Turkey

Istanbul

Turkey was our first country outside of Europe. Neither of us knew much about it, other than its where people go for fake teeth, plastic surgery, and cheap hair plugs. We also knew Turkey was home to Cappadocia, which was the number one spot on Kaitlyn’s bucket list. So we decided on 10 nights in Istanbul and 5 in Cappadocia.

The city is known for being in the divider of two continents, Europe and Asia. The first thing you notice when you arrive here is the cats. They are everywhere: in the subway, on the streets, sitting in cafes, even on top of cars. Then you notice how healthy and friendly they are. They aren’t the typical angry alley cats you’d expect in a big city. Everyone here takes great care of them. They treat them like communal pets by building them little homes and giving them food throughout the day. Needless to say, it was an awesome surprise for us. Every place we walked took five times as long as it should have, since Kaitlyn (and me too) had to stop and pet the cats along the way.

Another thing you pick up on is the Islamic influence. You hear the call to prayers throughout the streets all day long. The first one is at 5:50 am, which was great because that is exactly when we wanted to wake up each morning… There are mosques on every corner with men constantly going in and out for their five daily prayers.

The biggest standout of all though, the food! We pride ourselves on our food knowledge, but Turkey had never been on our radar. So we were baffled as place after place served some of the best food we’ve ever tasted. By day two, we had officially decided that Istanbul was the best food city we’d ever been to. Everything is cooked over an open fire here, there are definitely no fire codes. Also they are the Michael Jordan of chicken wings. Every place had incredible wings, even the ones we got in a mall food court were better than any I’ve had in the States. This hurts me to type, but I have a duty to report the truth to my readers.

After each meal comes the Turkish tea. The Turks love their tea and have a small cup after each meal and/or cigarette. It didn’t take long for it to grow on us too. Despite us not really being tea drinkers, we started craving it. We also loved their coffee. The famous Turkish coffee is not like any you've had before. They grind the coffee beans super fine, boil them in water, and then… leave the grounds in. You have to remember that when you are drinking one or you'll take the last sip and end up with a mouthful of coffee soot. 

Taksim

The first half of our Istanbul stay was in an Airbnb in Taksim. Taksim is a big cultural hub in the northern part of the European side. There are restaurants, food stalls, shops, and sand pits brewing Turkish coffee everywhere. It’s got a good mix of energy, food, and character without feeling like you are stuck with all the other tourists. This was our favorite area and where we'd stay when we come back.

Fatih

This is the second area we stayed in (after Cappadocia) and also on the European side. This is where all the tourists are, though for good reason. Fatih is close to all the big attractions like the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia, and the Topkapi Palace. They also have two big markets here, the Grand Bazaar and the Spice Bazaar. We really enjoyed wandering around here. At these markets you can buy anything you want: spices, teas, fabrics, and every knock-off designer item you could ever think of. It was also really funny watching the men carry tiny teacups, haggling and yelling at each other about prices. It is a world-class spot for people watching.

Fatih is also great because it’s also well connected to other parts of the city, with the metro and ferry system making it easy to explore. One day, we took a ferry to the Asian side to check out the cool hipster neighborhood, Kadiköy. We really enjoyed it here too and would likely choose over Fatih next time. 

Unfortunately, our hotel in this area was not quite up to the reviews and pictures we saw online. It was cheap and we got what we paid for. Thin walls and a lot of mysterious smells, but we just took that as a sign to get out and explore the city as much as we could.

When you visit, the city gives off an action-movie vibe, that’s the only way I can describe it. Everyone seems busy and hustling. Restaurants are packed, cars are honking, and you’re constantly dodging traffic. You pass through multiple metal detectors each day, see cars being swept for explosives, and spot cops everywhere with MP5s with no trigger discipline. It all adds a sense of adventure and drama, but it was fun, and we never felt unsafe.

The extra precautions make sense though when you think about where they are located on the map. They have some pretty noisy neighbors. You have Ukraine to the north, Iran in the east, and Syria and Israel to the south. They are kind of in the center of all the world news right now.

Regardless, the people are happy and friendly. They’re also incredibly honest. At one point, we noticed a lady hop on a packed bus through the back door. She could have easily gotten away without paying the fare, but instead she passed her credit card up the line of passengers, each person handing it closer to the front of the bus to pay. They then sent the card back to her like it was no big deal. You could tell this was a common practice. I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t hand over my credit card to random people on a bus at home.

