4 am rang in far
earlier than anyone would have liked, but alas, the things we must do. We bundled in our warmest clothes and made
the short walk to the hotel down the street for our pick up. We headed to the waiting place for the most
pathetic buffet breakfast I have ever seen (buns and instant coffee) and then
we waited. For three hours. To have it cancelled. In truth, we had all known that this was a
distinct possibility, as the winds had been quite strong and they had been
cancelling flights all week, so although it is disappointing to be within arm’s
reach of a once in a lifetime opportunity and have the winds snatch it away, it
was expected and didn’t mar the trip in any way. We headed ‘home’, napped and then Dad, Jason
and I went to scout out a lunch place where we could celebrate Mom and pick up
some beer, before gathering the others, going for a lovely walk through town
and then down to the river for a lovely late lunch.
 |
| The view from lunch |
We all took another
rest when we got back, agreeing to meet for “cocktails” at 4pm (beer and nuts)
and a fantastically fun new game called “Heads Up”. We took a break for dinner (which Emily and
Mom lovingly whipped up), and then slowly began winding down for the night.
Our last full day
began with Emily, Jason, Joe and I heading to Derinkuyu, one of the underground
cities that are scattered throughout the region. It was an impressive place, fully stocked
with a stable, graves, a baptismal pool and big boulders to push into passage
ways to ward off attacks. Apparently
people could live there for up to six months at a time if the need arose, and
although they were spacious, six months seems an awfully long time to go
without seeing any daylight.
We met M and D in
Urgup just before noon and wandered the town before our last lunch overlooking
the town square. It’s a pretty little
town- probably my favourite of the three we visited as it seems to have more
character, and then the boys headed home and us girls went in search of a Haman
or Turkish Bath, since we felt Mom had not had the pampering worth her due what
with the cancelled balloon ride.
However, the one in Urgup was not to our liking, so we caught the
mini-bus back to Avanos (we were tired of making Jason have to shuttle) and
after some asking around, found one more to our tastes. Our Hamam offered a mud face mask, sauna,
various scrubs and a Jacuzzi, and although it was a little different from the
one I had in Antalya, it was equally as enjoyable and a fun experience to share
with M and E. Feeling thoroughly
relaxed, we picked up some veggies and met the boys (who had apparently spent
their afternoon playing checkers- I think we got the better end of the deal)
for our typical evening activities.
The next morning, the
others set off for Kayseri to catch their flight and Joe and I waited for the
owner to come and collect the keys. He
kindly dropped us off at the bus station in Avanos so that we could get to
Kayseri (amidst a backdrop of snow) and then kill many an hour at the bus
station in Kayseri. We killed some time
by walking over to the mall and having coffee and lunch, before heading back
through the rolling hills to spring snows (a most unpleasant surprise) that
were awaiting us in Malatya.
No comments:
Post a Comment