Capadoccia, Central Turkey

The view from my hostel's terrace. Absulotely surreal.

From Istanbul I took an overnight bus to Goreme in the famous Capadoccia region in Central Turkey. It was actually a spontaneous decision that I made when I realised that I actually stayed longer than I should in Istanbul. I was behind my schedule. Left Istanbul with a heavy heart because I was really getting comfortable there. But the journey had to continue or else I'd miss my flight from Cairo.

One of the hundreds of hidden and forgotten dwellings that dots the landscape.

Apparently just a generation ago, men who wish to attract a bride must be able to lure a pigeon into one of these pigeon houses.

On the bus I met two Brazillians from Sao Paolo who made the torturous journey seem quick and pleasant. We spent a great many hours just talking and laughing (when everyone else was trying to get some sleep). I was inspired by their joie de vivre attitude to life (they lost their luggages, almost missed their flight to Istanbul etc. but they were more amused than worried about it). Reminded me of Elina who in the same way exudes the kind of infectious optimism. Also Usman had he been there, he'd launched into a lecture on spontaneity and how I'm such a stress head.

The Goreme Open Air Museum

That's my cave-room! A DEN.

Capadoccia is famous for its cave townships and surreal landscape. Some of the towns here were carved literally out of the rock formations creating a unique sci-fi otherworldly place. The history of the region is complex and vague which adds to the intrigue. The frescoes in the cave-churches echoes the ancient cave temples/synagogues of Western China (Gansu and Xinjiang). I wonder whether there's any relationship between them.

I really enjoyed my visit here. Met an American guy and we ended up renting a scooter. It was great to explore this area with the scooter because we stopped at some of the abandoned cave cities along the road where there were no tourists. But when it gets windy, the dust was unbearable. Anyone going to Cappadocia should do the scooter!