the turquoise trail

{Saturday November 2} I got up around 7 this morning, had a shower and then we went to the dining room for breakfast. I was quite excited to see French toast this morning. After breakfast we went for a little walk out to the back of the hotel, where there is a really nice pool area.  We met our group at 8:15 to get our day started. We will have a very full day today so hopefully we can keep on schedule.  Fairy Chimneys of Goreme Our first stop this morning will be at the fairy chimneys of Goreme. The chimneys were formed by a volcano (2005m high) that erupted basalt stones and volcanic ash thousands of years ago.  The elements consumed the ash, but basalt is very hard so it remained.  The Christians carved out the rocks, forming churches and living in the rocks between the 4th and 14th century.  It is extremely unique landscape and really quite stunning. I feel like we barely had enough time to take it in, but most of the stops have been a whirl...

{Saturday October 26th}  3:30 am now... Very tired and yet I keep waking up every couple hours. The windows here seem to be very thin as we can hear everything!  Going to try for more sleep now as we have a full day coming!   Sunrise over the Golden Horn We got up around 7am this morning and headed up to the 7th floor for breakfast. Above the restaurant there is an open terrace, so we went there to watch the sunrise. It was quite cloudy this morning, so not the best view of the sunrise, but still an amazing view overlooking the city. We can also see the Bosporus behind the hotel.  Breakfast here is interesting but still pretty good. Quite a selection of olives laid out, also cheeses, and tomato and cucumber. There was also a table of breads and pastries, fresh honeycomb, fruit and yogurt, and some hot food.. Eggs, "sausage" aka hotdog, and potatoes.  Quite tasty, and the beautiful view helps too :)  After breakfast we came back to the room...