When we visited Leh, India in 2008, it set the bar for natural beauty. Very few places have come close to matching it, and Göreme National Park and the Rock Formations of Cappadocia in central Turkey is one of those few. The volcanic rocks have a history of subterranean human inhabitation that dates back to 700AD and numerous examples of post-iconoclastic Byzantine artwork have been found here. But it is not the human history that I am drawn to. It is the natural landscape that makes me pause.

From our base in Göreme the volcanic formations were visible everywhere. During our 7 days here, we hiked up and down 4 of the Unesco protected valleys (Rose, Love, Pigeon & Görkündere) as well as the ridges that separate them. Each of the valleys has a distinctive landscape, and thanks to coming during the low season we felt as though we were the only ones there.

While you are in the valleys, there is an obvious human presence. Small farms are tucked into protected corners, ramshackle orange juice and tea shops are at the entrance and exit to every trail, and there are cave houses of unknown origin everywhere. Many of the dug out dwellings sit vacant and out of reach, but some are still inhabited by locals or possibly young college students trying to find a cheap place to stay (so says my former boss!).

The cities fortunate enough to be nestled into this landscape have a hard act to follow. Fortunately, about 80% of the buildings in Göreme and Uçhisar are either built into the hillside or built with stone excavated from the region. This lends itself to cities that blend with nature in a way that only local materials can, but it also means that the tradesmen of the region must be skilled at their craft. Also, the cities seem to be going through a building boom and new hotels and restaurants are being built on every corner while the existing ones in between are crumbling in place.

The final aspect of Cappadocia that cannot be hidden is that the valley is a tourist attraction. All natural and cultural wonders are and should be, but I am flabergasted at how many of the low season visitors we saw were at the paid sites (open air museum) and how few were hiking/strolling through the park itself. My favorite moments were spent sitting on a rock staring into the valleys or walking through fields of wild flowers. But I suppose there isn’t a story for those, and a lot of people travel to learn the stories. Also, because of the geography, the Göreme Valley is ideal for hot air balloon rides, and I am certain that the hot air balloon companies have the largest corner of the tourist market. While we didn’t go up in any baskets and we slept through the super-balloon frenzy that occurred Saturday morning, I was beyond excited when I saw a few massive balls of heat pass through the valleys at sunset. I even coaxed Nik out of bed at 5am on Sunday morning with the hope of seeing the spectacle. So I completely understand and support the business of riding in hot air balloons to experience this beautiful place the way that birds do. Rather than distracting from the natural beauty, they enhance it by using the natural phenomena that created this place to allow people to experience the valleys the way that the swifts do.

Istanbul, its 14.4 million inhabitants, and its two thousand six hundred and seventy-five years of history intimidated me. The city consists of 5,000 square kilometers of land that have been the seats of the Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. While I cannot claim to understand the history of this modern day metropolis split between two continents, I do understand that I should know more about it, and during our week living at the edge of the Bosphorus I learned a little bit more.

Istanbul is big. It is much larger than I expected, but it is also more run down and less put-together. For example, the apartment we stayed in is on the 3rd floor of a concrete building that was probably built in the 1970s and it is already falling apart. None of the interior doors shut cleanly, the stairs have tiles that are busted and broken, the balconies have exposed and rusting re-bar where concrete has broken off, and every electrical junction box is loose within its concrete wall opening. We might have just happened to be in the most run down building of the entire city, but I think not. Based on what we saw, buildings like this are being torn down left and right to make room for newer and bigger versions of the same.

Taksim Square isn’t very visually interesting. It is one of the most mentioned “destinations” in our neighborhood, but from what I could tell, the Republic Monument is surrounded by way too much barren concrete open space where squirrely street kids run around haunting the tourists taking photos. Perhaps the space is used for street fairs and events more often in the summer, or maybe there is a greater plan for landscaping, or maybe the beautiful buildings that used to line the square have been ruined over time? To me, it is just awkward right now!

Everyone drinks tea. The hot beverage is delivered by young men carrying silver trays and is always in a small tulip shaped glass on a tiny saucer with baby spoons and one cube of sugar. When you finish drinking, you place your saucer, glass and spoon in an inconspicuous spot and it is then collected by the same young man.

Turkish Coffee is not my favorite. We tried it a couple times, but no luck.

The city has a large tulip budget. Big beautiful blooms line the highway connecting the airport to the city, and I am convinced that the flowers are there to convince visitors that Istanbul is at the top if its game.

Most people working in the service industries are men. During our week there, the only women I interacted with were the ones behind the cash register at the grocery stores or Starbucks. Everyone else was a man. Every server, shopkeeper, ferry operator, security guard, taxi driver.

The ferry system is robust and a little confusing at first. You can criss-cross the Bosphorus and the Golden Horn to any destination by purchasing 4TL ($2) tokens at the automated machines. It took us a few rides to understand that if you are at a stop where that multiple routes stop at, the only way to know if the arriving boat is yours is to watch the clock. So even if a boat arrives at the platform going in your direction, don’t get on!

