Creepy hotels notwithstanding, the ruins of Ani turned out to be one of the my highlights of Turkey.
It’s my theory that there are 2 types of places to travel: a place to see things and a place to just be. Pamukkale and Cappadocia were places to see things. A lot of small cities fit in the latter category. Guidebooks often refer to these places are ‘atmospheric’ or ‘charming’.
Safranbolu is definitely a town of the latter category.
Stepping foot inside Rustom Pasha mosque, a small mosque in a busy market near Eminonou, felt like stepping into an aquarium. The tile works was incredible.
There are 2 advices from my parents that I grew up with: “You can be whatever you want to be as long as it’s not a politician,” and “Don’t get in a car with people you don’t know.” The first one is easy to follow. The latter… well, let’s just say that however wise the advice is, it’s been proven to be really hard to follow in my life.
On my first attempt hiking in Cappadocia I teamed up with an unlikely ally who fortunately had a map of the area. Unfortunately the map was of such low resolution it might as well be a world atlas.
Going on a hot air balloon is one of the most popular activities in Cappadocia. Is it worth it?
One of the reasons I came to Turkey was to see the travertine pools of Pamukkale. It was worth the sleepless, 12 hour bus ride from Istanbul.