July 26th. Cappadocia
















 So Cappadocia is about 2000 BC. It has an incredible history that I hope to at least scratch the surface. This area of Cappadocia was formed due to 2 major volcanoes. These volcanoes created so much ash that it created these dome like structures. It's an incredible sturdy material considering these have withstood time. The Hittetlins ruled Cappadocia until the Attilyans took over. Then the Persians then Alexander the Great. It kept going on and on until the Turks took over. Interesting because Christians were the first organized religion with Islam coming later.  Interesting that the christian and Islam shared the same church/mosque. The Muslims prayed on their time and the Christians prayed on their time. All got along very well sharing in everything.  The ottomans then came to power then the Persians. Eventually the Turks came into power. Ottomans  held Eurasia for 600 years  until 1922 after WW1 when Turkey held power. Greece and Turkey before then christians and Muslims were living in harmony. 1922 the great population exchange began. If you were Greek and christian you had to move back to Greece even if you had family. If you were living in Greece and believed in Islam you had to move to Turkey. It didn't matter if you had generations of family in that  country change your religion or move back. As our guide said she is Turkish with great grand parents who are Greek said we are all the same blood we still stand as one. From my perspective it seems that even though the people stand as one the government of each country do not follow that belief.  If you look at the photos you can sort of make out the underground cities. These cities came to be when the Ottomans wanted to live in peace but the Persians were coming to fight. They built these underground cities to stay safe. The next couple of photos are of our cave hotel. This tub is awesome!!  The bed is also incredible. You can smell the moistness in here. It's 95 outside but feels 70 in here. Pretty amazing. Hot air balloon ride with about 300 others going up with us!

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