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Fairytales are real.

I know it's hard to believe. I didn't at first. I chalked them up to traditional stories that had been passed down for centuries to teach children cultural lessons. But Adaline, you say, fairytales are just stories. There aren't fairytale princesses, or cave homes where elves whistle while they work. 

Ooooooooh really? Then what would you call her?

Or these?

Now to those of you who answered oh, I'd say that she's a traditional Turkish bride on her wedding day. And those look very much like cave churches in the Turkish region of Cappadocia I would say that you have merely pointed out a few measly technicalities, and that you should probably step away, get a nice cup of coffee and then return when you are ready to appreciate the MAGIC (insert Nanny Adaline's world famous double eyebrow raise/cocked head combination that says I mean business).

Now that's much better. Shall we proceed? The first magical place we visited was Sille, a small village on the edge of Konya. It is pronounced "See-Lay," as opposed to "Silly", which can be seen here:

I'm a little fuzzy on the details, but it seems the village of Sille was originally built in the 4th century around this church, which was a gift for the Roman emperor Constantine from his mom Helena (a quick note to the parental units: I do have a birthday coming up, and Churches are quite nice...).

The inside has been renovated a few times, first in 1833 (by a Sultan whose name I forget) and then again in modern times, so it's pretty swankified:

 

There was also an epic cave church you could walk through where early Christians once practiced in secret, hiding from persecution:

Lexis and I decided these pools were bathtubs. Troy said they were empty graves. Perhaps both? Preferably not at the same time...

I've seen my fair share of ancient ruins, but Sille was completely different from anything I have ever seen before. The locals are all very friendly and accommodating (example: the bride in the first picture had already gotten herself AND that dress in a car when Lexis asked if she could take a picture "with the beautiful princess." Instead of booking it like I would have, the poor girl drug herself out of the car and took tons of pictures with the little tourists. Amazing!). The whole town has a very peaceful vibe, and I highly recommend you visit it when you book your trip to Turkey (which I'm sure this blog has inspired you to do immediately. Right? RIGHT?!).

Now, after Sille I was a little bit worried I wouldn't be impressed by anything else I saw in Turkey. Was this like highschool? Had I peaked too soon? Well, if Sille was my high school, then Cappadoccia was my college years (seriously, there was even some champagne ;). About a three hour drive from Konya, Cappadoccia has the most unique scenery I have ever seen. There are tons of crazy, naturally occurring landmarks punctuated by a bunch of man-made structures like cave homes and cave churches. We even stayed in this cave hotel:

After arriving in Cappadocia (which, by the way, is the region. The town we stayed in is actually called Goreme, but I really like saying Cappadocia. So there.), we asked the hotel manager to take us to what he thought was the best restaurant in town. Of course, he said. My cousin is the manager there. So 15 minutes and one death defying van ride later, we were seated in what would turn out to be my favorite restaurant I've tried so far:

Please excuse the lack of entree photos. I was very hungry and there was simply no time.

After an amazing dinner, I didn't think the trip could get any better. Then there went Troy, always exceeding expectations. Hey ladies, he casually asked Stephanie and I, do you want to go on a hot air balloon ride tomorrow? Umm, wait, is that even a question?

So, at approximately 6:30 the next morning after some notably delicious coffee, Stephanie and I boarded a Butterfly balloon. I'll spare you too much more reading and give you a taste of our journey in photo form:

I can not thank Troy and Stephanie enough for the early birthday present! To celebrate said birthday (or, as the pilot called it, "a safe and successful flight"), there was cake, hot chocolate, and one of my favorites, champagne!

Our pilot, Mike, and a crewman setting up the goods.

 This is only notable because you see the guy in the above picture taking down the balloon? He decided that Stephanie wasn't quite done with her adventure. While we were taking pictures, he motioned for me to hold her ipad and went and stood next to her like he wanted to be in the photo. Psyche! What he really wanted was to pick her up and THROW her onto the wrapped up canopy of the balloon. I was laughing so hard that I didn't see his partner in crime (the gentleman in the green shirt) come from behind and throw me on, too! This was the result:

Although it was the company's fault for feeding me cake right before hand, I'll still be sending an apology and some Advil for his back as soon as I'm fluent in Turkish. ;)

Cappadoccia was magical, and I can't wait to explore more of this amazing country. In the meantime, I encourage everyone to grab life by the horns (or, in this case, the hump!) and have an adventure of your own!

Safe travels,
Adaline

The adventure begins...once I have my coffee.

