I ended up arriving in Istanbul a few days earlier then I expected (mostly because I had not had any luck with train connections to Romania) . As a result of arriving early I felt that I had enough time to see both Istanbul and perhaps one other area of Turkey. I decided that I would stay for a couple of days in Istanbul then I would go to Cappadocia to see that part of Turkey.
Istanbul is an amazing city and is very clean compared with the eastern European cities I had come from. The only complaint I had about my arrival, was that the train tracks are currently under construction and so they are supposed to provide a bus to downtown from the edge of town. This bus didn't end up existing, but lucky for me a very nice Austrian girl paid for me to get a city bus to downtown.
After arriving downtown I met some really awesome people to explore Istanbul with, at what I'd say is probably the nicest hostel that I have ever stayed in. If you are going to Istanbul you should definitely stay at the Cheers hostel the staff are amazing and the view from the hostel bar is unbelievable. It is right in the middle of the old town and really cheap too!
After a couple of days of wandering Istanbul, I had manged to avoid buying a carpet despite being in a few of the bazaars, so it was time for me to go to Cappadocia. I tool the night bus which was quite nice and even had a steward to serve drinks and coffee! Cappadocia is famous for its volcanic rock structures and the underground cities built by the ancient Hittites. I had booked a tour of sorts through a travel place in Istanbul, (otherwise you'd need a car or motorbike to get to all of the locations in Cappadocia), included in this tour was the bus trip, a ride to all the local sites, and a room to stay in a "cave hostel". The tour was supposed to also include a balloon ride but the weather ended up not being good enough. The cave hostel was great though and the lava formations and the underground cities where like something out of a movie.
The volcanic structures where formed by alternating ash and lava layers creating hard structures with soft easy to carve inside bits. Ancient christians and others carved all sorts of churches, houses, and even hotels into these structures. All of these are really amazing, especially the cathedrals that are carved and painted in the rocks.
After exploring the caves, the cave churches, the volcanic formations and the underground city I headed back to Istanbul. I wandered through town and ended up finally finding myself a new backpack! I had been looking for backpacks for a while, and had one in mind, as my big 70L bag was just way to big for most trips around Europe. However my new 32L bag is perfect and can be carry on!
The lighthouse from "The World is Not Enough" the James Bond movie.
Great views from the Ferries.
Blue Mosque
The Cisterns (Really Amazing)
Entrance to the Sultans Palace.
One of the many Mosques.
The Spice Bazaar
View from the Hostel Bar (the ring is a reflection from the bar lights)
Cappadocia Landscape
Enjoying the great landscape in Cappadocia.
One of the underground tunnels that form part the underground cities.
All of the holes in this are actually interconnected rooms in the lava structures.
Me and the amazing structures carved into the lava formations.
More of the amazing formations.
A really neat outdoor museum.
