More Istanbul, Ankara, Cappadoccia 10-9,11
		Here are a few more Istanbul shots and then some of the capital of Turkey, Ankara (I didn't know that) and then some of the mystical Cappaddoccia region.
							Back to more pleasant topics, namely food. I am not sure what kind of fire hazard this is but these guys grill the fish they just caught right on the boat here, slap it in a roll and there you have a sandwich for about 75 cents.  Also amazing is that since the there are about 1.6 million turkish lira to each dollar anyone dealing with money carries around these huge rolls of bills and all of the tourists walking around counting how many zeros are in each bill.  There is also another game in that  no one wants small bills since they distrust larger bills because of a counterfit problem.  So this guy selling fish sandwhiches for  75 cents could easily be holding say 75 million turkish lira, mostly in 1 million lira bills.  Makes you feel pretty rich when you go to the ATM
		After the Muslims arrived they built a beautiful palace called Topkapi complete with its own 300 wife harem.  Turkish art resonates with me because it is definately a blend of east and west, just check out the rugs and pottery.  But here is one thing that is very hard for me to even say out loud, Eunichs, ouch.  This was their corridor where they protected the entry to the Harem.  Eunichs don't necesarily give me the willies but for a long time I imagined that what made a Eunich a Eunich was all just an old wise tale, nope its true. yikes.
		How many times can you say I am going to try and go from Asia to Europe and back 100 times today.  OK, I am not sure if you'd ever want to but you could by crossing this bridge 100 times, that's Europe on the left and Asia on the right. By the way, the fort on the left was built in 3 months as a base from which to overthrow the Christians in the 1400s.  How do you build something that big that fast?  Tell the folks that their comp plan says if you don't build it in 3 months than you will investigate the bottom of the ocean with a big rock tied to your ankle.
							This is the tomb of probably one of the greatest leaders ever, Ataturk.  Every city has a street and statue of Ataturk within their city limits.  Prior to Ataturk (which means father of Turkey) coming to power in the 1930s, Turkey was falling apart under the faltering rule of the byzantine empire.  Turkey was being cut up by the Greeks, the allies and anyone that could get a piece.  Ataturk, a former military leader, formed a new government and made some radical changes, he introduced the western alphabet to promote reading and study, he allowed women to vote, he formalized education.   Definately a biography that should be read.  I had never heard about him before I got here either.
		After Istanbul I took a 12 hour night train (the only good train in Turkey) to the center and capital of the country, Ankara.  Ataturk made the small trading city the capital of Turkey in the 1930s and didn't even visit Istanbul for the last 15 years of his rule.  I don't blame him, the people are much, much nicer the further east you go.  At the Archeological museum in Ankara, they have artifacts from the oldest known civilization in the world.  This painting was done in 7000 BC, yes 10,000 years ago. Amazing that they could do this and I can't get my DSL to stay up more than 20 minutes at a time today.
							After 4 hours in Ankara, I jumped on one of the great Turkish buses for a 4 hour ride to the mysterious Cappadoccia.  Many years ago, this place was covered in volcanic ash, as the ash hardened, some of the soft stone underneath began washing away and you are left with these funny smokestack looking chimneys.  People built houses and churches, cut tables, coffins, ovens in the soft stone.
							It is amazing that nothing blows up when you are inflating one of these things.  The funny thing is is that I just finished reading Richard Branson's biography the night before and it seems like everytime he goes up in a balloon it crashes.  Nevertheless, mine was very safe.
		The best way to see the beauty of cappadoccia is by balloon, it was awesome and I highly recommend it.  Well worth the 350 million lira I paid.  I have a ton of balloon shots and we flew over some great hiking and mountain bike trails.  You can take a 7 day camping, mountain bike trip through this beautiful countryside.