My last week in Turkey was a busy one and I wanted to spend it doing what I wanted to do and hanging with my Turkish friends rather than blogging. But now I have kind of a bunch to blog about because I have to talk about our Cappadocia trip plus my last week so here it goes.
Cappadocia
We left on a Friday night to get to Cappadocia Saturday morning and of course started our tour right away for our last weekend trip. I would say the following photo from my friend Ross's Blog would sum up Cappadocia in general. I left the memory card of my camera at home so I have to steal pictures from my friends.
Cappadocia is a region of some really soft rocks that have a bunch of plume-shaped structures and dwellings carved into the rock. The plume-shaped formations are formed through four ways of erosion. The horizontal erosion was due to water because back in the day (even before my mom was born...just kidding mom, I know you're still 29) there was a bunch of water in the region that caused the rock to soften and erode horizontally. The second form of erosion was due to freezing and thawing which caused vertical cracks. The third type was air erosion which caused the cone shapes at the top of many of the structures. It sounds crazy that air could cause so much erosion but it really is a soft type of rock so the wind was able shape these cones. And the fourth type is a mystery because I can't remember. I could've sworn the tour guide told us there were four types but I can't remember now.
It's really difficult to describe Cappadocia because it's a ton of scenery. I would imagine it's like visiting the grand canyon but not quite as grand and many more churches built into the rock. But I'll do my best to describe it.
We went to an open air museum for a while and first saw some chuches that are probably the size of a bedroom and did not have frescos. They did not have frescos because the churches were formed in the iconoclastic period where they wouldn't allow images to be in churches because they believed people would worship the images and not the actual God. I will probably remember this fact for a long time because our tour guide repeated it at least six times. They did have some patterns painted onto the rock with red dye from the clay in the river I believe but no images or scenes were painted.
Later we visted some churches that did have frescos which means they first added plaster to the wall and then painted various biblical scenes or images in a wide variety of colors. Looking back on it these were pretty cool because they've lasted so long and so many people are looking at them now but I hate to say at the time we were tired of seeing so many churches (and mosques) by the end of the trip (and it was pretty toasty that day).
We then had a pretty tasty lunch that had the works: bread (of course), soup, pilaf rice, couscous, vegetables, potato things, a special kebab made in a clay pot I believe, with some ice cream and watermelon for desert. A nice refreshing meal.
We later went to a winery that most of us weren't impressed by because it wasn't as cool as the one in Ephesus and then headed to a pottery place that was really cool. We went to a workshop that was literally in a cave and had a tour by the owner who was something like a fifth generation pottery-maker. We saw how they could easily make plates, bowls and vases from either red clay from the local river or white clay which was more durable. We then watched the painters hand paint the intricate designs and then two of us got to try to actually make something. We found out Qianqian was not very good at pottery and it was pretty comical while Sean seemed to be a bit better but should still keep his day job.
I think we then went back to the castle where it was just a huge formation (that must have been a castle one day) and witnessed a beautiful view. We then headed to our hotel, had one of the best naps of my life, ate a pretty good dinner, and headed out for Turkish Night!
Turkish Night was nothing like we expected because we were sitting around a circular stage in stadium-like seating but were also served small snacks and unlimited drinks. They performed a wide variety of traditional Turkish dances which were awesome to watch, they had a belly dancer which the boys loved and then had more Turkish dances. One of the guys from our group, Noor, actually got picked (or volunteered) to go down with the belly dancing lady with about eight other people and did some random belly dancing stuff she told him and the others to do. It was a ton of fun to watch and over all we had a great time. I would definitely look for some sort of "Turkish Night" if you decide to go to Capadoccia.
Day Two
We woke up, had my favorite breakfast by far of all the trips (had dippy eggs and gözleme and fresh fruit plus more deliciousness), and went to an onyx factory of some sort. They showed us how there are four types of onyx which from worst to best is black, green, brown, and white. He then showed us the difference between various semiprecious stones which included turquoise which is especially found in Turkey. There's the turquoise color that we're familiar with which we can find in Mexico or Arizona but they also have a Turkish Turquoise which is a deeper blue with gold specks in it. I got my mom earrings and a pendent in this Turkish turquoise (+10 in mom points) and a nice bracelet for my sister in the same stone. They also served us chai (Turkish tea) of course like they did in the pottery place the day before because that's how all Turkish people welcome guests.
Then we went to look at more things carved into rocks and were honestly ready to get home. But we did learn that people lived in these dwellings carved into rock until the early/mid 1900s when the government decided it was not safe enough for people to live there due to the risk of the rocks collapsing.
