A place not to be missed is Cappadocia (Kapadokya under its Turkish name). The site is unique as well and hot air balloon rides are a great option for a wonderful aerial view. Volcanoes erupted millions of years ago and the resulting rock near Göreme eroded into amazing shapes that resemble tens to hundreds of mushrooms, minaretes and pillars. (Click here for some amazing images of Cappadocia).
People then carved their homes, churches, monasteries and schools in the soft rock for an out of this world result of dwellings that bring to mind more movie scenes of distant times than real villages which are actually inhabited today. And people are so friendly there. The first day I arrived, I envisioned myself buying one of the caves and moving in. Maybe even a chain of caves for a tourism business development. I immediately made friends, and on the excitement of the moment I ended up on a scooter, holding on to the back of a young Turkish man who took me on a real estate for sale tour. I got over that as my heart longs to move around as much as possible and settling in a small village might not be my thing in the long run. Especially considering that winters are cold and even the local young people that have other options pack and go away. Yet, I stayed in carved caves and loved every minute of it (except when I was too cold at night- make sure you stay in a place that has heat and you can control it).