Now if you're reading this I'm going to make the (what I assume, fairly safe) assumption that you know me. Still, in the off chance you don't and have instead landed here by Googling "blogs about Turkey" and hit "I'm feeling lucky" let me describe myself in one word: Coffee.

I am obsessed. I love it. I neeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeed it. My usual in Corvegas is the Dutch Bro's sugar free, non-fat caramel latte, but I'm pretty much on a first name basis with all the heavy hitters of the coffee world. Starbucks? Skinny Cinnamon Dolce latte, please. Peet's? Sugar free hazelnut mocha, no whip. Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf? Black forest Iced Blended drink (and don't even think about non fat or sugar free on this one. Some things are meant to be full throttle. I live to rebel!). So it should come as no surprise to any of you that on my first day off I went to explore the city, immerse myself in the local culture and of course (the real reason) to find coffee.

Our apartment is about 2 miles from Melvana University, and like any good University town a mere few blocks away is a strip mall where you can get your hair cut, buy a slice of pizza and of course, get coffee (it seems the need to eat greasy,cheap food, look good for a date and stay awake is more of a universal college experience than I first realized. Who knew?). It was a tough choice, but my first official Turkish coffee experience occurred at Robert's Coffee (it won out because the sign above the door said "Established in 1876." Who could argue with 138 years of strip mall?!):

I didn't take any pictures inside, but if you want a mental picture think Starbucks meets an empty night club. It was dark with lots of loud hip hop and pictures of pastries that had sayings like "make your day twinkle". And twinkle it did! I was the only patron so I couldn't release any of my signature dance moves, but I did get a delicious, life affirming mocha before heading home and chancing upon this gem:

 

 I have been known in the past to get two specialty drinks in one day, but at the risk of seeming too American I held off for a few days before returning. This one was really cozy and more traditional in what I think of as a coffee shop. Plus, with a name like that, how could I not go in? It seems the chain was named after this wonderful man who shares my own vision of a beautiful world filled with iced, blended chocolate drinks:

Oh, high school. I made face sheen and braces look good from 2003 -2007.

Alright, so that might be a fabrication. To my knowledge my dad does does not actually own David People Coffee, but I'm thinking I may have inadvertently told the baristas I was an heiress to this coffee fortune because they were really excited when I told them his name was David. I mean, we're talking 'giving me extra napkins' excited. It was a pretty big deal.

Now, if you're still reading this, feel free to take a break and get yourself a cup of coffee so I can tell you about the actual, cultural, non-coffee-related stuff I've been doing in Turkey. I'll wait. Refreshed? Excellent. Let us proceed.

Just like at home, Saturday is market day in Konya! It takes up roughly 2 square blocks and is full of delicious, fresh fruits and veggies, fresh fish, and other edibles in the front and clothing, toys, and various other treasures in the back. It's kind of a hybrid flea/farmers market:

This guy's buddy was adamant he be in the picture. He clearly knows how famous this blog is going to make him.

The pictures don't really do it justice, because it was very quaint and charming. Only about 1/4 of the people you meet out and about in Turkey speak English, and since my Turkish is still pretty rusty (read: I can successfully say water, hello and hair) there's a lot of gesticulating and pointing to get what you want. Still, fresh oranges and strawberries in early February? I'll wave my arms like a chicken if necessary.

That Sunday I got to experience my first ever Turkish basketball game. Unlike in the States where professional sports teams are named for the cities where they're located, Turkish teams are named after their sponsoring companies. So, despite playing in Konya, Troy's team is called Torku which is a candy/sugar/happiness making company (http://www.torku.com.tr/). I think there is a missed opportunity for some candy themed uniforms, but I'm working on it:

It was a nail-bitingly close game, and the fans take it VERY seriously. It was one of the loudest sporting events I have ever been to. They even have a section with a "cheerleader," who I'm pretty sure is just a really excited fan who leads the others in cheers. In this picture, he's standing in the white shirt, facing the crowd on the bottom right of the upper bleachers. He lead them in a very rousing rendition of "We Will Rock You" that made me swoon (or broke my eardrums. I'm still unclear).

And of course, what better way to celebrate someone else burning a lot of calories than to go to a buffet? After the game we went to Rixos, a very classy hotel down the street from the University. I'll let the pictures do the talking, but suffice it to say it was all very, very delicious.

Disclaimer: I am always concerned about my health and well being, so of course I rushed to the salad bar without even a second glance at the desserts. These photos are just to show the variety available, obviously... ;)

So there you have it. A successful first week of drinking coffee, eating Turkish delights and hassling small children. Stay tuned for upcoming adventures to Sille, Cappadocia and of course, lots of coffee!

Safe travels,
Adaline