Imbibing in Cappadocia...
May 3, 2006
Tonight, Cindy and I hung out at the bar at our hotel. We drank. We drank a lot. Especially me. I really don’t want to do this
kind of stuff by myself so I’ve made a conscious effort to do it when I’m with my friends. In fact, I’m drunk as I’m writing this…
Truth be told, there’s a hot Turk working at our hotel. Our mouths literally dropped when we checked in. But this is really
irrelevant information because it does not relate to our night. I just wanted to put this piece of information out there…
We decided to go to the bar around 6pm since we have to be up early for our balloon ride. We started with some wine. Then we
continued with taking control of the music selection in the bar/restauant. Then we continued yet again with chatting up the
nephew of the owner of the hotel who was ever-so-kindly continuing to give us bottomless glasses of Cappadocia wine. I’m still
laughing at what Cindy asked him. Maybe you had to be there but it was really funny. When girls go over all of the cheesy pick-
up lines that guys could use, this one tops the list.
Cindy: “Sooo…(a pause due to thinking of what to say next) Do you come here often?” I know this doesn’t sound that funny. But
it was. Believe me. We both were in hysterics for the next minute that ensued.
This was the beginning of many silly things to come.
I showed a few Turkish guys who worked at the hotel my impression of a Whirling Dervish. After four glasses of wine, I’m
pretty sure I did not look like a Whirling Dervish. I don’t think I’ve ever witnessed a real Whirling Dervish. The closest I got was
this morning at a souvenir shop when I played a Whirling Dervish music box thingie and I saw it spin. But my Whirling Dervish
rendition probably made work worthwhile for all of the guys there. From their reaction, they were happy that they caught this
performance.
Then I told the nephew about how I watched a camel give another camel…um…’a good time’ when we were in Pamukkale.
Then we were poured Yeni Raki—a licorice flavored alcohol. I hate licorice but lots of wine obviously impairs my ability to say
‘no’ when being told to drink another drink. I don’t know what the chemical compound of this stuff is but it starts off clear and
then turns white when water is added. And water needs to be added because this stuff is meant to be diluted. Bizarre.
After more wine and more Yeni Raki, it was time to call it a night, call our friend Jenna back in San Francisco to wish her a
happy 30th birthday and then go to bed to catch our 4:50 am wake-up call to make it to our balloon ride. I’m just hoping the
hangover isn’t too painful…
Tonight, Cindy and I hung out at the bar at our hotel. We drank. We drank a lot. Especially me. I really don’t want to do this
kind of stuff by myself so I’ve made a conscious effort to do it when I’m with my friends. In fact, I’m drunk as I’m writing this…
Truth be told, there’s a hot Turk working at our hotel. Our mouths literally dropped when we checked in. But this is really
irrelevant information because it does not relate to our night. I just wanted to put this piece of information out there…
We decided to go to the bar around 6pm since we have to be up early for our balloon ride. We started with some wine. Then we
continued with taking control of the music selection in the bar/restauant. Then we continued yet again with chatting up the
nephew of the owner of the hotel who was ever-so-kindly continuing to give us bottomless glasses of Cappadocia wine. I’m still
laughing at what Cindy asked him. Maybe you had to be there but it was really funny. When girls go over all of the cheesy pick-
up lines that guys could use, this one tops the list.
Cindy: “Sooo…(a pause due to thinking of what to say next) Do you come here often?” I know this doesn’t sound that funny. But
it was. Believe me. We both were in hysterics for the next minute that ensued.
This was the beginning of many silly things to come.
I showed a few Turkish guys who worked at the hotel my impression of a Whirling Dervish. After four glasses of wine, I’m
pretty sure I did not look like a Whirling Dervish. I don’t think I’ve ever witnessed a real Whirling Dervish. The closest I got was
this morning at a souvenir shop when I played a Whirling Dervish music box thingie and I saw it spin. But my Whirling Dervish
rendition probably made work worthwhile for all of the guys there. From their reaction, they were happy that they caught this
performance.
Then I told the nephew about how I watched a camel give another camel…um…’a good time’ when we were in Pamukkale.
Then we were poured Yeni Raki—a licorice flavored alcohol. I hate licorice but lots of wine obviously impairs my ability to say
‘no’ when being told to drink another drink. I don’t know what the chemical compound of this stuff is but it starts off clear and
then turns white when water is added. And water needs to be added because this stuff is meant to be diluted. Bizarre.
After more wine and more Yeni Raki, it was time to call it a night, call our friend Jenna back in San Francisco to wish her a
happy 30th birthday and then go to bed to catch our 4:50 am wake-up call to make it to our balloon ride. I’m just hoping the
hangover isn’t too painful…
A double-fisted cheers.