Eighteen days after the deadliest bombing in modern day Turkey occurred in the capital city of Ankara, we arrived in Istanbul. This was in addition to a bombing that had happened in Istanbul back in August. For the weeks leading up to our arrival, we had seen the non-stop news coverage of the rising death toll, the increased tensions within the country, and the heightened prospects of more attacks with national elections a few days away. On top of this, we had friends and family express concern and ask why we were bothering to go with all that was happening.
View of the Blue Mosque from inside Hagia Sophia
We briefly considered cancelling our week there altogether. However, after doing more research and following the advice of the US State Department website and alerts, we decided to continue with our plans. The fact is, Turkey is a huge country. Istanbul is about 450 KM away from Ankara which is roughly the equivalent of Boston to Philadelphia. Istanbul itself is massive with even more residents than New York City. Not to mention, we had been looking forward to visiting this country for months!
Looking up at the ceiling of Hagia Sophia
Inside the beautiful Blue Mosque
In our experience, we didn’t feel the slightest bit unsafe at any time. The people we encountered in the street were friendly and welcoming. The elections came and went during our stay without incident that we could see (though we did hear about demonstrations in Ankara and other areas). We rode the metro and took the tram just like we had in other cities around Europe. Sure the shopkeepers and restaurant-owners were a bit aggressive in soliciting our business, but that was only a minor annoyance.
Pomegranate juice vendor
In total, we spent four nights in Istanbul which gave us a chance to see the major attractions. Our hotel was located in the Sultanahmet area which allowed us to easily tour both the Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque. We spent one day wandering through both the Grand Bazaar and the Spice Bazaar while trying out the street food (Simit, Roasted Corn, Su Boregi and freshly squeezed pomegranate juice). We stumbled upon a café (Coffeetopia) which served up the best coffee we’ve had so far on the entire trip, maybe ever.
One of the hundreds of stands in the Spice Market
After our time in Istanbul was done, we headed to a region in the middle of the country known as Cappadocia. Cappadocia is one of those places that we had read about and seen countless incredible pictures of on various travel blogs. We knew when we were planning the trip that we had to see it for ourselves. We took a quick flight to Nevşehir, the big city of the region, which cost us roughly $20 a ticket. We then took a shuttle from the airport to the city of Göreme which is a great base for exploring the region. The town is known for “cave” hotels which are built into the sides of cliffs and rock formations that jut out of the earth. We had booked a room at the Bedrock Cave Hotel and it lived up to the name! We felt like the Flintstones as we settled in to our new home.
Inside our cave hotel
Sunset view over Cappadocia
We really enjoyed exploring the area. We took the local bus to a nearby town of Derinkuyu to visit an underground city. We took two long hikes through the valleys that surrounded Göreme. We took in the sunset views from the lookout point near our hotel. We toured the famous Open Air Museum, climbed the ancient ruins and visited the Uçhisar castle with the best panoramic views of the area.
Uçhisar Castle
Don’t let the smile fool you… Christina was not a happy camper to be in such a small space in the Underground City
By far the highlight of our time in Göreme was the sunrise view of the hot air balloons. This is the big tourist attraction in the area and every morning the balloons are launched just in time for the sunrise. Actually taking a balloon ride was out of our budget (€150 / person) and a little bit terrifying, so we opted to watch them from afar. Despite the 32 degree weather, it was truly spectacular and one of the most memorable experiences of the trip so far.
The balloons preparing for lift off!
Unbeatable sunrise view of the hot air balloons
Sky full of balloons
We had a great time in Turkey and are so glad we didn’t strike it from our itinerary. The media tends to focus on the big, shocking stories. These incidents are often tragic and upsetting, but don’t always represent the actual day-to-day life in a place. We were glad to witness firsthand the reality that most Turks experience every day.
After Turkey is a quick, two days in the north of India in a city called Amritsar, followed by four weeks in Jaipur volunteering with the Sankalp organization!
-The Morts
Thrilled that you are safe and totally enjoying your trip of a life time. Looking forward to more posts.
Thank you, Su!
Breathtaking. The fact that the hotair balloons were at sunrise must have made the experience even more incredible. I can imagine you wanted to freeze that moment and bottle it up.
On a different note, the cave hotel looked surprisingly cozy. I would envision the bed was rock hard but hopefully that wasn’t the case 😉 Such a unique place to call your temporary home.