Cappadocia
We visited in August of 2020, when Turkey was about the only place a Boston resident could meet up with a Canadian resident
We drank a lot of water and just barely survived. I do remember a mid-hike collapse the shade, when an Israeli couple sauntered by and joined us. We all agreed Canadians are wimps
Goreme
No, a blonde American woman will not immediately be kidnapped and sold to a brothel. On the other hand, you should still watch the prison scene in Lawrence of Arabia. There’s hope for me yet.
One interesting factoid about Cappadocia is that it’s on the Anatolian Peninsula, which is sometimes claimed to be the historic locale for discovery of wine. And so there’s been a revival, with people cultivating heritage grapes as well as importing modern varietals
One day while hiking, we passed through a village and stopped in a Muslim wine cave.
Our hosts asked where we were from, and were curious when I said that I lived in Boston. As muslims, they couldn’t imagine not wearing masks to prevent the spread of Covid: why did Americans refuse to do so?
I mentioned that many American Christians believe in the Prosperity Gospel.
And so we discussed the contrast between the Jewish and Muslim sense of obligation to others vs the American Christian sense of deserving more
Cave Church in the Goreme Open Air Museum. We were there during a somewhat tense period, so historic markers had been removed. But construction of the complex is said to have begun in the 4th Century
Monastery Complex. I don’t know the current demographics, but we did have dinner at a nice restaurant where the owner explained that he couldn’t get a teaching job due to being Christian
Ortahisar
