Jill and me at Narli Gol.
Jill, the rest of our group, and I hopped back into the van and headed off for the next stop on our tour.
It was the amazing Narli Gol and I was very surprised to see such a magnificent lake in the middle of this incredibly dry land.
It is a volcanic crater lake and there is a hotel, just down the hill, where people come and stay so they can be refreshed in the hot springs and relax in the beautiful setting beside the lake.
We were the only people there, and guessed that it is mostly a place people visit during the winter as the hot springs would be too hot in the summer weather, and we loved the peace and solitude.
Being away from the 25,000,000 people in Beijing allows us to remember how much we love the quiet, the calm, and the ease of a less busy land and people.
Istanbul still had 13,000,000 people but it is very different.
We weren’t bumped into constantly, weren’t worried about getting run over while crossing the street, and things were very clean.
Our driver and the rest of our tour group.
I know people that are originally from Istanbul probably think that the “new” Istanbul is too busy and too dirty but, to our eyes, it was perfect.
As we are staying in a town of 4,000, in Goreme, it is even more quiet and peaceful. We can hear the sounds of the truck tires against the pavement as they drive by, miles away, and it is barely noticeable.
We hear birds singing and chirping, which we almost never hear or see in Beijing, unless they are in cages.
It is just a different way of life and we look forward to finding a way to have that peace and calm in our lives more as we spend time in beautiful Turkey and remember what nature is like in all its glory.