Now, Göreme’s got the right idea. They know what they have and they are workin’ it big-time. Go, Göreme!

After checking into our room back in Ürgüp, we decided to drive into Göreme to assess the scene. It is only a ten minute drive and all along the route, we saw backpackers, all sweaty and smiling. That might have been me back in my twenties. As it was, I felt no guilt driving by them ensconced in an SUV (B’s parents insisted that we take their new car), air-conditioning ruffling my hair. Just driving to the various sights and then hiking around was plenty of exercise for me. If I had actually had to walk to the sight and then keep on walking only to have to turn around and walk back in that kind of heat, I would have had slightly less enthusiasm, to be sure. But as I say, I suffer no yuppie guilt.

As soon as we drove into town, we began to feel much relief. I don’t think I have ever been happier in my life to see tour buses and people with rucksacks. There were Asian tourists with their hats and parasols. There were hippie kids in Birkenstocks and dreadlocks. There were rowdy Aussies enjoying a nargile (waterpipe) cafe. We breathed a sigh of thanks. This was a functioning town where we could actually expect to be served a glass of tea; somewhere we would be happy to lay money down.

And Göreme certainly provides many opportunities for you to part with your cash. If it can go, you can rent it. Jeeps, cars, bicycles, scooters, motor-cross bikes (I am not kidding), quads, horses, camels. And we saw people enjoying a bit of everything, although quads seemed to be the vehicle of choice. I secretly wanted to rent one, but it made little sense seeing as we had a car and I was holding out for the experience I had not yet had in my life: riding a camel. So, I held my tongue whenever someone whizzed by on a fat quad, giddy and free.

Luckily, it wasn’t mobbed because I could see how that could get old real fast in a town that small. But there were enough fellow tourists around to make me feel cozy. For one, when there are others around, there’s a buzz in the air. Cafes are jumping, service tends to be more brisk, people are happy to have something to do, after all.

We settled into one such cafe that was bursting with Aussies and Kiwis for a spot of tea. It’s called Fat Boys which is a rather ridiculous name. (*editor’s note: Apparently the name is a double entendre. The owner’s surname is Şişman and şiş means “fat” in Turkish. Thank you for telling me, Angela:)But it has Ottoman-style seating out front, so we found ourselves there many a time on our trip because that’s how we roll. If we can take off our shoes and curl up on some cushions, we are plenty amused.

We consulted the Lonely Planet to find a cool hotel. Having slept in a cave the night before, I was sold on the whole experience. First of all, obviously it is very chilly, a nice respite after slogging through the heat all day. We even slept under a down duvet. And secondly, it is pitch freakin’ black. That suited me just fine as I get fussy about even the least bit of light when I am trying to sleep. Nope, no nightlight for me as a kid. Falling asleep in that room was like falling down an endless ventilation shaft; reaching the bottom only when the sun came up.

We decided to up the ante in Göreme and sleep in a fairy chimney, the geological wonders that pockmark the area. Talk about a once in a lifetime experience! I read that there are also fairy chimneys in the US (in the Badlands of South Dakota and the Colorado Plateau), but felt pretty smug knowing that none of them featured hotels. Score one for Turkey. It wouldn’t kill the US to give up some points here and there, would it?

Read on for part three. I chopped the post in half to spare you from it’s too-bloody-longness.