Robbi in her indefatigable pursuit of the unusual and the unique has been
busy sourcing some interesting and very different accommodation during our
stay in the Cappadocia region during our Turkish
Aromatic Odyssey. As a result she found for us
an
amazing, exquisitely restored seventeen room hotel built into a cave
situated in a traditional Cappadocian village.
The hotel is partly located in a one thousand year old Byzantine monastic
retreat complete with frescoes, and offers modern conveniences without
distracting from the character and spiritual feeling of the area which has
been known to be inhabited for more than five thousand years.
There is an underground city just across from the hotel waiting to be
excavated and from our windows we will see fine examples of cave houses
where ancient people once lived.
We will also experience traditional
Turkish
village life with the women filling their water pitchers from the communal
fountain and every two days the village stone oven is fired and we will be
welcomed to taste the hot bread fresh from the oven.
In the hotel kitchen, organically produced food is used in the preparation
of typical Cappadocian style Turkish dishes and our meals will be enjoyed
on
a lovely walled terrace.
After we leave Cappadocia, it is off to Konya and the Mevlana museum,
where
we will see a performance by the Whirling Dervishes and then on to the
Valley of the Roses where we will pick blooms in the early morning with
the
warm hearted village women and enjoy the beautiful fragrance of rose
essential oil being produced at the distilleries we visit.