Patty: St. Patrick's Day in Cappadocia
Trip Start
Mar 12, 2008
1
22
59
Trip End
Mar 31, 2008
Where I stayed
Urgup, Turkey
Monday, March 17, 2008
Cappadocia is amazing....a valley of magical cones and fairy chimneys. After getting up at 4:30am for a flight to Kayseri, we were all a bit numb. We landed at the airport (think more wind-sock than air-traffic control). We were met by the car rental man with a sign. We drove 2Km to the "EuropCar office". I couldn't help but feel that as soon as we left, the sign was going to be changed to "Avis Car" or some other agency name that met the needs of the next customer. The service was excellent and they treated the car as it was "one of their's". I got the sneaking suspicion that we were driving off with the owners family car.
Our accomodations in Urgup proved to be outstanding, and that perked everyone up a lot. Our host and owner of the Esbelli Evi, Suha, and the accomodations were a travellers dream come true.
We had our first introduction to the fairy chimneys today. The kids had a great time climbing up and down the cones and peeking into the carved out rooms and houses. but probably the highlight was the monastery we visited from the 9th and 13th centuries at Kekova. At one time, the monastery housed 250 monks. We had the run of the place, which is hard to believe as there were still unprotected frescoes on the walls and stairways leading down a hundred feet with no light or railing. It was the best outdoor playground and a great antedote to a long day of travel.
