Amber and Paul's latest endever was a trip to Cappadocia. This is the most important city in Turkey aside from Istanbul. Here lies the foundation of the Christian religion and the remains of an ancient civilization. One of which was an underground city that supported over 25000 people who were taking salvation from surrounding armies. Incredible right? The Christians of Cappadocia built the majority of their houses in the wild rock formations that formed from heavy wind and rain deterioration. The result of these early strong weather conditions left the ground material extremely soft and easy to carve into. Over the centuries the rocks hardened and became resistant to reformation. Thus the beautiful historical and visual landmarks that engulf the area. The history is very important to the people because of its religious background. Churches houses EVERYTHING! was built into the rocks.
Amber and I were lucky enough to take a tour by bus to the most intruiging locations such as pottery, wine, Turkish carpet and stone carving companies that represented the heritage for hundreds of years. The cultural experience was the icing on the cake! With Amber to translate the Turkish tour guide, we surrounded ourselves with what would be the highlight of Paul's trip to Turkiye!


We just had to include this wonderful rendition of The Simpsons. The caption next to Homer says, ''He is the most Modern''.
P.S. Marge is wearing what looks like a traditional Islamic headscarf on her head.














This is the entrance to the Pottery studio and gift shop. Like most origional businesses in the area it was built into the rocks. For 200 years the same family has owned and operated this biz.















This is where the intricate artists were working on their masterpieces. Because of the small detail in painting, the artist is forced to take many breaks, almost every half hour. They worked an average of 3-4 hours a day.















TURASAN is the oldest winery in Cappadocia. They feature hundreds of different wines here. Afterwards, we had wine tasting where we proceeded to drink as much as we could, but the glasses were too small to satisfy our urges. The wine was delicious!

This was one of the many stops in which we were the last ones to return to the tour bus. We were given raffle tickets at the winery. Paul had mentioned that everyone probably hated us for being the last ones on the tour bus and would hate us more if we won the raffle. Paul won the raffle. We have the wine stand to prove it.











Our next stop was the original Turkish carpet emporium. Similar to the pottery artists, these weavers limited themselves to an estimated time of 4 and a half hours a day because of the strain on their eyes. The difference between Turkish carpet weaving from other countries' carpets is that Turkish carpet uses double thread instead of the typical single threading. This ensures durability. We had the priviledge of walking on an $8000 silk rug. They say the more you walk on a rug the more valuable it becomes. The average size cotton on cotton rug takes 4-6 months.









This photo gives you a large scale perspective of Cappadocia's commitment to preserving the lifestyle they represent. What a view!











They call this the Mama, the Papa and the child. We call it 2 dicks and a dong. Quite fallic if you haven't noticed.

















Paulber.


















The Evil Eye tree.


















He kept smiling at us so we took a photo. Please no comments on this one. No misconceptions here. Turks aren't camel riders. Just donkeys....











Paul was at the top of mountain but he thought he wasn't high enough. He wasn't high at all.












This was an ancient church cave where only literate people (very few) were allowed to paint and write these biblical scenes. The feet were avoided in many paintings, we are not sure why. Sorry.









Here we have the Swirling Dervishes who have the ability to spin for up to a couple of hours without stopping. Very few people occupy this distinct ability. It was a very special occation to have this performance because this year was the 800th anniversary of the family who began this tradition. Eat this ballerinas!







The same night we also watched a live music show, watched folk dancers and belly dancers. The folk dancers concluded our evening by inviting all the guest on to the dance floor proceeding to take us outside and dance around a bonfire. We were accompanied by a drummer and a horn player.







Paul is Turkified.













On our journey back to Istanbul, the last stop was Salt Lake. It had the look and texture of snow without the freezing temperature. Like most local visitors it is common to walk barefoot for its theraputic effect.















Paul found the most fascinating rock!













By the end of the trip we befriended a group of medical students who represented several countries, Italy, Germany, Spain, and Egypt. The guy in red was our tour guide and earned our trust being the only Americans on the bus.

Befrıened = to become frıends. Paul wrote thıs.








This was the ultimate Turkish experience. We couldn't have asked for anythıng more.......
Renan and Canan we thank you from the bottom of our hearts!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!