All restaurants, cafes, bars and coffee shops have outdoor seating. At first glance, I thought this was awesome…and then I realized that 90% of the people sitting outside were smoking. I am still shocked that I cannot stand to be in the presence of cigarette smoke, but it really ruins my experience. I have never smoked myself, but my parents smoked in our house and cars the entire time I lived at home. But ever since I left home at 18, I have lived and worked in smoke-free environments. So unless you are oblivious to 2nd hand smoke, al fresco dining in Istanbul will be problematic.

The experience of seeing the interior of the Blue Mosque was more impressive to me than seeing Hagia Sophia. There are plenty of reasons for this; construction, lighting, quantity of visitors, perception of chaos, etc. Also, my expectations for Hagia Sophia were much higher because the history is extremely rich and diverse because its function has evolved and changed over time, and unfortunately you can tell. Newer elements appear temporary, while original elements are often defaced and fading. In contrast, the Blue Mosque was designed to be a mosque, and still functions as one. For this purpose, the space is beautiful and every detail is in place all the way down to the subtly striped carpet.

The Grand Bazaar & Spice Markets were great! We expected to be hassled and herded from one aisle to the next, but instead we casually walked through and were only occasionally greeted.

The city feels safe. When we arrived, I expected everyone to be hustling me or trying to steal from me. Luckily, that wasn’t the case and it is just like every other big city.

I don’t want live in Istanbul. We aren’t really in the mindset of living abroad again anyways, and if there was a great opportunity I would live there, but it is not top on my list.

In conclusion, our week in Istanbul was a success. We saw everything we wanted to see plus some, and we felt like we were living there. I also know that we only scratched the surface, and with a little more research we could fill an entire month of exploration here.

Nik’s Post: Istanbul was Constantiople

When Nik and I decided that we would take this extended trip, we petitioned our families to join us for parts of it, and Nik’s mom and sister took us up on it. They were most interested in joining us in Sicily to see where Nik’s maternal great-grandparents met before immigrating to the United States in the early 1900s.

The four of us met up last Monday in Palermo on the northern coast. L&M had already been there for two days, so they took us on a quick tour of downtown on our way up to the Catacombe dei Cappuccini. Nik and I had been to catacombs in Rome, but it was nothing compared to this. No photos are allowed inside, so imagine an underground loop of whitewashed tunnels lined on both sides with vertical recesses where mummified human carcasses are hung and organized by gender and class. It was eery, but also beautiful.

On our way back, we stopped at a family run restaurant with al fresco dining for the best meal we had had so far. It was a little awkward because it was 2:30pm on the Monday after Easter and they were about to close for siesta. But they happily served us alongside five or six large Italian family groups that appeared to have already been there for hours.

The next day, we had breakfast at our B&B and then caught a 1.5 hour train from Palermo to Cefalù for the next leg of the trip.

Cefalù is a town at the foot of a large rock formation on the northern coast of Sicily. In the 8th & 7th centuries BC, an active fort occupied “the rock”, and after several invasions and changes of government, the Normans began building a city at the base of the rock in the 1100’s. Today, the Norman city is mostly complete with tourism as its primary industry which is obvious. Luckily, the town is still beautiful and maintains it’s character as a small coastal town where all of the locals know each other.

During our stay there, we rented a 3 bedroom apartment at the edge of the historic city which placed us just far enough away that we felt like we could have lived there, but close enough to enjoy the city’s charm.

After 2 evenings of home cooked meals, we took another train ride from Cefalù to Catania which we would use as our home base for the final 4 nights in Italy.

On the first evening we set out to explore the neighborhood, chase the sunset, and find dinner. We tried to have dinner before sunset, but the restaurant we wanted to go to didn’t open until 7:45pm.

On the second day, we went to the main vegetable, meat and fish market to explore and collect ingredients for dinner. Then we meandered through town to find the ruins of a Greek theater that had been covered up with apartment buildings during the 1800s and is currently being restored. Then we walked up Via Etnea to the Bellini Gardens.

On Saturday (third day) we walked through a large clothing/housewares/music market and then to the port. Nik and his mom also found the alleged address of a relative and rang the buzzer, but no one answered. They left a note, and someone wrote back via text message a few days later!

I didn’t take my camera because I knew the market would be busy, but the views from the Port were much better than expected and I wish I had had it. From the tanker loading docks, you can see Mt Etna rising above the city without the view being obstructed by buildings. Also, there was a bar/cafe at the port that was attracting a lot of well dressed young people in fancy cars as well as motorcyclists. We didn’t stop for a drink, but I think that if I ever go back to Catania, I will.

For our final full day we rented a car with three goals: see the town Nik’s great grandparents lived in, see the Greek ruins of Taormina, and put our feet into the Mediterranean Sea. We accomplished all three AND we circumnavigated Mt Etna!

On our fifth and final day in Catania, we woke up early and drove to the airport so that we could all begin our transit days. Nik and I had a direct flight to Istanbul, and L&M were making their way to Dallas. For me, our time in Sicily was the perfect conclusion to our Italian adventure. It is always fantastic to spend time with Nik’s side of the family, but to spend time with them away from all of our daily lives and to experience places together for the first time ever is pretty amazing.

Nik’s Blog: Sicily: Palermo and Cefalù