It was soon food time where we had another delicious meal similar to the day before but better. Oh, then we went to this underground city that was super cool. It goes down seven stories but we only went down four. It's incredible to imagine that thousands of people lived in this huge cave and cooked food, pooped, must've made babies, and whatever else because things must have been pretty tight.
It's really difficult to describe Cappadocia because it's a ton of scenery. I would imagine it's like visiting the grand canyon but not quite as grand and many more churches built into the rock. But I'll do my best to describe it.
We went to an open air museum for a while and first saw some chuches that are probably the size of a bedroom and did not have frescos. They did not have frescos because the churches were formed in the iconoclastic period where they wouldn't allow images to be in churches because they believed people would worship the images and not the actual God. I will probably remember this fact for a long time because our tour guide repeated it at least six times. They did have some patterns painted onto the rock with red dye from the clay in the river I believe but no images or scenes were painted.
Later we visted some churches that did have frescos which means they first added plaster to the wall and then painted various biblical scenes or images in a wide variety of colors. Looking back on it these were pretty cool because they've lasted so long and so many people are looking at them now but I hate to say at the time we were tired of seeing so many churches (and mosques) by the end of the trip (and it was pretty toasty that day).
We then had a pretty tasty lunch that had the works: bread (of course), soup, pilaf rice, couscous, vegetables, potato things, a special kebab made in a clay pot I believe, with some ice cream and watermelon for desert. A nice refreshing meal.
We later went to a winery that most of us weren't impressed by because it wasn't as cool as the one in Ephesus and then headed to a pottery place that was really cool. We went to a workshop that was literally in a cave and had a tour by the owner who was something like a fifth generation pottery-maker. We saw how they could easily make plates, bowls and vases from either red clay from the local river or white clay which was more durable. We then watched the painters hand paint the intricate designs and then two of us got to try to actually make something. We found out Qianqian was not very good at pottery and it was pretty comical while Sean seemed to be a bit better but should still keep his day job.
The stuff they could make
I think we then went back to the castle where it was just a huge formation (that must have been a castle one day) and witnessed a beautiful view. We then headed to our hotel, had one of the best naps of my life, ate a pretty good dinner, and headed out for Turkish Night!
Turkish Night was nothing like we expected because we were sitting around a circular stage in stadium-like seating but were also served small snacks and unlimited drinks. They performed a wide variety of traditional Turkish dances which were awesome to watch, they had a belly dancer which the boys loved and then had more Turkish dances. One of the guys from our group, Noor, actually got picked (or volunteered) to go down with the belly dancing lady with about eight other people and did some random belly dancing stuff she told him and the others to do. It was a ton of fun to watch and over all we had a great time. I would definitely look for some sort of "Turkish Night" if you decide to go to Capadoccia.
Day Two
We woke up, had my favorite breakfast by far of all the trips (had dippy eggs and gözleme and fresh fruit plus more deliciousness), and went to an onyx factory of some sort. They showed us how there are four types of onyx which from worst to best is black, green, brown, and white. He then showed us the difference between various semiprecious stones which included turquoise which is especially found in Turkey. There's the turquoise color that we're familiar with which we can find in Mexico or Arizona but they also have a Turkish Turquoise which is a deeper blue with gold specks in it. I got my mom earrings and a pendent in this Turkish turquoise (+10 in mom points) and a nice bracelet for my sister in the same stone. They also served us chai (Turkish tea) of course like they did in the pottery place the day before because that's how all Turkish people welcome guests.
Then we went to look at more things carved into rocks and were honestly ready to get home. But we did learn that people lived in these dwellings carved into rock until the early/mid 1900s when the government decided it was not safe enough for people to live there due to the risk of the rocks collapsing.
It was soon food time where we had another delicious meal similar to the day before but better. Oh, then we went to this underground city that was super cool. It goes down seven stories but we only went down four. It's incredible to imagine that thousands of people lived in this huge cave and cooked food, pooped, must've made babies, and whatever else because things must have been pretty tight.
That's Mike taking a picture of Ross taking a picture in the longest passage way we went through
Our trip ended with a walk along a small stream in a deep valley. Even though we were ready to go it was actually quite tranquil. Our bus met us at the end and then we had to reflect and say, "Wow, that was the end of our weekend trips in Turkey." We had a wonderful time and couldn't thank Mehmet enough for all the work he put in to making all of our weekend trips an absolutely wonderful time!
