Sunday, April 24, 2011

Galicia - Ortigueira















Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Turkey - Cappadocia

Cappadocia is a rural region in central Turkey that's famous for it's rocky landscapes.  There are large canyons and interesting formations that make for great rural tourism- if you're into that sort of thing. 

Food in Turkey is awesome.  We had a buffet lunch at a hotel restaurant that was spectacular.  They eat a lot of cheeses in Turkey, and also yogurts and vegetables.  Meat is always available, although it's more expensive.  Because Turkey isn't in the European Union (yet), things aren't really very pricey.  You can get a big sized meal for at or under 10 Euros, which is very cheap for European standards.  Other things you can see on my plate are: couscous, a yogurt spinach salad, a stuffed potato, Turkish ravioli (with yogurt, of course), a seeded bagel (they sell them on the streets everywhere), and some mixed vegetables.  They're also crazy for eggplant.  I probably ate it almost every day.

A lot of the desserts are pastry-like and contain pistachio.  The baklava is to die for.

Here we are overlooking a small town surrounded by many caves.  Cappadocia has an incredible quantity of ancient caves excavated out of mountains where people used to live.  Today people no longer live in them, though their towns have grown up around them.  There are fortresses, churches, dove coups, and even whole underground cities where the people used to hide for extended periods of time.

You can visit and go inside a lot of the cavern dwellings. 

Rugs.  They sell a lot of rugs and carpets in Turkey.  Even if you don't buy anything, it's worth checking out.  They're beautiful; and if you go to a big shop they'll show you have they make them.  Knots.  It's all about the knots.

Famous landmarks of the Cappadocia region are the Fairy Chimneys (seen in the back right of the picture).  These mushroom like pillars have been eroded over time with help from the volcanic material they came from. 

Lots of businesses invite you to take hot air balloon rides to get a bird's eye view of the entire region.