’re out looking for a safe cracker or dynamite. Our passports and money are there for the duration. This was the worst dinner we’ve had. It was two small fish steaks well seasoned, but bony. Tasteless pasta, and what was supposed to be a ball of mashed potatoes shared the pathetic plate. The candied pumpkin desert was a novelty and actuall good. I sat across from Rudy and watched him consume two full meals at a speed that was inhuman. During dinner, the clerk came in brandishing our passports and money. He successfully destroyed the locking mechanism on the safe and will keep our valuables in the office safe until ours can be fixed. Six of us will be up at the crack of dawn for a hot air balloon ride over the caves. We’re not going. We’ve done that and wanted to sleep later. Hope the winds are kind to them. Tomorrow we spend the day with locals. Toby