After lunch we continued north through the mountains to the village of Ormana, known for its stone homes. We were met by our home visit host, Hatice, who led us on a stroll around the village. Past the old stone homes, the school, park, restaurant and coffee house. Several people stopped to talk and we were treated to warm out of the oven bread at the beautiful new local restaurant and enjoyed tea with the gentleman of the village outside the coffeehouse.
Most of the residents are farmers and herders. In the summer they take their cows to the a higher valley where they roam. The land is full of fruit trees and fertile gardens. We asked about their farms and they have been in the family for generations though the younger generation often heads to the city for school and work. At least one of the children will remain in the village to continue the family business. We met the butcher and an electrician. Great fun.
The house we stayed in is two years old and built to accommodate family who return in the summer from the city. That meant there was plenty of room for us on the second level of the house. A delicious dinner cemented our belief that home cooked meals are the best. Eggplant, rice, bread, salads and soup. The traditional menu but so much better when cooked at home. Our hosts ate with us and answered questions about their garden and cows. We also talked about their daughter who is in Istanbul studying to be a mathematics professor. After dinner, Hatice, showed us the work of the village women who meet in the school on the weekends to weave. Hatice also knits and crochets borders on scarves. We had great fun learning how to tie scarves so they stay on your head—Boo and Nancy were the models. Hatice is a very strong woman, also gorgeous, who balances tradition and contemporary life with seeming grace. She clearly runs the house, not the stereotype of an Islamic woman. She and her husband were not part of an arranged marriage, but their marriage was approved by the family. We were all delighted to be in her company.
Up in the morning to head out again. We stopped in Konya the visit the Mevlana museum to learn about the mystical Sufi order of Mevlevi, or Whirling Dervishes. This sect was founded by Mevlana Calaleddin Rumi—the 13th century poet who is the best selling poet in the US. The doctrine advocates unlimited tolerance, positive reasoning, charity and awareness through love.
He treated members of all religions equally. The museum houses the marble tombs of the Dervish abbots and was breathtaking. Unfortunately we could not take photos, the main part of the temple was intricate and colorful in its decoration.
The tombs were decorated with embroidered cloth and a dervish turban indicating their rank. The main section was expanded over the years to include rooms for those studying to be Dervishes and included community rooms and a kitchen as well as an expanded mosque. The museum, housed in the rooms depicts life and artifacts of the time of Rumi.
Along the way we also stopped at the Sultan Hami, a caravan stop of the Silk Road. It reminded us places in Uzbekistan, the caravan hotels often built beside a mosque and madrassah. Here behind the outer wall of the Sultan Hami there is a small mosque, areas for repairs, sleeping, bathing and financial exchange.
Tulay, our guide, finds discoveries every day. Today’s was the 1000 year old Chestnut tree. Other days discoveries included back allies in Istanbul, the funicular, the Apollo temple, the waterfalls for lunch and many more. We appreciated her knowledge of history, people, cultures and places. In addition she is a great at identifying trees, plants, flowers, and herbs. On occasion we would stump her with a question, but it was rare, and her comment would be, “that’s a really good question for which I have no answer.” That would make us smile and we would continue on our way. She shared the politics of Turkey, past and present and told us about the influx of Syrian refugees, well over a million, with the local municipalities all trying to help with housing, food and clothing.
Every town center has a statue of Ataturk, the father of Turkey’s independence and first President of the republic which he formed into a modern secular democratic nation/state. Thousands of schools were built. Primary education was free and compulsory and can you believe women were given equal political and civil rights all before he died. Although he died in 1938, he is loved throughout the country to this day. After driving in Uzbekistan we were extremely appreciative of the highway system here, good roads connecting all parts of the country.
Cappadocia—holy smokes, there are not enough words to describe all that we experienced and saw in our two very full days here. We started by checking into our hotel, the Alfina Cave Hotel, which as the name says, is cave like rooms carved into the lava rock of the hillside. The rooms were quoted beautiful and contemporary, who would have guessed a cave could be so comfortable. Our first view of the landscape and fairy chimneys (think a relative of the hoo-doos of Bryce Canyon in Utah) were nothing compared to what we would see from the balloon and on tour tomorrow. We drove through a town to a hight point where we could take pictures of the carved homes built into the hillside.
Cappadocia is an area of Turkey, not one city, it is known for it’s unique moon like landscape, underground houses and churches carved into the rocks. Early—and we mean early, the next morning, we were picked up at 4:10 am to start our balloon adventure. It is quite cool in the night/early morning so we dressed in layers—after breakfast, Boo, mother Boo, Nancy and Sue found ourselves at a sight with balloons prepping everywhere and taking off in the first light.