The rest of the week
Monday: went to our last free beer del mundo day and I'm not sure what else but not many of the guys came out because most of them had a final the next day (party poopers)
Tuesday: I went shopping. And boy did I shop a lot. Or at least more than I usually would in one day by myself. But I found out I got a scholarship that I didn't expect and the clothes in Turkey are a ton more cheap there than here so I went on a spree. I found a cute little store that had only one-of-a kind stuff and then went to another store on a mission to buy more patterned pants. I would've shopped for jewelry on the streets too but then I had to go to the bathroom really bad and didn't know where else to go besides the mall.
Store with unique stuff
Store where I got more patterned pants
Street where a bunch of shops were on
Then I was in the mall for what seemed like hours. Looked at some stores for things I/my friends would like, looked for shoes (good thing I knew how to say 39 and 40 in Turkish for the sizes), had to look for four more pairs of underwear because I didn't want to do laundry just because I ran out of underwear, and then had to find a suitcase to fit all the new stuff I bought in. I was successful in all these things and found a good suitcase for only 90 TL (about $50 or so). Then we laid low because I guess there was some holiday relating to Ramadan and Bar St. was closed. Oh, and I "studied" for hydrology.
Wednesday: Took the hydrology test which was a piece of cake, went home to work on stuff I think, ate one of my favorite dishes (izkender) and then started preparing for our last Up n Down Karaoke Night. It was a bitter sweet night because James was leaving that night and the Ryans were leaving in the morning. Mike had a great idea of making everyone finish the rest of his vodka only if they signed the bottle and I stole his idea (with his permission) and did the same thing but forgot to bring it home. Then we danced, sang a song, danced a little more and then had to set our alarms for our transportation final the next day.
Last day of school pic
Thursday: Transportation final was fine and I just found out yesterday that I passed the class so that's good. Then I took a nap, went out with Agne, Qianqian, and Ross to help Ross find some colorful jeans for his girlfriend. Then us girls went to a cheap but cool jewelry shop where I spent a ton of money but don't regret it. Bought oodles of earrings, a few necklaces, a few bracelets for my mom and aunts, and new hand-made leather purse that the worker said has a lifetime guarantee I guess. We then later went to del mundo to hang with everyone and say good bye to many of our friends because they were heading home for their holiday. Ramadan stopped on that Saturday which marked the beginning of a three-day holiday that everyone goes home for to be with their families. I would say it's similar to our Christmas except they don't necessarily give gifts and eat tons and tons of sweet things including baklava. It was super sad to see our good friend Baris, Pinar, and Ozan leaving but I told them they were always more than welcome and always had a place to stay in America.
Friday: Was our last day and had a bitter-sweet feeling overall. Went out shopping with Mike and Ross to help Mike pick out a shirt for his sister and Ross buy the jeans he knew he wanted to get for his girlfriend. We then packed up, went to del mundo for happy hour, I had to print my plane ticket and other stuff and then three of us plus Hakan had dinner at one of our standby places, Cafe Late where we all ordered tasty kebab meals. Later we met with our friend Gulse where she gave me some awesome things that her mom made for when she gets married. I felt bad for taking these things but I guess she didn't worry about it because her mom will just make some more things. Then we had to say goodbye which was super sad as well. Another friend named Baris who's in animation also gave me a small painting that looks scary but I'm super excited to hang it in my room.
Then it was time to go to the bus stop and say goodbye to my good friends Baris, Mustafa (Sarı), and Hakan. I was sad to start my journey back to America but was also a excited to come back home. The bus we rode back to Istanbul was super comfortable though so that made the trip just a bit more relaxing. Waiting in Istanbul's airport wasn't too bad and then the flight was also fine with delicious meals and a boat load of movies available. Then we picked up our luggage, went through customs super easily, said goodbye to my new awesome MSU friends and went on a flight to Detroit with Alex from my group. Then I got to see my mom and sister, went straight to my aunt's lake and relaxed for four wonderful days.
Turkey was an incredible experience and I'm sure I'll remember it for the rest of my life. I couldn't have asked for a more interesting and awesome experience and I'm looking forward to my next world travel where ever it may be. I already miss my Turkish friends and hope they're able to visit soon or maybe we can meet halfway in England or Spain someday.
Anyway, that sure was a long post but I hope you didn't get to bored. Thank you for taking the time for reading through all my posts and I hope you've also had a great summer.
Now it's time to pack up some stuff and get ready to move back to MSU tomorrow. Go Green!
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