Cave dwelling is not for me.

In the afternoon, we drove from Konya to the Cappadocio region of Turkey, an area famous for its crazy (and completely indescribable) rock formations. Along the way, the scenery changed from softly rolling farmland (golden wheat and dark greens), to more pronounced hills and jutting rocks, and then we got to the incredible Ihlara Valley. I don’t possess the correct words to describe it, but suffice to say there were soaring cliffs with caves carved out of them, and rock formations shaped like giant witch’s hats, all surrounded by ribbons of dark green trees and bright green mini farms. It was just incredible. I stopped to take pictures, but of course photos never properly communicate the awe-inspiring nature of a sight like this. Yet, we always try…

Our final destination was the Museum Hotel, located in the village of Uchisar. We had no problem finding the town, as everything was very well posted (Jordan’s highway department could learn something here…) We arrived in the long shadows of the early evening, and the town looked like a movie set, with stone buildings and cobblestone streets. The people milling about looked like characters straight from Central Casting. I think the average age was around 95, so no one was moving too fast. OK everyone, we got some tourists coming in: look old, quaint, and Turkish! Men and women alike were wearing their traditional garb, which is probably the same thing people were wearing 500 years ago…amazing. I immediately fell in love.

The hotel is carved from the side of a cliff, and for the last couple weeks I have been super excited about our stay in a real cave! How cool!  Unfortunately, reality set in soon after we were settled in our cave/room. It was, well…DARK. And musty smelling. I know, you are probably saying, “DUH! It’s a cave!” But you see, this is a luxury cave, and pretty damn expensive. I was expecting something else entirely. So I paid 200 Euros to sleep in a cave…what a fool! To top things off, the hotel’s free wireless Internet couldn’t penetrate the 8-foot thick walls, so there was no connection either. I became immediately depressed. Four days here? Waaaah!

The sound of the screaming, playing children right next door to us was absolutely the last straw… I went off to the front desk to inquire about a different room. I am so glad I did! We are now ensconced in the most delightful hotel room that ever existed. We are on the side of a cliff in a gorgeous setting. The structure is stone, but our room (which is actually a suite with a bedroom and seperate sitting/working area) is filled with light and a nice breeze from our many quaintly mullioned windows. We are facing a gorgeous valley filled with “fairy chimneys,” which are tall, pointed rock formations I could stare at all day. The view goes on forever. Best of all is our private balcony, furnished with a small wooden table and chairs. LOVE IT! I could spend all day here, but of course we won’t have time for that… there are so many things to see and do in Cappadocia!