Thanks to a long held position in my bucket list & a sudden promotion by Singapore Airlines - i found myself with a cheap air ticket for a 2 week trip to Istanbul. What i was going to do - i didn't quite know - just crazy anticipation and willing travel buddies for this trip.
Day 1 - Off we went to Cappadocia first - after booking a cheap internal flight from Istanbul to Cappadocia. We arrived in the homely Kelebek Cave Hotel situated in Gerome- exhausted by our travels, awed by our surroundings. Resting slightly, we explored the tiny city area of Gerome with its tourist kitsch, bars and restaurants - finally deciding to rest the evening away at our hotel, enjoying the beautiful views.
Day 2 - One of the many highlights of our trip - the gorgeous 1 hour hot air balloon ride over Cappadocia. Due to the sedimentary rocks formed in lakes and streams and deposits that erupted from the 3 ancient volcanoes surrounding Cappadocia, the rocks eroded into spectacular pillars and minaret-like forms. Ancient people of the villages carved out houses, churches and monasteries from the soft rocks of the volcanic deposits.
Coming back to the hotel with a simple, yet plentiful hotel breakfast. This was simply the best breakfast out of the many hotels that we stayed in. Honeycomb, fresh fruits, cheeses, olives, sausages, local pastries and breads. So good ! It was one of the best meals that i had in the whole trip.
We took off for a full day tour - starting with a 2-3 hr short hike at Rose Valley.
The hike ended at the spectacular Cavusin Cave Village. This used to a be fully functioning building with churches & homes - but due to the nature of the volcanic deposits - the building corroded with time - leaving us with glimpses of what it was like.
Making the climb up the building
Next stop - we visited the Kaymakli Underground city where a complicated underground carved city is used for hundreds of years by local Christians to hide from Romans, Persians and Arabs.
The tour ended with a visit to Monk's Valley. In this phallic looking valley, the monks craved out little cells at the base of the buildings and meditated away their worldly thoughts.
Rest for an hour - we took off to the last activity of the day - Whirling Dervishes. I really overreached with this one. It was the first full day since our arrival to Turkey and planning such a full day of hot air balloon rides and hiking - really took the toll on us. I found myself nodding off during the ceremony. The dervishes performed twice. First with the music & the full prayer process and then again with just the twirling for photos with the tourists. I was appreciative of this performance, especially when we encountered neon light, multi colored dervishes in Istanbul. It was then i realize how authentic the performance we were watching.
Day 3 - Hiking for a full day at the Ihara Valley (14km). How do i describe the hike? It was relatively easy, interesting - there was little churches from ages past - vandalized in the later times by Muslims and just beautiful with its spectacular valleys and little river streams.
Lunch at a cooling pavilion in the middle of the stream
Ending the hike at Selime Monastery
Day 4 - Gerome Open Museum. This was disappointing - it was a culmination of what we saw over the last 3 days. The only difference was that this was clean and well organized. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who only has 1 day in the area.
In the afternoon, we decide to go to the infamous Love Valley. The weather was just too hot - after taking a few steps, we decided to take a break at a makeshift cafe - literally in the middle of nowhere. The owner was extremely hospitable. The surroundings were quiet. It just healed my soul - as i sat there sipping my diet coke, with the 3 pots of dried snacks - looking over the horizon.
Day 5 - Waking up bright and early on our last day in Gerome, we sat in our favorite corner of the hotel and watched the sun set and hot air balloons rise.
No comments:
Post a Comment