Cappedocia Part I

Now, on to my series of Cappedocia. Cappedocia, as I've blogged before, is about 3.5 hours from our house. It is an absolute Must See for someone visiting here. It is made up of lava rock, which is so soft it can be carved. Therefore, Christians for centuries carved homes and even entire cities into the rock. It made a perfect hideout for them during persecution.

So, we made a weekend trip there. My folks were in awe, as we knew they'd be.

We took a risk this time. We have always stayed in this same cave hotel. We like it, however, his prices keep going up. We called ahead and asked why they were so high in off season. He grumpily responded, "Well, I still have to heat the place." At the very last minute, we got a tip on another place to stay. Would it be ok? Would it be cold in the cave rooms? Would our guests be comfortable there? We had our friend specifically ask, "Are the rooms warm?" This is a legitimate question. Caves are cold, and one year we stayed overnight down there and were so cold we wore every stitch of clothing we brought, all slept in the same bed, and drove home the next day we were so misearable! The cave owner replied to our question, "You will be so warm, you will complain of the heat." Still, CC packed 2 space heaters!

So, we got there and were so pleasantly surprised and glad we went with the less expensive cave. The owner was delightful, spoke English, was so hospitible that he kept telling us, "This is your home. Do what you want." And perhaps the best surprise of all was that he explained that this cave had been his childhood home. After he married he had renovated it to make it a hotel. But before his family owned it, it had been a 9th century church! We slept in a 9th century church. I had to pinch myself. More tomorrow.