Kapuzbaşı Waterfalls

My newest friend, Bora, took Ashley and me to work with him in the morning to have tea all together with his co-workers. A relaxed chat over tea wa sa nice way to start what would end up being a very full day. After talking about the things we might do that way, Bora decided to ask his boss for a day off. It worked. We piled into his car and drove about 100 kilometers to the southern border of Kayseri, near Adana. On the way we stopped at a bird-watchers heaven, though the place is just called "Bird Heaven". There were cranes and eagles along with a nice view of Turkey's 3rd highest mountain, Erciyes, at almost 4,000 meters.

We continued on the long drive, winding through the mountains. Waiting for us in Kapuzbaşı was a mountain with magnificent waterfalls. A spring-fed underground river had carved its way through the limestone and was just gushing out the side of the cliffs. In the local villages, a thunderous gushing sound accompanies the views. Water crisscrosses the dirt roads, running under small bridges. Pipes run every which way, supplying the locals with limitless fresh water. We walked through the icey pools formed in parts of the road. Standing in front of a waterfall provided one with a refreshing blast of cold air and mist. I tested the water resistance of my camera with a few shots.

Standing in front of those waterfalls was like standing in a freezer. There must have been about a 10 degree Celcius drop between the temperature out in the sun and that standing in front of the waterfalls. We felt so refreshed.

In the evening, we drove around the south and east sides of the Erciyes mountain. For dinner, we had mantı at the best mantı restaurant in the city. It was absolutely perfect and quite different from mantı I've had in İstanbul. We also ate warm bastirma. That was undescribably delicious. That was probably one of the best meals I've ever had. Wasn't expensive, either. After dinner, the three of us went for coffee at the house of one of Bora's co-workers. It was such a long and excellent day.