We climbed, less than gracefully, into the basket which holds 20 passengers, our pilot Mustafa introduced us the ride, the landing position and his plans for the journey—catch the wind and see as much as possible. This was Nancy’s first balloon ride and after a few jitters all was well. Once up, everywhere we looked there were balloons and fairy chimneys, carved homes, farm lands, mushrooms like rock domes and the nearest spread out below with soon to be blue skies. For the next hour we lived in paradise and floated over the different landscapes formed by the lava flows and erosions of the area. Unbelievable. As we descended the trailer for the basket came near to us and Sue jokingly said, “put on the trailer.” And he did!! He said we would have landing, so no special landing position and we landed standing up on the trailer to much applause. Champagne followed and the basket was decorated with flowers for the occasion. WOW!!
Back to the hotel for another breakfast and meeting time of 9:00 am to “begin” the tour day.
Our first stop was the Groeme open air museum. It is from the fourth century and the first sign of monastic activity is the area is found here. 3-4 churches, dwellings, and a monastery are housed in this small valley. The walls are decorated with Byzantine art. The communal dining hall was one huge slab table with benches carved out around it. The entire space was carved from the rock. 
We drove through the valley to another village for lunch and a school visit. Our meal was cooked in tall clay pots with narrow openings which were topped with bread. To serve, the top of the pot is broken off and the hot meat casserole is poured into a hot skillet on the table. It is traditional dish, but the tops are only broken off for show in restaurants. It was good.
We arrived at a middle school and were greeted by the principal and the english teacher. The english class was taking a test so we stood in the lobby and on the front stoop interacting with kids at recess and for 7 minutes between classes when they go outside to visit and run around. “hello, how are you, my name is, how old are you” were the favorite topics of conversation. We went up to the english classroom and were greeted by noisy middle schoolers. They are the same everywhere, much to our delight. We sat with students at their desks and had conversations as best we could. Sue’s girl’s asked about make-up. Not exactly her area of expertise.
One of her girls liked basketball. Nancy’s liked swimming and reading. Soon some girls entertained with songs—the macarena to the months of the year, and Roar by Katie Perry. What a voice. Sue and Nancy recruited Boo and we sang our standard, the hokey pokey. Much fun was had by all. We left gifts, books, markers, games and the hit with the teacher was the video we brought of Frozen. Hopefully the kids will get to see it! We said our good byes and went back to the hotel. Naps were instantaneous.
In the early evening we went to a Dervish ritual of Sema. They believe that everything revolves, atoms, the earth, planets, and the stars. And if you participate in whirling you are sharing in the universal revolution of all existence. The ritual is spiritual journey of seven parts, with 4 instruments and singers who accompany the Dervishes as they complete the ritual including several segments of whirling. Other segments include reverence to each other and the elders of the sect. It was quite interesting and mystical. Much to our surprise and the surprise of Tulay, they invited us to take pictures after the ritual was completed. They even whirled for us for photos. It was a very enjoyable evening. In Egypt, we saw a Dervish entertainer, which was fascinating but very different from being able to observe the whirling in ritual practice.
Dinner by the river, our official farewell dinner, though not our last. A beautiful view of the mosque at sunset reflected in the river. This is a good time to say how much we enjoyed our fellow travelers. Each was different but we fit together well as a group. Sharing interests, need for rest, willingness to hike, love of shopping and photography. We appreciated the great book references from Nancy and Pat. Al’s adventurous nature and willingness to help Nancy by finishing her desserts were welcome parts of the trip. George and Dolly inspired us to keep traveling—at 90 and 86. We loved their stories and sense of humor. Boo made us laugh and kept Nancy going on hard hikes. Mother Boo, aka Carolyn, shared her travel stories and sense of adventure. We will miss everyone once we travel on our own in Istanbul. We were grateful for excellent drivers throughout the trip and Tulay was just special.
Our last day:
We got to sleep in and left at about 9:00 to see the underground city. In order to protect this monastic way of life which was often threatened by the invading Arabs, residents created complete underground cities. Rooms used for storage in ordinary times, led to 5-8 levels of rooms, churches, stables, wineries, ventilation and water systems, toilets and meeting rooms. main tunnels were could be blocked by huge round stone slabs that rolled into place and were held by rock wedges. When the rocks were removed the stone slab rolled back by gravity as the groove was slanted down. They had communal cooking areas and stones for milling. Some tunnels were kept purposely narrow and low so if enemies got in, they would have to stoop, go one at a time and could not use their weapons. They would be met by the residents who could then chop off their head. There are some forty cities that have been found so far with many more thought to be in existence. We has a wonderful guide who has been working their for 48 years, since the original tours began. A very gentle and interesting man.
