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Cappadocia tours, cave hotels and more. I love it...It was time for some Cappadocia tours... I took a short one hour flight early next morning (still very dark when I left my hotel) to the small airport of Ankara. There I met with the guide, who took me on a bus ride to our hotel, the
Cappadocia cave hotel,
where I slept for the 2 nights. This travel destination is a region unlike any other. The landscape is a soft volcanic stone that the wind and rain have sculpted through many many years. It became a magical experience that I will never forget!! 
We were 9 people in our small group and that same afternoon we were walking where the ancient inhabitants of Cappadocia were living many many years ago. Some of these caves are still lived in today. This famous place was home to many different civilizations because it was a major trade route.
Turkey Facts:Mostly the Christians from the 4th century sculpted their churches, homes, etc, inside this volcanic stone. There is even an underground city and we were told that when the Christians were hiding from the Roman soldiers, they would communicate in these underground tunnels... up to 4 km underground!! Hiking and walking in this valley, looking at the different sized openings, towers, rooms that were dug out still standing like those ancient times it was easy to feel the quietness - imagining how they lived in seclusion, hiding from their captors . It was a little eerie never been in a place like this before. Our Cappadocia tours went on and on, stopping at different places in the countryside. At one dusty, godforsaken cafι we stopped for a coffee. I had to drink a Nescafe coffee. They have never heard of a cappuccino. The hotel I stayed in is also dug into the stone. The dining room looks like a big cave - the food is delicious and my partners at the table were Peter and Betty from Denmark!! That night I had one of my most profound spiritual experiences , when I went to watch the mystical Sufi dance. In a small gathering place, in a cave-like little room that could seat about 50 people, we were seated. Slowly everything went quiet Turkey Facts: Sufism is a mystical sect of Islam, founded by 13th century poet and philosopher, Mevlana (master) Jalaluddin Rumi, who believed that an ecstatic, trancelike state of universal love could be induced by whirling around and around, in the manner of all things in the universe. With their right palms up to the sky as if to receive Gods grace, left palms down as if to distribute it to the earth, the dervishes whirl around the room. I was mesmerized these men with their all-white long tunics, whirling around and around, while traditional drums and instruments provided the music . I was transported back in time .. I looked on my watch , the longest whirling around was for more than 30 minutes, without stopping once!! In that little room, with no friends or family, I felt the presence of a God of peace, serenity and beauty. It was beautiful . We drove back to the hotel and I snuggled into my warm comfortable bed, to reminisce about more Cappadocia tours. Return from Cappadocia Tours to Home Page
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There I was sitting, under a very very old beautiful thorn tree, on a rusty chair, drinking my coffee on this dusty and cold afternoon. I could feel the peace flowing over me, and the quietness. It was beautiful. I could sit there for another hourbut it was turning dark and we had to go back to our hotel and call an end to todays Cappadocia tours. Besides, I was starting to feel hungry!
