Well, it was finally time to leave Göreme and head back to where we started from. I admit that it was kind of bittersweet, but we’d spent more than enough time here, and going back to something more cosmopolitan was what we were looking forward to.

The main tourist destination in Göreme is the Open Air Museum, and it was logical to check it out before leaving. Since we had plenty of time to spare and since it was walkable, we headed out. From our hotel to the museum, it took us maybe fifteen or so minutes, and it was nice to get some more exercise in. Though, we did have to walk uphill once we were on the grounds, and I was slightly panting at the end of it. We paid for our tickets and headed into the place, and it was relatively crowded for that time of morning. Our pace was fairly leisurely and we saw some neat painting and carvings in the small huts, but given how we’d spent the last two days exploring older, bigger churches, it wasn’t anything super special. So, if you do come to the Open Air Museum, I’d suggest doing so before you embark on any tours around the region.

After returning, we lounged around a bit longer before heading to reception to check out, but our van back to the airport wouldn’t be arriving for another several hours. No worries, we at least were able to drop our stuff off before going out in the pouring rain for lunch. I’d found a nice little place tucked away in the back alleys of the town, but we had to hike around to get there. This place was, for all intents and purposes, a hidden gem: it literally was a home kitchen. We parked ourselves in the corner and waited as the woman in charge put our food on the stove, and while the service was a bit slower than the touristy places, the wait was worth it! With all the döner we’d had, it was nice having a good old fashioned steak, and I wolfed mine down in a flash! I do want to mention how there were two cats there, and they got a bit cheeky in trying to take some of our food; the owners gave us a small waterbottle to spray the felines whenever they got too bold. As my mom pointed out, I did kind of encourage them since I did pet them a bit, which I couldn’t really complain. All in all, if you want something more intimate and hidden from the touristy places in Göreme, I can recommend the Omurca Art Cave Cafe!

Once we left, we retraced our steps back through the muddy back alleys to our hotel, where we waited in the lobby for our van. There’s not much to say other than the half an hour or so to the airport was straightforward and we were there in a jiffy. Plus, the van came with wifi, which enabled me to chill a bit on my iPad! Though, once we arrived, it was soon apparent that our flight was delayed, meaning we had an extra hour without internet access (first world problem, I know) to kill. My mom was occupied chatting with some Chinese teachers, so for her, time flew by in a blink of an eye. Not so much for me, but it enabled me to catch up with my Kindle. Once we landed back in Istanbul Airport, she still was chatting with them, and I admit that I was a bit annoyed due to having to wait for her before we could leave.

What we did this time was take the metro to get to our hotel, which was closer to the tourist sites than our previous one. Well, this took a lot more time than expected. So, the line connecting the airport to the city was straightforward, but retracing our steps was not. We had to make a few line changes, and the main issue came with the last one: we thought that we could take a shortcut that would’ve taken us a bit further south of the closest station to our hotel. However, the exits weren’t quite clear meaning that when we left, we somehow got left farther away than expected, so we headed back in and retraced our steps to the original station, and from there we walked twenty minutes. Adding to our situation was how we were walking up and down some steep-enough cobblestone streets with our bags, and my mom was getting pretty close to snapping since we were walking around the perimeter of the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia. Fortunately for us, we managed to find out hotel, and it turned out that it was just beyond the latter.

Finally, we were checked in! However, the receptionist told us that unfortunately, the internet was down, and apparently it was the case for the entire block. While this was a buzzkill, it was late enough that we didn’t really need it. After a quick shower in the cozy, albeit pretty tiny, room, we headed out to find some dinner. The immediate vicinity from the hotel was pretty devoid of any places to eat at 9PM, so it was somewhat fortuitous that a greeter for a seafood restaurant invited us in to the place, which was on the top floor of the building. Was it touristy from a quick glance at the menu? Yeah, a bit, but we didn’t care. Once at the top, we did have a solid view of the neighborhood, and the food was good. Afterwards we didn’t linger due to fatigue, and from there the remainder of the night passed by very quickly. It was good to back in Istanbul, and our last full day was bound to be a good one!