Going outside of Istanbul

Tour of Cappadocia-Pamukkale-Ephesus-Kusadasi

An overnight bus riding brought me to Cappadocia, the place where you see beautiful pictures of rising hot-air balloons on Instagram. Cappadocia, with its unique geographic features, is actually full of history. Many of its caves had long been the hiding place of early Christians.

The overnight busses were pretty comfortable. The driver will make stops every two or three hours. At the rest stops, you can find bathrooms, food, and sometimes, souvenir shops. From Istanbul to Cappadocia takes around 12 hours, which can be shortened by taking a flight. I did this itinerary via overnight bus to save money on lodging, but you do not necessarily save that much on transport. Surprisingly, domestic flights are very cheap; they were around 20 USD more expensive than buses. Though there is no airport in Cappadocia itself, so you might have to arrange transport from wherever you land to Cappadocia.

The nearby towns of Cappadocia also preserved the original ways of pottery making using local ingredients of quartz to make potteries that are sturdier than china. These are also the right places to learn a bit about the history of wine containers around the central Turkey area throughout history. Aside from that, there are also a lot of Turkish rug shops where you can learn a bit about Turkish rug-making.

Unfortunately, the weather did not favor me during my stay in Cappadocia for a hot air balloon ride. I have to make up my disappointments in Pamukkale with the sunrise hot air balloon ride over the Roman ruins of Hierapolis and the pools of the “Cotton Castle.”

The “Cotton Castle” and Hierapolis are right next to each other, so you might consider bringing your swimsuit on your visit that day. The famous Cleopatra’s Pool is also in the Hierapolis, another reason to bring your swimsuit if you are interested in swimming around Roman columns. One last tip here is to bring waterproof non-slip shoes if you plan to dip in the cotton castle. The flowing water left many sharp edges and slippery spaces on the carbonate minerals. If you don’t have thick footbeds, treading water in the “Cotton Castle” can be painful. Well, at least you are experiencing pain in a beautiful place.

Another night of overnight bus ride brought me to Kusadasi, a Turkish resort town popular with the locals. Kusadasi is a good place to try some cheap Mediterranean seafood and massage before exploring the ruins at Ephesus and the column of the Temple of Artemis (one of the Seven Wonders of The Ancient World). This former city of Paul, the apostle, was once marshland. It is even said that the word for the disease “Malaria” came from Ephesus due to its Roman population getting sick in the marshy lands of Ephesus. Ephesus achieved its peak around Augustus’ era when the city was made the capital of proconsular Asia. Today, you can find shadows of both Greek and Roman influence at Ephesus.

Speaking of the apostle, Ephesus was an important city to early Christianity. The “House of Virgin Mary” is in Ephesus according to the Roman Catholic traditions. Even if you are not a c Christian, you can still come here to make a wish!