A MAGICAL LAND

BY OZLEM AYDIN EVANS

How a trip to Turkey, where her late father once lived, led one writer to her geographic soulmate and a life-changing decision.

After my father passed away, my brother and I decided to take trip through Turjey, the homeland he'd left in the 1970s. It would be like going back in time as we revisited the places my father had taken us when we were children, including Cappadocia. It felt like it belonged in another world, thanks to its "fairy chimneys" - tall, rugged cone-shaped rock formations that dotted its desert-like landscape.

We were supposed to stay there for just one night. We planned to sleep in a cave, watch the famous hot air balloons rise over the horizon in the morning, and then move on. I was anxious to head to the beach in the south of the country, where my father used to take us camping.

Hot air balloons over the rocky landscape and city of Göreme, Cappadocia

After driving for hours, up and down the steep hills of the Anatolia region, it was dark by the time we reached Göreme, the heart of Cappadocia. “I think we’re here,” my brother said, as he turned right off a curvy road.

The sky was pitch black, but the city lights greeted us like a welcome committee. They illuminated the rock formations at their base, giving them a strange, mysterious look. We could see the tiny windows of the rocky caves. It seemed as though we were entering the Land of the Hobbits.

Fairy chimneys over the Milky Way

I felt like a child looking outside of the car window, while my brother navigated his way through the narrow brick-lined roads trying to find our hotel. I imagined how my father had driven through these very streets decades ago. It made me feel closer to him. I had hoped that this trip would be comforting for my brother and me, but I had no clue how this trip would impact the trajectory of my life in the near future.

I slept in a fairy chimney that night. Like a baby. For the first time in months, I did not wake up once. There is something very eerie, and yet soothing, about sleeping in an actual cave-turned-hotel room. It feels like the walls of volcanic rock wrap around you like a big heavy blanket.

Unique cave hotels combine history with the luxurious comforts of the 21st century

The next morning, I woke up to strange noises coming from outside – quick gusts of wind back-to-back, and then silence. As I opened the curtains of the small wooden window of my cave tower, I witnessed the most incredible sight I had ever seen. There were dozens of hot air balloons in the sky – some so close I felt like I could touch their baskets, if I could have fit my arm through the window. The sun was just creeping up over the horizon. It was magnificent.

Something seemed to be shifting in me early that morning and the day had just started. We immediately agreed that we should stay another night. It turned out that there is more to discover in this strange little place. The whole region felt like one big open-air museum. We hiked in the heat so we could see the rock formations shaped by wind, rain and time up-close. Well-maintained trails let us explore the rugged landscape. When the sun became too much, we fled into caves tucked in the valleys to cool down and catch our breath.

Traditional Turkish breakfast with a view;

We ate like royalty, dining on local specialties like manti, tiny dumplings filled with meat or cheese and topped with a rich tomato or garlicky cream sauce. Turkish food is the perfect union of Central Asian, Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cuisines. Each dish is a combination of longstanding traditions and fresh ingredients produced by the country’s many organic farms.

We spent our days exploring, savouring and recalling my time in Turkey with my father. Then I fell in love. Encouraged by the magic of the place, I decided to release the inner-horse girl that had been trapped in my big-city woman’s body and take a ride through the volcanic valleys. Horses are so valued that ancient people named the region after them. Cappadocia’s former name, Katpatuka, means “Land of the Beautiful Horses.”

Cappadocia, known as the “Land of the Beautiful Horses,” is the ideal place to explore on horseback

I meet one of those horses, Elif, that afternoon. She is a full breed Arabian horse and a former champion race horse, my guide Musa told me as we began our trip. At the top of Red Valley, Musa stopped in front of me so we could take in the sweeping view of Cappadocia, stretching out before us in all its incredible beauty.

Along with the area’s ties to my father, it was part of what inspired me to leave my life in Berlin. I packed up my leather boots to begin a new chapter living in Turkey. I believe everyone has a geographical soulmate. Cappadocia is mine. Perhaps it may be yours, too. You’ll find Cappadocia is a place unlike any other. It’s a destination that casts a spell and draws you in, inspiring you to dig deeper to discover its history, its culture and all of its magic.