During my last semester in undergraduate, I was seized by the desire to explore more of the US. Using a free ticket I got off a company I had interviewed with, I made my way to Las Vegas to fulfill my long-held wish to see the Grand Canyon. It was a grand sight and I swore that one day, I would return to hike it. Unfortunately, as a poor NGO type, that wish is unlikely to happen anytime soon.

The thought stayed with me and so, I was glad when I stumbled upon Cappadocia in Turkey enroute to Syria. It had the moonscapes of the Grand Canyon, and a desert-like valley that I eagerly crawled all over. It also had the churches carved into rock walls very much like what I saw in Dunhuang in western China. The churches dated to the time of the Byzantine empire and many of the saints had their eyes gorged out by later generations of occupants. Like the Hagia Sophia, these hidden churches had domes in them.

I made my way through a valley that hid these churches and slowly winded my way around the valley as it sloped upwards until I reached a ridge overlooking the landscape. It was breathtaking. I stopped to take out my Ipod and danced to wonderful beats and the beautiful scenery.