Change In Plans

This short post is about leaving Istanbul, flying to the center of Turkey, and driving west into the Cappadocia region.

Yesterday, India and the kids spent a last day of sightseeing in Istanbul. They went to the 500-year old Rumeli Castle at the north end of the Bosphorus (built in 4 months by Sultan Mehmet II, as part of his strategy to conquer Constantinople). The castle’s walls run 300-400 feet up a steep hillside, with stairs cut directly into the walls. The lack of railings gave India some pause, but apparently both kids climbed all the way up, and no one fell off the side.

They also went to the Dolmabahce Palace, which was the administrative center of the Ottoman Empire for most of the period from 1850-1922. The Palace has the largest chandelier in the world, and also the largest collections of Bohemian and Baccarat crystal (including a crystal banister). Because it is absolutely symmetrical, there are two of every item of furniture. The palace cost 35 tons of gold to build (which is about $900 million right now), and essentially bankrupted the Empire. Whoops. Dolmabahce is now mostly thought of as the place where Ataturk, the secular god of modern Turkey, died in 1938. Every day at 9:05am (the time Ataturk died), everyone in the palace stops and thinks about him. The kids were blown away at the opulence.

For the first time on our trip, I have been working for the last two days. I am on the board of a Turkish company, and we had the opening of a new factory (close to the Bulgarian border), and a board meeting in Istanbul. It felt strange to be away from India and the kids all day for two full days. It is amazing how quickly we adapt to “new normal.” Obviously, a few months ago, it would have been normal to be away completely for five days in a row. Being gone for only two days, and “home” in the evenings, would have been a special occasion.

We regrouped at the airport in the late afternoon, and boarded a 60-minute flight for Kayseri. Further evidence that the Turkish lira (YTL) is overvalued: a pair of Ray-Ban sunglasses which cost $120 in Nashville was priced at YTL 426 in the airport. That is $352 at current exchange rates.

Because we were flying at sundown, Turkish Airlines served a special Ramadan “break fast” meal with hot soup, a sandwich, and baklava. There was even the traditional dried date and water. My seatmate said, “If I were flying on airplanes, I would wish that every day were Ramadan.”

We landed in Kayseri, which is a prosperous industrial city of a million people. It has been continuously inhabited for the last 3,000 years: the Romans called it Caesaria. We drove west along the Silk Road for an hour, up into the mountains, toward a small town called Nevsehir. Along the way, we passed a huge roadside inn, called the Yellow Caravansery, which has been welcoming travelers since 1250 AD.

We are staying in a place called the Museum Hotel, which is carved into the soft rock of a Cappadocian hillside. There were a number of caves which people have lived in for centuries, and by linking those together, hollowing out some additional caves, and building only a little, the owners have created a spectacular boutique hotel. I will have India add some photos, which would be much better than any description I can write. It is unlike any place I have stayed before.

This morning, we woke up (in our comfortable cave), and looked out at 20 hot air balloons floating up the valley and over our heads. We may do this tomorrow. As I write, Zola is having his hair cut by a Fez-wearing “traditional Muslim barber,” whose chair sits on a terrace, overlooking the mountains and the valley floor 500 feet below.

Cappadocia is very, very popular with visitors to Turkey, and from what we have seen this is entirely reasonable. After haircut and school we are going off to hike and explore the rocks and caves and ancient sites.