Cappadoccia.

I know it's been quite a while since I've posted. I thought about continuing my posts on our trip to Turkey, but it seemed like so much time had passed. I hadn't really talked about the trip much for a couple of months until last night. I went to dinner with a good friend at Mazza and as I was telling her about the trip and eating the Middle Eastern food it made me realize what a great experience it was. That being said, I decided (for my sake) I would finish chronicling our trip so that I'll remember details that will fade over time (some of them have already).

After the hotel owner picked us up from our hike through Love Valley, he dropped us in Goreme (a crazy backpacker town) and we walked the street until J successfully spied a restaurant, Mercan, at the top of a hill. The restaurant was open air and had three levels. The host took us to the roof where there were about five tables and we were seated during a beautiful sunset (see the picture of J above). The setting was unlike anything we had ever experienced. We were looking through the menu when we heard the Muezzin perform the Azan for the first time. It was surreal to hear this with the mosque (and minaret) and the cave dwellings in the back ground as the sun set. It is probably the most vivid moment of the trip in my memory. The night only got better as the authentic Turkish food served at Mercan was the best we had. We had hummus, shepard salad and pitas (pictured above) followed by a lamb stew cooked in pottery and another dish with bismati rice. The waiter broke the terracotta pot that the lamb stew was in and pieces crashed to the floor, I think he was quite proud that we ordered the dish and the other diners watched this display. We followed this amazing feast up with some of the best baklava with ice cream I've eaten (doesn't it look DELISH?!). As the weather cooled during the evening one of the servers brought pashminas up for the diners. If any of you make the trek to Cappadoccia, I definitely recommend dining at Mercan.