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Part II

From Istanbul, we took a bus to Cappadocia in central Turkey. The only way to travel long distances in Turkey is by bus. There is no effective rail system.

The buses are all late-model Mercedes. We asked about this and were told that there are a couple of powerful families in Turkey that control much of what goes on. They bought a license to manufacture Mercedes buses and quickly got laws passed making it expensive to own old buses. They apparently killed any alternative forms of transportation at the same time.

Long-distance buses all have a non-smoking policy that doesn't apply to the driver and relief driver(s), who can smoke at will.

One key feature lacking on these new Mercedes buses is a toilet. The trip to Cappadocia took twelve hours and the bus stopped only three times. No quantity of Evil Eyes or Ataturk pictures is going to make this a comfortable situation.

They also have adopted the same policy on children as U.S. airlines have - they travel free if they don't occupy their own seat. There were large and small children on the floor and laying across laps. All this luxury cost only $15.00. If it weren't for the incontinent, motion sick 103-year-old man sitting in front of us, it would have been worth it.

The region of Cappadocia is known for the dramatic landscapes and caves that are made possible by the soft rock earth. We hiked through some lovely canyons and saw many dwellings that were carved right into the hillsides.

We also experienced an old style of housing that has fortunately not caught on in the rest of the world. The first floor is reserved for farm animals and the family lives on the second floor. The first floor is enclosed and looks a bit like a garage. In the old part of town, we would walk past a house and hear mooing coming from the garage.

We visited a completely underground city with eight levels. It is thought that the Hittites excavated the first few levels in the rock when they came under attack from the Phrygians. Christians escaping the Arab invasions of the 7th and 8th centuries later expanded the complex. There are air shafts, waste shafts, wells, chimneys and connecting passageways. We were thinking mainly of the 1999 earthquake while descending through the various levels.

This photo shows a stick in the center of a large wheel-shaped stone. With the stick removed, the stone can roll into the passageway, blocking enemies from entering the deeper underground chambers.

We once again visited a Hamam (Turkish Bath) as we had in Istanbul. The hyperlink explains the whole thing.