After our brief and separate stints in other parts of Asia, we reunited in the Asian part of Turkey, spending three days in the beautiful and unparalleled region of Cappadocia.
We based ourselves in the town of Göreme, one of the towns in which people have built their homes into the rock for thousands of years.
The rocks in this part of the world have been eroded to form beautiful and strange shapes, such as these fairy chimneys.
Pigeon Valley
There is some great local cuisine...
...some great local pottery...
...and a combination of the two. Kebap cooked in a sealed clay pot
Cappadocia was a major site of early christianity, with many underground churches paying tribute to saints of the 4th century.
Persecuted for their religion, the Christians used underground cities to avoid plunder by Romans and later Muslims. Kaymaklı Underground City could shelter up to five thousand people.
While seeing the landscape on the ground and underground was impressive, it was only from up in a hot air balloon early one morning that we could truly appreciate Cappadocia. We haven't used the term "breathtaking" yet in the blog, only because we were saving it for something as breathtaking as this.
The pilots like to show off by going right into the valleys.
Upon landing, we received customary champagne, and a graduation certificate.
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