Turkish snapshot: Exploring Kapadokya

It is nice to know that even after five (or is it six?) visits to a special location there are still new places to discover. The second half of my trip to Turkey I spent visiting my good friend Ileyn in Kapadokya. Staying with friends always reveals new things for me and this trip was no exception. My favourite day, without doubt, was the day we went out to wander among the magical fairy chimneys in Zelve at the open air museum. This open air museum was an actual village until 1952 when its inhabitants were forced to evacuate due to erosion making their cave houses unstable and unsafe. What is left are three small self enclosed valleys full of houses carved into the rock face, a couple of churches, one mosque, paths winding through the greenery and the yellow and purple wildflowers, a rock winery, painted pigeon houses, numerous fairy chimneys and significantly fewer people then you will find at the similar open air museum in Goreme. I was happy to wander around for several hours with her two kids, exploring everything possible and constantly seeing faces in the rocks around me. By the end of the trip I had everyone else noticing them as well! Yes, Zelve is magical in more than one way.

Turkish snapshot: Return to Istanbul

Punching a straw through the tin foil covering of a container of ayran. A landscape decorated by minarets. Little boys dressed up in their circumcision finery. Enjoying the ferry across and down the Bosphorus. The magical underworld of the Basilica Cistern. The brilliant blue water in the Bosphorus. Food I had forgotten whose first bite brings a flood of memories. Surprising friends during a visit to school. Yes, I am back in Istanbul! It is interesting to be back in a landscape that is a part of my past. To return to a city I was not sure I would ever revisit. To discover new additions such as the aquarium. Of course not everything is better. There have been a few disappointments, the market in Ortakoy is not nearly as enthralling as I remember with significantly fewer jewellery designers in attendance. Tourists seem to have discovered the Asian side of the city. Overall though, it is a bit like a long dream. A happy return to a location that will always hold a special place in my heart.