Turkey is known for its wellness and spa treatments, so we both decided to treat ourselves while we were here. Kaitlyn opted for a traditional Hammam, or Turkish bath, and I got my first haircut of the trip that I didn’t give myself. It was tough trusting a barber who didn't speak any English, but thankfully it turned out pretty good.

Cappadocia

Kaitlyn has been dreaming of the hot air balloons in Cappadocia for a long time now, and honestly, it's the whole reason we decided to come to Turkey in the first place. So halfway through our stay we got a 90-minute flight from Istanbul to Cappadocia. We arrived and quickly realized there was a lot more to do and see beyond just the balloons.

The landscape looks like a mix of the Grand Canyon and the Looney Tunes version of Mars. Crazy rock formations, naturally occurring pillars, and chalky rock everywhere. Each one with holes carved in them by people centuries ago that lived inside.

Ortahisar

We started our stay in Ortahisar, a small, quiet town. The area is full of abandoned cave homes and churches, so we spent our first couple of days wandering around and climbing through them. The homes were originally built by early Christians escaping persecution from the Romans. They carved into the rock to create shelter to stay hidden. As the community grew, so did the cave infrastructure. Over time they built out underground cities and getting to explore all of this by ourselves was amazing. We even stayed at Potamia Cave Suites, which was a hotel built into the caves. It was a super cool experience, but we didn’t realize how dusty our clothes would get. The caves are easy to carve into which means the walls naturally chip over time. We easily picked up a couple extra pounds of rock dust that fell on our clothes and in our suitcases.

While we were here we got to take a horseback ride through Sword and Red Valley. This was a 'must-do' for us since the name, Cappadocia, literally means "land of beautiful horses". Even though Kaitlyn is from a small town in Texas, she's not a big fan of riding horses. However, she decided to give it a shot anyway. We saddled up and had a very memorable sunset ride on the sand trails.

Goreme

After a couple of days in Ortahisar, we moved to the next town over, Goreme, the most popular area of Cappadocia. This is where you see all the Instagram-famous spots and where the balloons take off and land. We really enjoyed staying here and there is a lot more to do, but we preferred the laid-back vibe of Ortahisar more. Goreme had more tourist traps, gimmicks, and people trying to get your business. It wasn’t bad, but just a trade-off compared to where we started.

Now for the ‘pièce de résistance’... the hot air balloons! It turned out to be way trickier than expected. If you think you can just show up, ride a balloon, and leave, you’ll most likely be disappointed. Each morning, the city gives the balloons either a green light or often, a red one. Too much wind or the conditions are slightly off, and they call it off. Our original reservation got cancelled for wind. Since everyone else was also cancelled it caused a messy chain reaction. Prices shot up and everyone scrambled to secure spots for the following morning. It was pretty chaotic and we thought we might not even get to do it. Finally, two days later, we secured a spot. Then our time came and at sunrise we took off. We instantly forgot about all the chaos. The views were absolutely unreal and better than anything we could have imagined. Kaitlyn got a little emotional (and maybe I did too, I’ll never admit). I’ll let you look at the pictures because they’ll do a much better job describing it than I can.

Riding the hot air balloons in Cappadocia should be on everyone’s bucket list. It’s pricey, kind of tricky to plan, and not the easiest city to get to. But it’s one of the most incredible things we’ve ever done and something we’ll never forget.

The last thing we did was a little hike outside the town to a place named Love Valley. It’s a gorge in the ground, with large rock-hard pillars erected all around. It’s a great place to get some creative photos. Just be careful viewing these pictures out in public. You have been warned.

Istanbul

Turkey will be greatly missed. Istanbul easily became our favorite city on the trip so far, and Cappadocia exceeded all our expectations. The culture, food, tea, coffee, and most importantly the cats were all amazing and we can't wait to come back.

When we do, Kaitlyn will for sure bring extra suitcases, not for clothes but for all the cats she'll smuggle back to the States with us.

Places we loved:

Food:

• Adana Ocakbasi
• Dürümzade
• V.K. Champion Fish
• Bilice Kebap
• Nazar Börek

Coffee:

• Petra Roasting
• Mandabatmaz

Next up we touch down in Africa and explore Egypt.

Salam alaikum!