Wednesday morning started very early for us as we had to catch a short flight to Nevsehir. We wanted to take a break from the hustle and bustle of Istanbul for a couple of days and explore the Cappadocia region. We rented a car, which was very easy, and drove to our hotel, Taskonaklar in Uchisar. Although in Istanbul we have a small-ish apartment, here we opted for a nice big suite with terraces and a jacuzzi which overlook the Pigeon Valley and volcanic Mount Erciyes. The view is breathtaking! The hotel itself is terraced and carved into a rock face.
The view from our terrace at Taskonaklar
We caught the last of breakfast and had a lovely chat with a couple from Los Angeles who shared some of their experiences and personal recommendations with us (which was great). After leaving our bags in our room (we just took backpacks for this side trip and left the rest of our stuff in our Istanbul apartment) we drove to the Goreme Open Air Museum. Cappadocia is probably best known for its rock formations. People here once carved their dwellings into the rocks. In fact, some still do!
Many of the rock formations were (and some still are) used as dwellings. There are renovated cave homes throughout the area.
Dove cotes
Me in front of some cave dwellings.
Posing in front of a cave house.
The Open Air Museum is a historic Byzantine village that includes several churches, a nunnery, and monastery. Poor Vincent had a harder time crouching though some of the smaller rooms, but it was pretty cool to see how people here once lived. I felt like a little gnome. The churches were full of worn Byzantine frescoes, so we paid an extra ticket to see one that is exceptionally well-preserved and restored, the Dark Church. Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to take a picture of the Frescoes as light does damage to the centuries old frescoes. Here's a random picture of a Turkish hen.
Look at my feathery legs!
Next we stopped at Pasabagi, which was a lot less crowded. Pasabagi is home to a nice cluster of fairy chimneys.
Me & Vince in front of a few fairy chimneys.
We climbed around there a bit before grabbing lunch at a terrace in Goreme. I tried a traditional Turkish dish called Manti. It's like tiny ravioli, or shumai, filled with a little bit of minced lamb, pinched, steamed or boiled, and served with a rich tomato and sour cream sauce. Delicious and very filling!
Lunch at Goreme.
After lunch, we drove around for a little bit. Feeling pretty tired from our early morning flight, we rested back at our hotel and enjoyed the scenery the rest of the afternoon. Oh we saw this during our afternoon drive. Vince thinks it's a Turkish Turkey.
Gobble gobble?
The village of Uchisar isn't quite as developed as Goreme and not at all touristy - yet. It's very quiet, charming, and romantic. With all of the geologic finds here, history, and a bit of wine growing, I think it will only continue to grow in popularity. For dinner, we took a suggestion from our breakfast friends, and enjoyed a traditional Turkish dinner at Sira.
A lovely dinner at Sira in Uchisar.
After dinner, we walked back to the hotel and decided to build a little fire in our outdoor fireplace.
Nothing beats a cozy fire.
The common garden at Taskonaklar