Finding the Grey

As a foreigner living in Turkey the question “Have you been to Kapadokya yet?” tends to come up quite a bit. Kapadokya(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cappadocia), a region in central Turkey that is hard to explain in words(come on I’m a photographer), is probably the second biggest tourist destination in Turkey, outside of Istanbul, and a place that Turks are ardently proud of. Such spots around the world, “Top Tourist Destinations”, usually put me at unease; trampling crowds(including me), tour buses, “authentic” kitsch, bland food and permeating monoculture just depress me. Through 9 months of living in Istanbul, just around the corner from one of the world’s greatest buildings, Hagia Sofia, I had yet to visit it. Sorry, I’m a travel snob and I know it.

So, I’d never visited Kapadokya either. Everyone I ever talked to about the place said it was “so amazing” and I “had to see it”. A trip was inevitable, I knew that, but I just kept putting it off due to my past experiences with places so amazing that I had to see…they tend to come with a lot of baggage.

Enter, a visit from my loving mother (my brother came along too but possesses an even stronger aversion than I to such destinations). I nicknamed my mother “the pigeon”, on a previous trip to Italy, for her unyielding ability to poke her head into the most touristy of shop windows. Three overnight bus tickets to Kapadokya please…

Well, my instincts were all wrong. Dead wrong. Maybe it was because it was October but we basically had the place to ourselves. I was expecting a few rock formations here and there with perimeter guard rails but in fact this vast valley is overgrown with a landscape that resembles the moon interwoven with local villages and modern buildings. The only eye sores were 50+ hot air balloons filling the dawn sky for an hour or so. We hiked through steep ravines, burrowed through long tunnels, climbed white rocks, gorged ourselves on delicious wild grapes, apples and tomatoes, peeked into dark cave dwellings and walked around giddy as can be repeating “wow, look at that” all day long. It really is so amazing and a place you have to see, twice.

Thanks for looking,

Jonathan

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