Andi, I know you wrote me extensively about Cappadocia. However, I cannot find it now that I really need it. I have several passengers going on the Oceania cruise that are interested in doing the post cruise in Cappadocia in 2010. John and I are booked too. Can you make a comment on your trip there, please? If you don't have time, I understand. Anyone else that has been there; PLEASE? Also need recommendations for Isreal and Egypt private tours. Judy & John

First of all for a private guide, call Ngaire and get her Istanbul guide. They hooked me up with a great guide in Cappadocia.

We stayed at the Museum hotel. It was lovely. Just be careful about the rooms. Our room was beautiful, but damp. Tell them you don't want a damp room. I believe Leslie and Brad had a very nice room. Write and ask Leslie which room she had. The hotel has a resort feel and beautiful views. You can take nice walks from the hotel to local restaurants. There is a pool at the hotel. It gets very hot, so don't forget your hat and sunscreen.

We loved Cappadocia. Doug usually doesn't like the shopping bits, but I really recommend letting the guide take you to the top carpet and pottery works there. The carpet tour was very interesting. We had no intention of buying anything and treated it like a museum tour. The carpets were absolutely incredible and you were taken through the entire silk growing, weaving, dying and carpet making process. The pottery factory was lovely too.There are loads of potters in Avanos. The top place is Chez Galip. There are some gem places as well. That is it for shopping...the rest is junk.

Do visit the famous Göreme Open Air Museum to see the best examples of Byzantine art in Cappadocia. You will want to visit Göreme Village and Maccan Valley, Uchisar and Pigeon Valley. Our favorite stop was one of the most interesting underground settlements in Cappadocia, the Kaymaklı Underground City.The underground living system was fascinating and you must do it. Make sure you also ask to be taken to the rock cut churches and monestaries. Doug and I hiked in Red Valley and it was breathtaking. Also of interest to us were discovering Cappadocia's unique landscape; Devrent (Pink Valley) and the Zelve Open Air Museum, which is one of the first inhabited and last abandoned villages of Cappadocia. You can visit old Greek villages too. We missed, because of high winds, a key highlight...a hot air balloon ride. Hope this helps...write to me for any other info you need.

It is confusing to find the right gate at the Istanbul airport to Cappadocia. You just take your eticket and and ask the info desk where to go. The window will issue you a ticket and take your luggage. Our luggage came out quickly in Cappadocia. The Cappadocia airport is not organized (one room) and you stand endlessly in line there for your return trip. That was the only negative aspect.

We stayed three nights and two and a half days. It is like Sedona in atmosphere. We took a 7amish flight out of Istanbul and arrived a little before noon. We went directly to the hotel to check in and then went out to lunch with the guide and did some sightseeing the first day. We returned for a leisurely dinner at the hotel. The next two days were full days of sightseeing. We ate at a local restaurant one night and at the hotel another. We left early the final morning and arrived in Istanbul by noon.

Sometimes being a pack-rat pays off!
I found the business card from our Cappadocia guide!
Urgup Tourism Travel Agency
www.urguptravel.com
Ahmet Sezgin, President

You will love Cappadocia.

Doug

And then I found the business card for the pottery studio Andi mentioned.

Chez Galip in Cappadocia.

www.chezgalip.com

A must stop if you like pottery

Doug

I looked at the room photos on the Museum Hotel's web site and I think we were in the Guvercinlik room. In any event, it was very nice, not damp and had a big jacuzzi tub in the bathroom.

Definitely take the hot air balloon tour - it was fantastic and the highlight of the trip. There were at least a dozen companies launching balloons;your hotel can easily book that for you.

Our favorite stops were the Derinkuyu underground city (definitely go way down into it - there are at least eight stories open), the Goreme open air museum, meeting a woman who lives in one of the rock homes, champagne at sunset overlooking the Rose Valley, hiking through the Zelve valley and of course all the fabulous food.

here is a link to our photos, which I have posted before.

The irony is that while our balloon ride got cancelled due to high winds, after we got up at the crack of dawn, the very next day I took a few pictures of the balloons from our hotel.
The very balloons that Leslie & Brad were enjoying!!!
If you look ever so very carefully, you can see Brad holding up a deck of playing cards as if offering Pouch lessons to all of Turkiye.

Doug

You are all the best! I am going to suggest to my Oceania friends to check this site out. Thank you so much for the time again and for finding the business cards!!!!! :angel2: