Coming up – Cappadocia with the Old Age Pensioners

Coming up – Cappadocia with the old age pensioners!

This  Friday I am about to embark on a trip the like of which I have never done before. First of all, I am generally not a fan of organized tours, which this one is. Secondly, my travel companions will be exclusively Turkish old age pensioners. This is how I came by this exotic tour:

When buying my ususk coach ticket to Istanbul with my favorite bus company Kamilkoc, I saw a notice stuk to the window. It was in Turksih only and what I could make out, was that it was an announcement for a 4 day trio to Cappadocia, with 8 stops along the way, starting ibn Kaysri and ending in Koya before returning to Didim. Hotel, breakfast and bus ticket included, the incredible price was all of $125. I didn’t need to think twice. I wanted to visit Konya anyway and here I got a whole lot more thrown in.

Only  after I bought the ticket and went back to speak to an assistant who knew English, did I find out, that this trip, although sold via Kamilkoc was actually organized by a local old age pensioners association. But, of course, anybody was welcome who was willing to buy a ticket.

Imagine my delight at the prospect of the company I’m going to have. You can’t get closer to the Turkish way of life than going on a trip with them.  I’m eager to see what they think about the famous istes of their own country, what interests  and fascinates them.

From my ‘normal’ bus trios I already know that I’ll not be short of food. Many a Turkish lady wouldn’t dream about traveling without a proper supply of home made pide or gözleme. I’ll make sure to bring a box of baklava to share with my fellow travelers.

We won’t go up in a balloon though, which suits me just fine because I won’t fly in anything that hasn’t got at least one engine. But, we’ll visit the underground cathedral, the bizarre  formations of Cappadocia and the monuments of Kayseri and Konya. I have been before, but I’ll now have a chance to see it again from a very different perspective.

I’ve spent the last days polishing up on my Turkish because I doubt that anyone will speak anything else. But I might be wrong. So, stay tuned for the stories I’ll have to tell from this extraordinary trip.

Here are a few pictures from my previous visit:

Castle in Kayseri

Caravanserei Kayseri

Bazaar Kayseri

Cave homes in Ürgüp

Cave hotel Ürgüp

Tags: cappadocia, cave homes, cave hotels, kayseri, senior travel, turkish bazaars, turkish carpets