We don't usually purchase "big" souvenirs when we travel. We generally stick to postcards and fridge magnets as they're light, small and travel well. We followed this practice for the first two months of our world trip but then we got to Cappadocia ...
The town of Avanos has been a centre for terracotta pottery and art since 3,000 BC. We visited a gallery in Avanos where Vanessa made some pottery and then we headed to their showroom where they had lots of unique items.
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| Vanessa's creation from the pottery wheel |
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| Our purchase - wine jug unique to Cappadocia |
There's one other important thing to note about Avanos. In ancient times, the town was named Venessa. You still see Venessa in various spots across town such as this sign for a ceramics manufacturer.
After Avanos / Venessa, we headed to Goreme to learn about Turkish rugs. Lots of folks who've visited Turkey said we'd definitely leave with a Turkish rug. We didn't plan on buying one but once we got there ...
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| Vanessa trying out the merchandise |
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| Our purchase |
In our earlier post on Cappadocia, we mentioned that living in caves or underground used to be common in the area. It's less common now but there are a number of cave hotels where you can have a cave experience while still having modern amenities. Here are a few photos from the cave hotel we stayed at.
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| Inside our cave |
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| Front of the hotel with rooms in the cliff |
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| Soaking up the sun outside of the caves |
A blog post wouldn't be complete without a cute cat photo. Our cave hotel had lots of cats hanging around. Here's one having a bath.
This was the end of our one week stay in Turkey. We almost had to stay longer as we headed to the airport but left our passports and cash behind in our hotel room. Thanks to some fast thinking and even faster driving by our driver, Suleyman, we made our flight to Africa.
Next up - safari!
Vanessa and Blake
