Thursday, April 17, 2025
We flew out of Philadelphia in the evening ...
Friday, April 18, 2025
... to arrive at London Heathrow early in the morning. After a four-hour flight from London to İstanbul, we had the usual wait for baggage, passport control, and other Viking passengers on the Cappadocia pre-cruise extension. We boarded a nice motorcoach to drive in rush-hour traffic, which took a couple hours. It was 21:00 by the time we checked into our rooms ...
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| Conrad İstanbul Bosphorus Hotel lobby |
Saturday, April 19, 2025
... only to have a wake-up call at 4:00 to head back to the İstanbul airport!
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| Tamiko at İstanbul Airport, about 6:00! |
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An hour and a half flight brought us to Nevşehir Airport,
close to the middle of Asian Turkey |
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Cappadocia (pronounced Cappa-dō-kee-ya) is a region
known for tuff-pinnacles, wine, and pottery of
clay from the Kızılırmak River in Avanos |
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First sighting of the tuff-pinnacle rock formations,
here in Paşabağ Vadisi/Valley |
Legend has it that the unique shapes were made by fairies who built their underground homes below the rocks – hence the name ‘fairy chimneys’. Otherwise, the explanation is that millions of years of wind and rain erosion has worn down the soft volcanic tuff leaving the harder rock behind. Even what was left was easy to carve, and humans created chapels and homes in the rock formations.
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The 'fairy chimney' on the left functions as a police station,
but was originally a hermitage with its chapel to its right |
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Many hermits and monks, notably St Simeon,
came to live here in seclusion |
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| St Simeon's Chapel |
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We could not enter the chapel,
but could see the carved steps |
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| Paşabağ Valley is also called Monk's Valley |
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| Balancing rock |
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| Tamiko & Kent in front of another hermitage |
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| Climbing seemed to be allowed |
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Although Turkey is a secular state, the majority of
the population are Sunni Muslims;
most of the women wear scarves |
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Sometimes it appears there was
erosion from flooding |
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| Testudo graeca/Greek Tortoise |
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| Giant keyhole |
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Being served an ice cream cone in
Turkey is a comedy show |
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| Soccer shirts and belly dancer skirts |
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| Decorative mosaic glass lamps |
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Booth set up to sell cat and dog food; cats and dogs are
considered community pets under the humane approach
of "spay, neuter, and return to the streets" |
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The Anatolian Shepherd dog was in existence 6,000 years
ago, and is considered one of the best herding breeds |
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| Lunch starters of marinated eggplant and salad |
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| Börek/flaky pastry with cheese |
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The Turkish chef is ready to open the
Güveç, a clay pot filled with a stew;
traditionally the pots are broken but this
does not happen any longer before serving |
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| Chicken and eggplant stew with rice pilaf |
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| Tea served in glass cups |
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Turkish coffee (you are supposed to wait for the grounds
to settle to the bottom, and then not drink to the bottom) |
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| Camel photo op at the Göreme Open Air Museum |
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| Small niches in the carved rooms were for pigeons |
We did not enter
the Göreme Open Air Museum because of pouring rain. |
Part of our hotel, Yunak Evleri Cappadocia Cave Hotel,
in the city of Ürgüp |
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The hotel is named for the yunak/
fountain, where women once gathered
to wash clothing and gossip |
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A version of the Turkish nahıl/wishing tree
with fairy lights and nazar boncuğu/
eye beads that protect against the evil eye |
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The lower doorway is the entrance
to our cave room |
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| Room enough for a bed, ... |
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| ... and a padded stone sofa (and a television!) |
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| Fortunately they carved out an ensuite bathroom for us |
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We took a walk through town; could not tell
if this donkey was once real |
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| Snack shop? |
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| Kebir Camii/Mosque |
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Before prayers, Muslims engage in
ritual purification through washing
of certain areas of the body |
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| A steep climb to a viewpoint |
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| Kiliç Arslan Türbe (1268), a Seljuk tomb |
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| Viewpoint view N |
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| Viewpoint view S down on the city of Ürgüp |
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| Viewpoint view W |
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Back on a lane to the hotel, dead branches on top of the walls;
apparently when food is prepared in traditional
Cappadocian tandir (in-ground) ovens, fruit-tree twigs
from apricot, grape, and other local trees feed the fire,
adding unique aromas and flavors |
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| Hunkar beğendi, a lamb stew over eggplant purée |
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| Candied figs with kaymak/clotted cream |
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| Yunak Evleri Cappadocia Cave Hotel at night |
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