Esbelli Evi - Urgup, Turkey (Cappadocia)

As Eliot would say this place was a “splurge” for us. He might also say that it was “luxurous”, meaning luxurious, which it definitely was. Our friends from Durham, Murat and Leslie, had stayed here and sung its praises. We also saw endless praise for it all over the internet. We knew that we wanted to spend a night or two at one of the famous “cave hotels” in Cappadocia, and after really taking the rough backpacker route for a week in Istanbul and then the 12 hour night bus here, we felt that a splurge was in order. The family suite ended up being the largest place we’ve stayed in yet, save for JM’s mother’s house in Cuenca, Ecuador. And, it had two bathrooms! So, we moved from a shared 10-bed dorm room with a shared bathroom to two bathrooms, two bedrooms, a sitting room and a kitchen; now that is luxury! Of course, why do we need more than two bathrooms in our houses back at home anyway?

The coolest thing by far was that the entire suite was carved out of the rock hillside of this small town in central Turkey. One of the kid’s beds was actually carved into the rock wall. How cool is that!?!

So, loads of rooms, bathrooms to spare, great breakfasts with a tremendous view, helpful staff, etc. We really enjoyed our stay but were careful not to get accustomed to that level of service.  It even came with five pair of cushy terry slippers embroidered with Esbelli Evi across the top which we now carry with us.

WGGSH? - Absolutely — she’d love the slippers!

WWSHA? - Ditto