After five nights in Istanbul we left to Ankara, an inland stop on our way to the so called "Turquoise Coast". Whenever we told someone we were going to Ankara, their reply was always quick and sharp "only one night, right?" It seems that people living in Istanbul don't really like their capital city. It is a busy city like Istanbul, but with not as much character, not any coastlines, and full of government buildings.
Luckily, we had a connection in Ankara, a former student of my dad, who was able to show us around Ankara and even better—get us cheap accommodation right on the beautiful university campus. It was a nice break staying in a private room in the quiet campus—a change from the seemingly always full 12-bed dorm in Istanbul. We were also able to see Ankara from a local's perspective and were able to fit in a full day of seeing Ankara's interesting sights. Our gracious host also insisted on paying for almost everything, and when it was time to leave, I think we both agreed that Ankara was not nearly as bad as everyone said it would be (an obviously biased opinion).
Capaddocia was next. We hadn't heard much about the area but everyone who had been there said we had to make the trip to see the eerie landscape. Some volcano erupted there a long time ago and from the 4th to 11th century refugee Christians carved churches, monasteries, and houses into the honey-coloured rocks and built underground cities. We stayed in a hostel that was actually carved into some rocks and so our dorm room was a giant dark cave with bunk beds. We walked through the valleys of pinnacles and rock faces and explored many of the countless holes in the rocks that opened up into big rooms or churches. It seemed that almost every rock was dotted with doors or windows, some unreachable because of their height and some caved in over time. Sometimes, tunnels connected the rooms and it was incredible to see how intricate some of the houses were. We would crawl through small tunnels, our crouched backs scraping the top, seeing how far we could get lost in the rock.
One day we rented scooters and drove to the biggest underground city. Capaddocia's weather was the coldest we had felt in a long time and the light rain made the drive a challenge. With tears running down our faces from the wind and rain (or maybe one truck who sprayed us with needle sharp rocks), we drove through small poor towns being chased by school children. After an hour or so of burning the world's most expensive gas (about $2.50/litre), we reached the underground city and explored its great depth.
Capaddocia exceeded our expectations but the cold weather was starting to make us miss the sun. It was a good thing the rest of our trip predicted some of the world's best beaches and sunny Mediterranean weather. To the Turquoise Coast, we headed.
Luckily, we had a connection in Ankara, a former student of my dad, who was able to show us around Ankara and even better—get us cheap accommodation right on the beautiful university campus. It was a nice break staying in a private room in the quiet campus—a change from the seemingly always full 12-bed dorm in Istanbul. We were also able to see Ankara from a local's perspective and were able to fit in a full day of seeing Ankara's interesting sights. Our gracious host also insisted on paying for almost everything, and when it was time to leave, I think we both agreed that Ankara was not nearly as bad as everyone said it would be (an obviously biased opinion).
Capaddocia was next. We hadn't heard much about the area but everyone who had been there said we had to make the trip to see the eerie landscape. Some volcano erupted there a long time ago and from the 4th to 11th century refugee Christians carved churches, monasteries, and houses into the honey-coloured rocks and built underground cities. We stayed in a hostel that was actually carved into some rocks and so our dorm room was a giant dark cave with bunk beds. We walked through the valleys of pinnacles and rock faces and explored many of the countless holes in the rocks that opened up into big rooms or churches. It seemed that almost every rock was dotted with doors or windows, some unreachable because of their height and some caved in over time. Sometimes, tunnels connected the rooms and it was incredible to see how intricate some of the houses were. We would crawl through small tunnels, our crouched backs scraping the top, seeing how far we could get lost in the rock.
One day we rented scooters and drove to the biggest underground city. Capaddocia's weather was the coldest we had felt in a long time and the light rain made the drive a challenge. With tears running down our faces from the wind and rain (or maybe one truck who sprayed us with needle sharp rocks), we drove through small poor towns being chased by school children. After an hour or so of burning the world's most expensive gas (about $2.50/litre), we reached the underground city and explored its great depth.
Capaddocia exceeded our expectations but the cold weather was starting to make us miss the sun. It was a good thing the rest of our trip predicted some of the world's best beaches and sunny Mediterranean weather. To the Turquoise Coast, we headed.
Some of the weird landscape.
Living in a cave.
Love to hear how you are doing. Enjoy Greece.
ReplyDeleteMiss you....