Private tour of Cappadocia

In the interest of time, we decided to hire a driver to hit all the major places in Cappadocia before heading back to Istanbul at night.  I have to say, for around $140, it was a steal!  We had a customized itinerary and a car with blasting heat.  And it included a delicious buffet lunch.  If anyone's not staying too long in Cappadocia, I would highly recommend going this route.

On our tour, we hit Derinkuyu Underground City (which I'll elaborate in another post), Pigeon Valley, Uchisar Castle, a family-run pottery making factory, and Zelve Valley (fairy chimneys topped with black basalt caps).  Simply awesome and breathtaking.

There is just so much to explore in Cappadocia that I think it deserves more than 2 days.  It's a hiker's paradise, with so much land and natural structures to explore.  I've heard of people spending a week here, hiking a different part every day.  There are also so many cave dwellings that one could easily discover "secret" passageways and fun hideouts.  Cappadocia would be THE place to lose yourself.

Where are the aliens with huge penises?

Cappadocia is a wondrous place with a landscape straight out of a sci-fi movie.  Alien-phobic peeps should avoid this place because it's hard to imagine that parts of the earth can look like this naturally.  Apparently the "fairy chimneys" are a result of volcanic eruptions combined with erosion and wind.

My mom, who used to be a geography teacher back in China, studied these magical formations and told me that in Chinese, the nickname for them is "boy parts."  Very large boy parts, if I may say so myself.

Many of the hotels in Cappadocia are cave hotels and you get rooms that were dug inside these fairy chimneys.  We stayed at the Spelunca Hotel.  It was neat and the rooms were cool, but their heaters didn't work very well and none of their staff really speaks English.  

Cappadocia is awesome sight to see and definitely worth a side trip if you ever visit Turkey.  Just to warn you, November is off-season for a reason; it's freezing.  It never went above 35 degrees the 2 days we were there and let me tell you, I put on EVERYTHING I brought in my suitcase and I was still doing a shiver dance.  The positive side is that there's nobody around, no lines, no crowds.  Nice and peaceful...and cold.