Yay! Our oasis, Sahara Pizza, Sivas.
Main Street, Sivas.
Dream Cave Hotel, Goreme.
Welcome to Cappadocia!
Goreme at nightThe bus ride to Seabass (Sivas) was long, hot, and we had to listen to Turkish radio shows the whole time and unfortunately, smoking is permitted by the bus driver. Oi vey! Once we arrived at the bus station in Seabass we hopped on the public bus to take us into the center of town (6YTL).
Up until this point we were pretty much in the 'back country' of Turkey, but Seabass is much more modern with beautiful lighted sidewalks, contemporary clothing stores, and all different kinds of shops. We consulted our Lonely Planet once again for a place to stay, and after a few attempts at negotiating a fair price, we settled on a small otel on the older side of town (we forgot the name of this otel). By the time we laid our bags down and relaxed a bit, it was past evening and we were ready to eat. During the bus ride earlier in the day, I had dreams about pizza- oh how delicious a slice of Long Island pizza would be! I knew we wouldn't find anything that comes even close, but I thought, maybe just maybe there's a pizza place in Seabass. We began our walk and about 5 blocks later we had just about given up hope- then we lift our heads and literally right in front of us stood "Sahara Pizza"- we couldn't believe it! We walked upstairs to find the place completely empty except for the staff that looked quite bewildered to see us. We managed to order pizza with chicken and onions to our waitress who was so nervous speaking broken English with us. We took the two small pizzas (only 12YTL!) to go and headed back to our otel for a night in. The box smelled delicious and we couldn't wait to see what a pizza in Turkey looked and tasted like. We were amazed! It was great and even came with a bunch of extra toppings (something must have gotten lost in translation) like mushrooms, olives, and peppers! YUM! YUM! YUM! It was the best meal we had eaten so far! Sahara Pizza was our oasis!
The otel was 30YTL, without anything included- even hot water, which of course we didn't realize until the next morning when we went to shower. We complained to the reception and they said that hot water wasn't available until after 11a. We checked out and went for the only sightseeing in Seabass, an old mosque in the town center, but it was undergoing restorations.
So we made our way to the bus station and wanted to leave Seabass ASAP. But the next direct bus to Cappadocia wasn't for 3 more hours. So we sat and waited. We tried to make Turkish coffee with coffee we bought at the supermarket, but it was undrinkable! (You just can't get Turkish coffee in Turkey- it's crazy!)
At this point, I was feeling pretty agitated by the price of everything on the trip so far. We felt that we weren't getting any value for what we were spending, and if we kept it up for the entire trip I'd have holes burned into my pockets. So we made the decision to call the airlines and have our flight changed to leave a week earlier (this change cost $100 USD). It was unfortunate we had to cut a whole week out, but we needed to cut our losses.
Another 6 hour bus ride and we arrived in Goreme, the 'tourist' city in the Cappadocia region. A word about the bus rides: In the 'back country' the buses were small, un-airconditioned, and very uncomfortable. But the buses once we got to Sivas were huge tour-style buses, mostly Mercedes with plenty of leg space and A/C (although the bus drivers only turn on the A/C in spurts, so it got pretty hot and stale at some points- maybe it's to save on gas or they are just trying to make the ride more miserable? It's yet to be determined). But on all buses in Turkey the driver is treated like an airline pilot and there are even 'bus attendants', usually one or two who are responsible for baggage, tickets, bus maintenance, and 'in-route' service. After every stop the bus makes the attendants walk up and down the isle spraying something that masks the smell of the other smells, then they come around with a bottle full of lemon scented water, you hold out your hands and get a squirt, it's customary and the Turkish men rub it all over their heads and hair- it's like a mini bath! The attendants also serve water, tea, and snacks, but since it was Ramadan we missed out on this little extra perk :(
Entering the Cappadocia region was like going back in time to the Stone Age. The region was created millions of years ago by three massive volcanos. The eruptions caused tons of volcanic ash to cover the land, harden and dry. The ash also covered already existing rocks and over time weather conditions chipped and shaped out pillar like structures. The rocks that were covered remained on top of the 'fairy chimneys' giving the region its unique forms. This type of stone is very soft, which allowed people to carve out homes and underground cities. Cappadocia is a UNESCO World Heritage Site due to its' geographical, historical, and cultural history. The Open Air Museum is a complex comprising of more than "30 rock-carved churches and chapels containing some superb frescoes, dating from the 9th to the 11th centuries." (Wikipedia).
The coolest sleeping arrangements in Goreme is to sleep in a cave! We found a great guesthouse, the Dream Cave Hotel and for 40YTL per night (breakfast included) we slept in a beautifully arched ceiling room that was carved out from the cave itself! The owner originally wanted 50YTL, but I used my American negotiating skills to get him down ten lira. The Dream Cave Hotel was by far the nicest and most 'homely' place we stayed on our trip.
Goreme's geared for tourism with plenty of cafes, restaurants, cute shops, and even a few bars. We walked around until we found a place for dinner, a lively outdoor restaurant where we dined on manti (meat-filled Turkish ravioli served with yogurt sauce) and kebabs. It was such a relief from the Ramadan meat-and-potato meals we were having all along. After dinner we headed back to our cave for some zzzz's...
Recap:
Flight change: 100USD
Seabass bus station to town center: 6YTL
Seabass Otel: 30YTL
Pizza!: 12YTL
2 tickets from Seabass to Cappadocia: 50YTL
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