Next stop was a workshop where we learned about the 9,000 year old pottery making tradition of Anatolia. We watched a craftsman make a covered jar and then watched Boo try her hand at a bowl with fluted edges. We learned about the one of a kind, freehand painting, numerous firings and final glaze. The clay is white and the pottery tradition was for the families of the sultans. One of the surprises here was a room—the showroom was built in caves—in which the pottery glowed in the dark. Quite unique.
We drove though the valley again to various photo stops, a rock that looks like a camel, a hike up a small hill to see “mushroom towers” and off into the valley. The area often reminds us of the Grand Canyon with its cliffs of reddish colors that change with light of the day. Boo talked Nancy into another hike up a towering formation in the center of a village. Rooms were dug out and people at one time lived there. While no one is living here now, there are still formations that are currently inhabited and many are being turned into boutique hotels and restaurants. The view from the top of the formation was stunning. Next was the optional hike into Baglidere Valley also known as Love Valley (the photos will show why).
Al, Boo, Nancy, Sue and Carolyn decided to go, others were dropped at the hotel. Worth the trip but we were pooped when we finished. Tulay described it as up a little, down a little, she forgot the up a little more part. There we found fairy chimneys, a dried up stream, a man with a market where Nancy had fresh squeezed orange juice and we watched his fascinating pigeons fly, hover, flap their wings in such a way to make noise and then gently land.
The gendarma roam the area on horseback to insure the safety of the area and its visitors. They had two beautiful horses that we also watched for a wide. The area is also farmed and had several tiny vineyards. It was a great walk. Boo met a man, from another OAT trip who graduated college with her dad. They talked for a while and he is anxious to go home and look in his yearbook to put a face to the name. Who would have expected that in the middle of Turkey.
So ends the OAT, one last dinner at the hotel and a flight back to Istanbul. We did not get to sleep it, wake up call at 2:30 am. Hugs and goodbyes at the Istanbul airport as we stayed and others went off to catch flights to the US.
We found our hotel to be in a perfect location 2 blocks from the Blue Mosque and Haige Sophia in a quaint neighborhood. Early check in, breakfast rest and were on our way to lunch across the street and off on an adventure. The neighborhood has many small shops and restaurants and we found a small but very nice up-scale bazaar. Turkish towels, Kurdish horse bags turned into rugs were our finds in the shops. Another scarf called to us to add to our collection, teal blue with white and green lightly felted flowers—it seems to be a Turkish style. We missed our power shoppers from the OAT trip. We retired early and planned the next day.
We ventured out to the tram and figured out, with help, how to buy tokens. Ok, on we jumped and off we went to the Dolmabahce palace which is just past the end of the line. We walked along the Bosphorus past boats to the Prince’s Island and ferries. We saw this palace from our Bosphorus boat cruise a few weeks earlier. It was the palace of the Sultan’s and is known for it’s crystal staircase and incredibly opulent and beautiful, not to mention huge, ceremonial hall. It’s chandelier weighs 4 tons, and was a gift from Queen Victoria. 
Built in the 19th century the palace was also used as the place for the first speech by Ataturk when he became president, he kept an apartment there and passed away in the palace in 1938. All the clocks were stopped at 9:05 that day and remain so. The palace was used for hosting dignitaries form foreign countries and from here, the Sultan appointed emissaries. We did not got through the Harem buildings but spent much time in the gardens by the bird houses. One peacock regaled us with his mating dance, guineas roamed about the some interesting looking roosters caught our attention. 
We visited the small crystal house which has interesting old furniture, a covered terrace with a dozen lamps all with different peacock designs. From the terrace the Sultan could looks over the gardens or out to the street to watch parades.
We stopped for lunch and when we came out, low and behold it was raining! We gave up and bought the plastic umbrellas that materialize quickly once the rain starts. We finished our walk, took the other funicular down the hill. We tried to see the Jewish museum but of course it was closed on Friday afternoon. Back to the tram, over the Bosphorus, off by Blue Mosque and back to our hotel. We took another walk later through the bazaar and called it quits. No wonder we were tired, 13,000+ steps, 5.5 miles. 
Saturday. We set of the Grand Bazaar, walking from our hotel. We had a discovery when we followed some folks into a cemetery. Inside was a memorial hall housing among others, memorials to three Sultans lived from 1785 to 1918. Quite interesting, peaceful and beautiful.
