The Worst Thing About Cappadocia

It’s not all about balloons in the air.

My sexy new roommate (less than a year counts as “new,” right?) was being a good daughter, having achieved on this trip huge success in her own way: We were going to get married.

And Cappadocia was the perfect place to celebrate. Like a pre-honeymoon.

Although there is no such thing as the best travel plan, one element of it might involve traveling to a destination to which neither partner had visited. My wife and I had both traveled to Turkey on different occasions before we met.

This was our first time together in the land that has straddled the history between Europe and Asia for centuries if not for millennia.

When we landed in Kayseri, we walked into a surprise that shouldn’t have been a surprise. Even if we hadn’t been living in China at the time, I should’ve kept an eye on the calendar.

There are multiple calendars.

The airport was filled with Chinese tourists, some arriving, most departing. My fiancée and I had flown into one of the most popular tourist destinations in all of Turkey during what is recognized as the largest annual human migration in the world: Spring Festival (Chinese New Year).

This is what happens when you’re the most populous country in the world. Going back home to celebrate this holiday together with family is paramount. “Home” could be as far as thousands of kilometers for migrant workers who travel from their villages to nearby or not-so-nearby cities for work. I guess you’re still a migrant worker if you move from a city to a bigger city for more opportunities.

But, for better or worse, the words “migrant worker” conjure a particular image, don’t they?

Or is it just me?

Well, it was definitely just me looking like I probably belonged with one of those tourist groups but at the same time accompanied by a beautiful woman who looked like she could be a local.

After we wove our way through the Chinese crowd that opted to spend their holiday abroad (there is an increasing population of Chinese who can do so, and Turkey has made efforts to tap into this market by participating in commercial fairs held in various cities throughout China — this was before the pandemic), we spent way longer than we should’ve had to for the taxi sent by our hotel to pick us up.

This is/was not the worst thing about Cappadocia.

When I went hot air ballooning for the first time in Temecula, California, our guide told us that if he were to lose his job the next day, he could take a plane to Cappadocia, Turkey, and be hired on the spot. They need that many hot air balloon operators.

And not a few of them were probably foreigners hired on a premium (or not), which would explain the exuberant prices. I forget whether it was a hundred euros per person or per couple, but either way it was so expensive that my wife and I said no to what is perhaps the most common reason travelers visit Cappadocia.

This is/was not the worst thing about Cappadocia.

The region has other attractions to offer.

From the breakfast room (is it accurate to call it that just because we ever only had breakfast there although I think it serves lunch and dinner as well?) of our cave hotel, we enjoyed the fairy-tale view of Goreme, with its natural chimneys made of a mixture of rock, basalt, and volcanic ash and other materials.

Breakfast usually lasted three hours. We ate far more cheese and drank far more tea and coffee than we should’ve.

This is/was not the worst thing about Cappadocia.

We got to see the hot air balloons once during breakfast. They floated eerily uniformly into the air. The weather was suitable that day. And only that day.

Eventually my wife and I would find out that perhaps sleeping in a cave hotel was not the best idea for me. It’s been years, and we still haven’t figured it out, but somehow our bodies had a hard time adapting, and the quality of our sleep dropped dramatically.

Still not the worst thing.

Various tour companies offer three lines to see the sights within driving distance from Goreme, which some might call a town but I consider a village (albeit a village in Turkey boasting six Chinese restaurants and one Korean — restaurant, not person… though I did meet a Korean who spoke Turkish).

Sights include the aptly named Valley of Love (the rock formations, um, have a rather distant shape) and a ceramic-making workshop in a nearby town/village.

All fine and enjoyable.

Until we saw the camels for hire (not as transport, of course, just as a photo accessory).

Cappadocia is not a desert. It has continental climate. The camels were not in their natural habitat. I don’t consider myself an animal activist, nor does my wife even though she loves animals. But these majestic creatures looked irrevocably sad being led around by businessmen aiming to make a few lira. And a tad malnourished.

My wife gave the stink eye to everyone who climbed on top of any of the camels.

This is not a call to action. Perhaps just an emphatic nod to how amazing a destination Cappadocia is if this is/was the worst thing about it for us.

Dash Ip must admit he did once upon a time take a picture on top of a camel. Oh, youth…

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