About a year ago I had the chance to take an eight-day vacation to Turkey due to a special offer by ADAC, the renowned German automobile club. And with special offer I honestly mean for very little money, as the flights, breakfast, hotels and bus tour were already included. As I later found out through our tour guide, the Turkish state and a few private companies subsidize these trips in the off-season, in order to compensate for the huge lack of tourism in winter and autumn.
I flew from Stuttgart to Antalya and back seven days later. I and the other travelers were picked up by the tour guide, who was fluent in German, and we were immediately offered a bonus package for about another third of the originally paid price of the trip. But this package included a daily dinner, a few special outings and all entrance fees. So I booked the bonus package, since I did not want to miss out on any outings.
Afterwards we headed straight for the hotel. It was a local five star hotel located in Belek, about 45 kilometres outside of Antalya. I can honestly say that I was in awe. The hotel had three big pools, great buffets for breakfast and supper and the rooms were luxurious and clean. An internet connection was free of charge as well. Additionally, the hotel possessed a few shops, a disco and a bar/lounge. I really did not expect this much for the little money I paid.
The following day was free to use for tour guests and I used this opportunity to take a local bus to go to Antalya. Unfortunately it rained heavily, so the day could have been better, but I still enjoyed my stay there. What I liked most was the old harbor. It was breathtaking, even in the rain.
The next day, we were on our way to Cappadocia, which is located in central Anatolia. I did not really know that much about Anatolia, how high the mountain range gets and I did not even know it was a winter tourist destination for skying and snowboarding.
The bus trip to Cappadocia took about 5-6 hours, but time flew by so fast, as there was so much to see of the countryside. I did not know that Turkey had such a multitude of beautiful landscapes, from huge lakes to mountain ranges covered with masses of snow, great beaches and rivieras and of course, Cappadocia.
When our bus finally arrived in Cappadocia, we still had quite a bit to go by foot, as the terrain was unsuitable for vehicles. Most of us looked forward to the hike, since we only made one stop during the long drive. Our tour guide told as a bit about the landscape just before we arrived and described the landscape roughly, so I expected a few interesting landmarks, but I definitely did not expect to find myself in a dreamland.
The entire region is filled with these so called “fairy chimneys”, which were formed due to volcanic activity in the past. The chimneys are mostly made of volcanic tuff, which got washed away due to erosion over thousands of years. However, some also received their unique forms due to the excavating of different populations that used the landscape as refuge. This was especially the case during World War I, when Armenian Christians hid from Ottoman soldiers. Underground cities were also used by Christians who lived in the region. Surprisingly, simple churches can also be found in some tuff-buildings and in the underground cities.
We also visited some of the towns in Cappadocia, including Göreme and Avanos. Somehow they reminded me of a fantasy video game of with some sort of fairy tale.
I can only recommend anyone who plans to travel to Turkey, to also visit Cappadocia during their stay. In my eyes, it truly is a magical scenery and also worth the trip, even though most people simply want to enjoy their holidays at the Turkish riviera.
Speaking of which is also an extraordinary piece of eye candy, as you can enjoy the view of the ocean as well as an amazing glance of mountains in the background.
The Germafrican 