Back In Istanbul Preparing for Kuwait
21 October 2008
I had an unbelievable weekend with new Turkish friends here in Turkey hiking in the Cappadocia region of Southeastern Turkey and catching a bit of sunburn. I literally stayed in a cave hotel in Ürgüp Turkey and ate foods I would have never imagined I would have. Sometimes you have to live for the moment and try things as you may not get the opportunity like that again, and I found I enjoyed all of them and if I lived in Turley would be 400+ pounds in a few months time as the food is that good. I cannot say enough about the people, they are some of the most friendly people I have ever met. Not only did I get apples given to me from locals, but was also offered potatoes, squash seeds, nuts, candies, and felt like a celebrity at a rural village high school with the students pointing and giggling.
Cappadocia Turkey is highly recommended but requires quite a bit of travel logistics and I would strongly suggest not doing the bus tours or not being without someone that can speak fluent Turkish. The only regret is the loss of 100 photos from the inside of the ancient (Karanlık Kilise) or The Dark Church in Göreme Open Air Museum and it’s fresco paintings and then some photos from the evening hike at sunset near Zelve. I lost them in a bonehead mix up of CF cards and formatted over them.
Tonight I spent sometime walking the old city streets and market bazaars of Istanbul and viewing the city from the Galata Tower from the 1300’s. I even ate “kokorec” spicy fried intestines, and they were good.
I am now back in my hotel room packing for travel tomorrow to Kuwait via Bahrain. I will be presenting at the Kuwait FOCUS Autodesk Learning Event on the 24th as well as meeting with multiple customers in the region.
The Matt Murphy Clay Head Sculpture has survived the many travels and is safe with me here in Turkey.
More Turkey Photos, and still many hundreds to process…when I get time.
Cheers,
Shaan