Istanbul to Goreme, Cappadocia

Monday, March 24th, 2014 Goreme
This morning we checked out of our hotel and walked back up the street to the Med Cezir for a complimentary  breakfast. Our airport van arrived about 9:20 and got us to Attaturk Airport a little after 10. We were in a lot of airports last year but this is the first one we've ever been in where you have to go through a security check at the front door before you get in the building at all. Then after checking in and dropping off bags, there is another typical security check to get to the gates.
Our Turkish Airlines flight boarded on time but sat on the runway for an extra 1/2 hour, which is not unusual. It's only an hour and 20 minutes to Kayseri airport in central Turkey and they actually served us an edible lunch enroute. All this for $40 each.
We had arranged an airport shuttle van to drive us to our hotel in Goreme. The driver was outside the arrivals door holding a sign with my name (and several others) on it and we were soon on our way with the driver and 2 other couples.

 As we drove west, we could see Erciyes Dagi to the south of Kayseri, which, at 3,916m, appears to be the highest mountain around. It took about an hour and a half to get to the Guvan Cave Hotel in Goreme for a shuttle cost of 30 lira each ($15). Good deal. Our hotel, like many here, is partly built into a cliff and partly built of stone blocks. We have a small room with arched stone ceiling, and our own little balcony. All the doors are like hobbit doors so I have to be careful not to bang my head.

 We had time to walk up to a lookout spot for the sunset. It's a beautiful, very rugged landscape where the volcanic "tuff" has eroded into "fairy chimneys" of stone in which people have carved out houses. Goreme is a mix of old cave houses, houses that are partly cave and partly stone, and regular block houses built more recently.

Our hotel manager recommended a restaurant to us where we could get a set menu of a mix of traditional Cappadocian food. Excellent choice. Tomorrow we're taking an "Underground Cities" tour which will show us some of the sights south of Goreme that are too far to walk, including an underground city that goes 85 m deep into the rock. Early inhabitants here carved into the rock to defend against invaders. Should be interesting.