Kapadokya!

We met the bus at the AFS building at 8am for the group trip to Kapadokya (Cappadocia in English).

When my friend Anika's host mother (who was supposed to drive us downtown for the bus) had a flat tire, my host dad had to leave work in order to come and drive us to the AFS office. By the time he arrived, we had been standing outside for about 20 minutes, making us very late for the appointed time. However, when we arrived 20+ minutes late, we still weren't the last ones there. This goes to show you the laid-back Turkish attitude!

After about two hours in a mini bus, we came alongside a large white expanse resembling pictures I've seen of Antarctica, to the side of the road. But it wasn't ice.

¿Anatolia orAntartica?

My group got out to explore what we found out was the Tüz Gölü, the third largest salt lake in Asia Minor. The lake had evaporated almost completely for the summer, and the only water remaining was less than a foot at the middle portion. It would have been possible to walk all the way across the lake. Women were rubbing salt all over themselves for health, and tourists of many nationalities snapped pictures.

After about 35 minutes exploring the surreal white land of hard crusty salt that remained of the summer evaporation of the lake, we returned to the bus for about 2 more hours until we arrived at Nevşehir, where we got out to look at a cliff-top vantage point. 

Kapadokya is not a city, but rather a region made up of cities between three volcanic mountains. 

One small step for man...

Following this, we headed to a really cool river-side restaurant where I ate barbecued meat and got harassed by a kitten.

Following the meal, we all went into little shacks built on the water that served as after-dinner tea houses. I had my first taste of elma çay, apple tea, a central Anatolian specialty.

Water-side tea houses

After lunch, we took a walk up a hill that had 1000 year old stone houses, and I saw my first of many Orthodox cave churches. 

Even though the churches are very old, many of the frescoes were well-preserved, although over the years, many pilgrims have taken the saints' eyes with them as souvenirs. Today many of them no longer have faces. 

Next, we took a tour of a 900 year-old 8-story underground cave that served as a fortified city for multiple civilizations. 

It was equipped with a sophisticated ventilation system and even some booby traps!

I felt like Indiana Jones exploring the tunnels! Throughout the entire time spent exploring I remained on the look out for a rolling boulder...

I even had a hat

Next we headed to our hotel, which was brand new and built on the top of a hill. It had an awesome swimming pool, great after spending all day in the desert heat.

The next morning we did some more exploration around Kapadokya. This weekend was one of the highlights of my time in Turkey, during which time I saw many breath-taking landscapes, had some interesting encounters with local shopkeepers, and grew closer to my fellow American exchange friends.

A road-side souvenir shop where I became overly proud of my meager bargaining skills.

Breath-taking views.  Many of the rock formations have former and possibly still-used dwellings carved into them by various peoples of the region. 

The awesome NSLI-Y Turkey Summer 2015 group!

A steep trail through the rock formations that I got to explore with some friends.

We went to lunch at Uranos Sarikaya, a restaurant inside of a cave.

Following lunch, my group visited a traditional pottery workshop, one of the art forms for which Kapadokya is famous. We watched the master with awe as he demonstrated the molding of a vase on a foot-spun pottery wheel.

The demonstration was followed by a visit to the pottery warehouse next door. We were offered fairly decent discounts, as the guide was friends with the owner. I purchased several pieces, and successfully bargained for a lower price. (Once again I am sure that I was not nearly as savvy as a thought).

Chez Ali pottery

 We then stopped for anther photo opportunity at a park with volcanic rock formations, known as fairy chimneys. These rocks are formed over thousands of years after layers of volcanic rock covered the bottom layers of harder rock, and gradually was washed away. This erosion left interestingly-shaped and many precariously-balanced rocks.

Lastly we visited something of a national park that held dozens of cave churches and former monasteries and their remains. Some were in ruins, but a few were very well preserved. The intricacies of the rock carvings were breathtaking.

Elephant= check, camel= check

Before heading back to Ankara that evening, we visited a Turkish carpet company, where the owner spoke about different styles of woven carpets. Everyone was brought a hot glass of tea, and the company's employees began to roll out the carpets all over the floor to show them off to potential buyers (ie: us).

If I had had the suitcase space or the money, I would have bought one of these exquisite and intricate rugs, but this time I could only look.

One rug can take a single weaver anywhere from weeks to months to make by hand. Even doormat-sized rugs are not cheap.

All throughout the trip to Kapadokya I had chances to get out there and practice my language skills after having completed the entire Turkish course. I was stunned to see how much I was actually able to communicate with store-owners and hotel employees, albeit awkwardly and with poor grammar.

Needless to say, Kapadokya was one of my favorite sites in Turkey, and I plan on coming back, even if it's kind of touristy. After being completely immersed and living in real life in a city all summer, it was kind of nice to just relax and be a tourist.

Stay tuned for tearful goodbyes to Turkey and a sadly uneventful trip to Istanbul.

*Oh, and check out my old post on my brother's blog to read about my time riding elephants!