A Lovely Turn Around

Today was a much better day. Steven and I decided to take matters into our own hands and do a bit of exploring. One of the things that we like to do most in new cities is learn about the history. We try to find as many museums as possible, so that we can have a bit of understanding and education about the area. We did that today - and it was LOVELY.

We walked about 2 miles to the 'open air museum', which was a walk around a massive settlement in the rocks. If I remember properly, it was mostly used as a monastery settlement for Christians about 1,000 years ago. I can't begin to describe how surreal it feels to walk around these rocks. The homes that you can see carved into the ignimbrite rock are astounding. These formations are a result of thousands and thousands of years of volcanic eruptions layered and cooled constantly. 

As Steven and I went around the settlement, I couldn't help but feel overwhelmed by the idea that people lived here. Like, real people - doing every day normal things - lived in these rock formations that I can barely wrap my head around. I stand in the midst of them, look around me, and I still find it hard to believe that I'm not on the set of a film with structures that were built for effect. It's wild. 

One of the coolest things that struck me about the area is that it still feels very Christian. In the Balkan area and around Turkey, the Ottoman empire completely destroyed (or covered up) any old, Byzantinian Christian history. Old churches were turned into mosques, Orthodox frescoes were covered up, and domed structures dominated this part of the world for centuries - almost forgetting completely about the rich, Christian society that came before it. However, in this area, the Christian influence is still very potent. The Ottomans didn't make it to Cappadocia, so they weren't able to hide the history. 

It was amazing to feel the true history of a place, almost exactly as it were 1,000 years ago. (tourist groups and scaffolding aside). 

After exploring the settlement for a few hours, Steven and I settled back quite nicely into our hotel room. We have been rather disappointed with our time at the hotel, but one of the few lovely things about it is the terrace. So, we decided to go up to the terrace for a glass of wine. We wanted to enjoy the cool weather and the sunset. 1 glass of wine turned into 5, and we were very quickly buzzed, happy, and gushing to each other about our life. We always have the best times and the best conversation over a couple bottles of wine. :) 

We left the hotel just in enough time to make our 8:30pm reservation at the cutest restaurant in this area. I had a meal that I am still thinking about a day later, and Steven got to break open a clay pot to reveal his dinner. It was fabulous. We're so happy with our time there, that we're going back tonight for a quick dinner before our night flight back to Istanbul.

Luckily, today was a nice turn around from our horrific night the day before. Guess you've always got to stay positive!