A storytelling home by Léa Plourde-Archer

Cappadocia is one of Turkey’s most visited regions and with good reason: the whole region’s topography was  formed through thousands of years of erosion on the soft stone hills, thus creating unique landscapes that seem like they belong on the moon rather than on this planet.

We spent  three full days over there and could easily have filled many more with loads of outdoor activities. Most people that visit Cappadocia take a hot air balloon ride that lifts off at 6AM and takes tourists through the area. We decided to opt out as we prefered to visit the area with our feet firmly planted to the ground. No regrets (though everyone we spoke to that took the balloon ride loved it).

There are so many interesting things to discover while walking through the valleys!  We hired an experimented guide who goes by the name of Walking Mehmet. He took us to secluded areas and shared lots of interesting information about the region. The next day we decided to take another guided tour, this time by bus so we could cover longer distances. As things turned out, our good fortune stood by us and we ended up having another private  tour with yet another excellent guide named Mehmet (from what we gather, in Turkey Mehmet is as common a name as John is in North America). He took us to many amazing places during that day: among which an underground city, a caldera lake, the breathtaking Ilhara valley and the rock monastery of Selime.

Here are a few photos:

Rose Valley