Turkey Part 2

It was a Halloween party waiting to happen. Anyways we walked around, saw all the fish swimming around the barely full water levels around the cisterns, water dripped on our heads- we finally made it to the back of the cistern and saw the Medusa’s heads- one on its side, one upside down. Scientists claim it was supposed to be like this- placed intentionally there in these positions.
Afterwards, we decided to go to the spice bazaar and indulge in a mini-Thanksgiving feast. As we walked through the spice market, we were overwhelmed with the fragrant tea’s and spices like cinnamon, cumin and black pepper mixed with the scent of the famous aphrodisiac from Istanbul, supposedly once used by the king. Fruit stands, juice sellers, sandwich makers (who walk around with a holding table, fresh bread, cheese and hard boiled eggs), cheese sellers, all letting you taste all the amazing highlights of their booth, and on a larger note, of Turkish cuisine. We sampled fruits and fresh cheese while walking by the lines literally filing out the door of the butchers shops; all the people waiting in line for their lamb. (it was the afternoon before the morning of the sacrifice for Eid Al Adha). There was lots of pushing and prodding through this district…Oh and their were Turks being interviewed about Swine Flu, wearing swine flu masks of course. {There are people all of Turkey, everywhere really, still wearing Swine flu masks. I find it quite humorous.} After we cruised out of the edge of the market where we met this guy working at a café. He recommended this Donor Kebab place so we went to find it- got donors and this yoghurt drink which was kind of chunky and gross. We returned to the café with the guy we met and ordered fresh juice. That was my thanksgiving dinner lol. Slightly sub-standard considered American expectations, but th rest of the amazing day more than made up for it. Besides, our wallets would’ve been hurting had we splurged. We ended up strolling through the side alleys of the market and saw gun shops, which effectively freaked me out, stores selling weird Christmas things, key stores, fountain stores, etc. It was basically like an outdoors, balady Home Depot. We continued along the main road to the Galata bridge, which we crossed but not without taking in an excellent amount of people watching. Vendors everywhere, fisherman stringing their poles, couples walking hand in hand, people bustling home from work and elderly men shuffling across, seemingly just trying to make it to the other side. We walked through the side streets of Galata, we really like doing that by the way, and took photos, observed daily life and admired the absolutely beautiful architecture. We made it up the massive hill to Galata Tower. I thought we were going to have to walk upstairs in this old school castle/tower thingy but much to our surprise it was seriously posh. A jewelry shop at the bottom, men who are paid only to push the elevator buttons, elevators with information videos in them and a gorgeous restaurant and night club when you reach the top, with of course, the viewing area outside. We stayed outside for probably an 1 ½ watching the sun slowly set over Istanbul. From the tower we could see all of Istanbul, both the European and Asian continents- if I didn’t already say it, Istanbul is the only city in the world to straddle two continents. All the minarets, palaces, the Bosphorous…we were blessed with this breathtaking view of the city, of two continents, on Thanksgiving. We waited until the sun set, talking to random people from all over the world, snapping photos and making jokes. We walked around Galata for a bit, indulged in some local sweets like this donut thing quadruple fried and dipped in honey and sugar. We came back over the bridge and saw the restaurants on the bottom of the bridge- super touristy but the fish looked so yummy! We grabbed the tram back because we had to get back to the hostel to catch our bus to Cappadocia. Got packed up and went to the bus station. Normally all bus stations are gross, but I officially hate Turkish bathrooms. It was one of the few things in this beautiful country. It is literally a hole in the floor with a bucket of water to wash away the urine. So basically you are just standing in urine water. So gross.
We boarded the twelve hour bus to Cappadoccia/Kapadokya in Turkish. It was long, difficult and seriously uncomfortable, but well worth it. The bus companies here serve snacks, coffee, tea and water thoughout the entire trip. They actually have an employee on the bus specifically to serve people food. We stopped at all these little towns throughout the trip, randomly picking up people and dropping them off. Oh and on the way to Urgup we had to transfer buses. Men and women who aren’t married aren’t allowed to sit together on Turkish buses. So Maggie and I sat together and Wills sat with this random guy. We finally arrived and it was absolutey freezing. Our hotel, the Dedeli Konak picked us up where we ewer given out toasty little cave room. Literally our hotel was carved out of the cave, very cool. I passed out for an hour before the tour started ad devoured the Turkish breakfast before we had to pile in the van. Turkish breakfasts consist of lots of mezze with toast and Turkish tea and coffee.
Our tour started at 9:30am ad boy was it packed with tons of stuff to do. We started off at a panorama view of this beautiful valley called the Deverent Valley and fantasized the entire time about climbing all these volcanically shaped rocks, called different names all over the region depending on the shape they take. I kept asking the guide when do we have free time to climb?!? He got a bit annoyed. We got back in the van and went down to the lower level or the valley known as Monks Valley where there were all these cool rock formations, shaped by lava 8-10 million years ago. Wills and I decided we had to climb one, so he scooted up this huge rock like a dang monkey. And, of course, I think if he can do it, so can I so I follow him up. It was a beautiful view and tons of fun until I decided to get down because all of the rocks were extremely dusty and crumbly, hence no footholds. There was a group of Eastern Orthodox Christian Armenians who started to pray for me, and my safe descent, treacherous as it was. I slid down halfway, the easy way. Then my new Eastern Orthodox friend decided to step in and help me so I wouldn’t seriously injure myself; which was good because I totally would’ve eaten it. I completely fell into him and made it down with minor scratches and bruises. Everyone started clapping and of course, I was mortified.