To experience the best of Cappadocia

Cappadocia was in fact my 2nd last stop through out my recent trip in Turkey, but I will share about it first as the experiences I had there were unbeatable. If you love a different kind of landscape and you fancy rocks and caves, plus hot air balloon ride with majestic view, this is definitely your place to explore. Do not plan 2 nights stay as it will not be enough for you to experience Cappadocia in all, do it 3 to 5 days instead especially if you are also a photography addict.



Souvenir on display near the entrance of Zelve Open Air Museum

                              
You can choose your own traveling style when you come to Cappadocia. You can either follow tour group from your country or any other location in Turkey, or fly in by yourself and purchase your tour package from many local agents/hotels located in Göreme or Ürgüp.
If you travel by yourself and plan to go around Cappadocia on your own, you need to have a car (borrow, rent or steal of course!) as the places of attraction are located far from one to another.

I didn't do all above anyway, as I discovered the best way to explore and learn about this magical place...and only the locals can provide that. There are many ways we can get connected and make friends with the locals before the trip, and the most effective way I have tried was by using couchsurfing platform.
If you planning a trip and would like to find the best host in Cappadocia, you can either publish your public trip or go through many profiles available to look for your prefered host.

I will not write details about Cappadocia in here, but I would like you to enjoy all the following photos I took during my trip. Hope these photos can tell the stories....


The making of Turkish tea at my host's kitchen

Turkish tea always prepared by using double boiler



Super delicious breakfast prepared by my host

                                                          

Home made tomato paste by host's mom

The way to Zelve Open Air Museum. Magnificent view!

Look at my big grin!!

Shop at the entrance of open air museum

Theater area at the open air museum compound

Pottery making workshop at Avanos

Colorful pottery/ceramic

My first ceramic masterpiece!!

Riverside of Red River , Avanos

 Mosque near Red River

Geese swimming along the Red river

 Feeding the geese

 At Love Valley

A different angle of love valley

At Göreme Panoramic Point

Different angle of  Göreme Panoramic Point

Hot air balloon preparing for the flight, as early as 5.30am

Our balloon, minutes before the flight began

Spectacular sun rise view seen during our flight

Magnificent landscape of Cappadocia

Other balloons. There were hundreds of them.

Beautiful view of the hill top

Our shadow

My certificate for the flight

Göreme Open Air Museum. There is a man standing on the rock!

Pottery shop's decoration near the open air museum

There are still many other places of attraction that I did not cover here such as Rose Valley and underground cities. Will include those places in my future blogs.
The end.