Cappadocia

After a journey to Turkey sixteen years ago with the original three, there was always deep regret Cappadocia didn’t make the itinerary. The newest incarnation of the traveling trio was determined not to miss Cappadocia, no matter what.  Cappadocia, an oddity of volcanic activity followed by epic erosion, reveals itself upon the stark Anatolian plains. It is a land of wild and weird rock formations perfectly suited for a troll utopia or maybe the location of Anthony Weiner’s next photographic essay.  It offers soft sandstone honeycombed hills, which have been inhabited for thousands of years, and a multitude of interesting hikes and viewpoints.  We stayed in Göreme and walked up and down every valley possible to admire the rock formations and exercise our legs and hearts. We wandered through Love Valley, Rose Valley, Red Valley, Pigeon Valley and others. We visited Derinkuyu to shuffle through a subterranean refuge and marvel at how 30,000 people lived underground for months at a time during invasions.  We enjoyed staying in our cave-like accommodations pretending to be modern day troglodytes, while admiring the low flying hot air balloons passing overhead at dawn.  Cappadocia definitely justified the 16 years of regret, and we are happy to report it has been moved from the “To Do” to the “Ta Done” list.