Thursday, May 20th, 2004: Cappadocia, Turkey

Yesterday was cool and wet. Today is sunny and, protected from the wind, warm – but we are on the Central Anatolian Plateau, which ranges from 800 to 1,200 metres above sea level, and generally it is cooler than it was on the Aegean and Mediterranean Seas. Ever the optimist, I start out in shorts and flip-flops, but quickly head back to the hotel and change.

There is no schedule today, and after yesterday’s marathon of touring and the late night festivities at the Turkish Night, everyone sleeps a bit late. Greg and I wander along the main road of the little town we are staying in, and find an internet café that is, surprisingly, blazing fast, and check emails.

We wander some more, grab lunch, and then sit in a patisserie on the main square, drinking Turkish coffee and eating pastries. Greg works on his journal, while I read the Herald Tribune, and then we switch; then we head back to the internet café to post our entries.

The group assembles around 7:30 p.m. to walk up the main street and find somewhere for dinner. Haluk tells us about a local specialty – soups and stews cooked in individual-sized iron pots, where the pot is then covered with bread dough, which cooks on the outside while the soup or stew cooks on the inside.

We decide that this sounds like it’s worth trying, and so it proves – delicious.