Pamukkale and Cappadocia

My Turkey portion of this adventure is coming to a close. And I think it ended it on a pretty good note. Earlier in the week I made my way to Pamukkale to check out the hot springs and travertines on the "cotton mountain". And it was pretty cool. I wish the weather was a bit nicer on the day I went, but I still spent the entire day going in the different travertines, exploring Hierapolis (another ancient city) and just sitting reading my book. Just kind of a lazy day. If you count all the walking around of course. Some of the travertines were dried up which was too bad. I'm not sure why, so this is something I would have to look into. 

Pamukkale travertines.

I had another day in the small town, but there wasn't much else to do. So I just wandered around before my overnight bus to Goreme. Since it's so small, I kept seeing the same people over and over. They noticed me more than I noticed them of course. Oh and one thing that stood out were all the Asian tourists. It was unexpected to see so many people from China and elsewhere. Seems like a pretty popular destination. Before I headed out of town, I had an impromptu dinner with a girl from Colombia (who's currently living in Florence). We were both at this restaurant and were the only patrons, so decided to eat together. She was actually traveling with her sister, but they weren't getting along at the moment. And since I have 5 sisters, I could totally relate. I also took it as an opportunity to do some intel for the South America portion of my trip.

It was time to head to Cappadocia. Not surprising, I did not sleep well on that overnight bus. According to my fitbit, I didn't sleep at all. But I know I dozed off a few times. For some reason we made many stops at rest areas. And for long stretches of time. Not sure why. I had just wanted to get to the Goreme so I could brush my teeth.

Since I arrived early morning and my room wasn't ready yet, I went for a run. I made my way up the hill from my cave hotel and got some pretty amazing views. You could see for miles around and the landscape is pretty incredible. The town is built into these rock formations, hence the cave hotel. You have to look twice to realize that some of the rocks are actually dwellings. I'm glad I stayed in one of the cave hotels, but I am looking forward to more lit accommodations.

Goreme.

In the last couple of weeks I've been getting better at doing some research on where and what to eat. I try to stay away from the higher-priced tourist spots, but sometimes that's a challenge. Firin Express was recommended, and I had the most delicious bread. Their pide (flatbread) was also very good. A nice couple from NYC who were on their honeymoon sat down next to me, so of course we chatted throughout dinner. It was nice to talk a little about home.

I was going back and forth whether I was going to do a balloon ride in Cappadocia. I've seen pictures and it looked amazing. However, I'm on some sort of budget, and I've been on a balloon ride before (outside Amsterdam). After getting up early Thursday morning to watch the balloons, the decision I made to book was confirmed. What a sight it was. And I knew going up in a balloon would be even better. So Friday morning at 4:40am, I was ready for my pick-up. We went to their location to have some breakfast and then made our way to where the balloons were going to be inflated. I learned that about 150 balloons go up whenever the weather is permitting, which is most of the year. We stood by as the crew prepared the balloons. While I was waiting, I met a guy from India and got some more intel for my trip. I still have to do a bit more research, but I think I have a general idea of what I'm going to do for the Sri Lanka/India leg.

Anyway, back to the balloons. Since I'm solo, I found myself on a balloon with a tour group from Korea. I definitely expected to not being able to understand Turkish, but Korean? Forget about it. At least the tour leader was a Yankees fan. Or maybe he's just visited NYC once. We finally made our way up and away! And the views were even more amazing than from the ground. We spent an hour going through the different valleys in the region and made our way up to 900 meters! Normally they get up to 650, but it was pretty clear yesterday morning. I couldn't stop taking pictures (as evidence to my facebook album). And neither could the Koreans. I made friends with the 3 girls in my basket and we all got photos taken with each other. They actually started it as one girl wanted a photo with the American. Who says that you need to speak the same language to be friends? After landed in a horse pasture, we celebrated with the typical champagne toast. However it was the Turkish version of a mimosa and was mixed with cherry juice. No worries,I also got a taste of the champagne alone. 

Balloon ride over Cappadocia.

Besides the balloon ride and eating, I also hiked around a bunch and went to the 3 local wineries. According to my fitbit (yes that again), I hit over 40,000 steps on Thursday. That is a record for me. All that hiking makes one very thirsty. The first winery I visited was the Kocabag Winery in Uchisar. I did 3 tastes (a white, a rose, and a red), but it was a quick visit as the guy working didn't know much English. The wine was pretty good. Yesterday, I made my way to the 2 wineries in Urgup, Turasan Winery and Mahzen Sarap Evi. I got a tour at the first location and tried 4 different wines. I did have to pay for the tour, but at least the tastes were generous. I then made my way down the hill to the next location. Again, this was a somewhat quick experience. Here I tasted a white, a red, and a cherry aperitif. Once I was done though, I sat down in the garden and had a full glass of red with some cheese. Very enjoyable.

I spent my last night in Turkey attending a dinner at my hotel. The hosts cooked dinner for all the guests, which was very nice of them. I relaxed and enjoyed the company of the people who work there, and the other guests.

Overall, I've really enjoyed seeing Turkey. I do have a few parting thoughts as I wait for my flight to Tel Aviv.

• The country was the perfect start of my world trip. A little bit of European and a little bit Asian. Some city, some beach, and some amazing landscapes
• I decided that I really like Cherry juice and will be on the lookout for this back home (lemonade is too sweet here). This is one of their juices offered everywhere
• I'm still a little freaked out about all the cats roaming around the entire country. There are also a lot of dogs, but you don't see many cats out and about in the US. I did make friends with some of the dogs as I ran in different cities. 
• I don't think I've seen as many selfie sticks as I did in this country. However, stay tuned
• Every mosque has a loudspeaker to announce when it's time for prayer. I also believe they use it to communicate big news. They start as early as 5am and have them throughout the day
• Cappadocia was probably the highlight of Turkey and so glad I made it there

Overall, the Turks have been pretty nice and I've had a great time seeing their country. Not only did I see some really great things, but also enjoyed their food and drink. I hope to come back again someday.

Next stop: Israel