After a five o'clock start we took a private transfer to the airport on the Asian side of Istanbul. It was so foggy and magical yet I was feeling awful as I have come down with a sore throat and more. So I was not excited to get on this plane in the thick fog. A little prayer always helps and it started to lift as we started to board the plane. A one hour flight landed us in Cappadocia which is an ancient region of towns built around volcanic rock creations with epic biblical history and frescos dating back to centuries old. These volcanic rocks form beautiful fairy chimneys and people have made these their homes. We approached the city of Gorome which is surrounded by them, and our hotel Kelebek sits a little higher than the main part of town, with sweeping views. Everywhere you look is incredible. Our rooms are in the fairy chimney's owned by the hotel's family. They are small caves we climb up to and each has cool features. Ours has a fresco of a cross painted on the ceiling. We enjoyed Turkish tea on the pillows and cushions beckoning us on the patio, and as the sun started to come out we made our way to explore the open air museum. It is a variety of these rock formations with homes carved into them from early Christian communities living underground, and in secret, perhaps due to persecution. I will learn more today. Stunning fresco paintings of crosses, and narratives of the story of the nativity and the death of Jesus are everywhere. The setting is unbelievable.
While we where going in and out of these caves a monstrous thunder storm rolled right over us and lightning lit up the Sky.
Another highlight was the many animals we saw...camels, wild horses running thru the hills, a turtle while out on a hike and he was big too! There are wild cats everywhere here, and lots of dogs running freely too.
Next we will do a tour of this region and visit an underground city.