Post Written By: Leah Ranta
Thursday morning alarm set. Time? 4:15am. Why so early you may ask? After a busy week of meetings and academia, the group is ready for a bit of a vacation. Destination: Cappadocia. Also known as the land of natural chimneys, historical valleys, and of course the filming location of Star Wars I!
Once again, Turkey has far exceeded our expectations. Although we were unable to stay in the famous cave hotels, we were greeted by spacious rooms and an invitation to a home cooked dinner. After dropping our luggage, we began our adventures. From climbing through Imaginary Valley to running through Monk Valley, our tour guide did not anticipate how much our group was ready to explore. Taking pictures from afar was simply never enough, and a 10 minute stop often turned into an hour. The monastic complex at Goreme was particularly amazing for it's sheer size and beauty. The community held around 3,000 people, and the numerous hand carved cave churches still had the original wall paintings visible today.
All in all, it was an exhausting afternoon of hiking and visiting some of the oldest hidden orthodox churches in Turkey. Although you will have to ask each student for themselves, I heard more than one say it was like jumping into a Dr. Seuss book. After our hot air balloon tour at 3:30am tomorrow, we will be redefining, "Oh the places you'll go!"
Thursday morning alarm set. Time? 4:15am. Why so early you may ask? After a busy week of meetings and academia, the group is ready for a bit of a vacation. Destination: Cappadocia. Also known as the land of natural chimneys, historical valleys, and of course the filming location of Star Wars I!
Once again, Turkey has far exceeded our expectations. Although we were unable to stay in the famous cave hotels, we were greeted by spacious rooms and an invitation to a home cooked dinner. After dropping our luggage, we began our adventures. From climbing through Imaginary Valley to running through Monk Valley, our tour guide did not anticipate how much our group was ready to explore. Taking pictures from afar was simply never enough, and a 10 minute stop often turned into an hour. The monastic complex at Goreme was particularly amazing for it's sheer size and beauty. The community held around 3,000 people, and the numerous hand carved cave churches still had the original wall paintings visible today.
All in all, it was an exhausting afternoon of hiking and visiting some of the oldest hidden orthodox churches in Turkey. Although you will have to ask each student for themselves, I heard more than one say it was like jumping into a Dr. Seuss book. After our hot air balloon tour at 3:30am tomorrow, we will be redefining, "Oh the places you'll go!"
Hotel in Cappadocia
Hiking through Devrent (Pink Valley, Imaginary Valley)
Exploring the Goreme Open Air Museum
Pasabag (Monk's Valley)
