Talk:Cappadocia

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There is no city or town called Cappadocia in Turkey. It is the name of a region at the size of Central Anatolia. So you can't actually say it takes 3 hours to get to Cappadocia from Ankara or 1 hour from Kayseri. etc.

Spamming
The same text touting hot-air ballooning appears in the text for Cappadocia, Göreme, and Nevşehir. The Cappadocia and Nevşehir blurbs both linked to the same commercial outfit. Unless anyone objects, I'm inclined to remove or at least compact these. (WT-en) Eric 19:14, 2 November 2008 (EST)


 * External links policy is to only have external liks to service providers ad then only one listing per business at the destination closest to their address. - (WT-en) Huttite 05:24, 13 November 2009 (EST)

External links have been removed from the article from the following websites as they do not comply with policy, or are possible spam.

I see them as potential research resources rather than directly related to the article: - (WT-en) Huttite 05:24, 13 November 2009 (EST)


 * I have commented out the extlinks list, as it was attracting SEO spam. The links are still accessible if you edit this page. --(WT-en) Peter Talk 17:01, 5 January 2010 (EST)

Busses


the story.

Do not under any circumstances use the Turkish bus company Metro to try to travel to Goreme. They are duplicitous, dishonest, and could very likely leave you by the side of the road, in the middle of nowhere, 10 kilometers outside of Goreme after dark at 9:00 PM with your baggage by the side of the highway.

We read the warnings and Lonely Planet and heeded them diligently took every measure to avoid this problem, but it did not work and it still happed to us.

TRAVELER WARNING FOR GOREME. NEVER USE THE METRO BUS COMPANY TO GET THERE.

THE TRUE STORY 0F WHAT HAPPENED TO TWO MIDDLE AGED WOMEN ON JULY 14, 2011.

Our hotel in Istanbul helped us purchase day bus tickets from Antalya to Goreme on line (website is in Turkish only). They picked the tickets up for us before we left Istanbul. We got pre-assigned seats and paid 90 Turkish Lira for two seats-not a bad price we thought. We did exactly as Lonely Planet advised and bought tickets from Anatalya to Goreme specifically to ensure we were delivered all the way to Goreme. It was supposed to be a 9-hour bus ride.

On July 14th we arrived early at the Antalya Ottogar for our 11:00 AM Metro bus departure. We verified with the employee at the Metro office that our tickets were for Goreme and that the bus would depart from lane 17. A half hour before boarding we took our tickets and reservation paperwork to the Metro bus steward in lane 17 and showed him they were for Goreme. He spoke no English, but looked at the tickets and nodded that we had the right bus and loaded our bags on the bus. We left at 11:00 AM on schedule. The bus was nice, the scenery beautiful, the stewards served tea, water and coffee and we thought all was well for the first 8 hours of the trip.

During the course of the trip we did stop at other city otogars for bathroom breaks and to take on and drop off passengers. No one spoke English and our Turkish was minimal. We wanted to makes sure we were still going to Gormeme and did not need to change busses, and we repeatedly asked the two stewards “Goreme?” with tickets in hand, during the course of the day and they nodded yes repeatedly. At one point, possibly Konya, our driver was changed. I went to the driver during the trip bathroom break, pointed to my watch and asked “Goreme?” to yet again reconfirm the arrival time and that we were on the right bus. He pointed to my watch for 8:00PM. We still thought we were fine and everything was on track.

Around 8 PM we arrived at the Nevsehir Otogar. This is where the Lonely Planet says you will have the most difficulty with the bus company trying to dump you off at the Otogar and not take you to you to Goreme -or not directing you to the free minibus transfer to complete your trip to Goreme. We were alert for this, but reassured when an English speaking man came on to the bus, specifically asked for passengers traveling to Goreme, and this man specifically told us, in English, to stay on the bus we were on to go to Goreme.

Okay, we thought, they will take us to Goreme,  as they had repeatedly assured us they would during the trip. I might add, that in attempting to avoid transport problems, we asked at least 4 Metro workers, during and before the start of this trip, up to 10 times that our bus goes to Goreme.

We started to get worried when we saw a sign to Goreme, but the bus made a turn left in a direction that where there was no sign indicating they were going to Goreme. The bus then stopped for fuel for about 20 minutes, so we weren’t too worried, yet.

It was getting darker and darker and it was now approaching 9:30 PM, and so I again asked the steward “Goreme?”. Mind you these are the same stewards I had been asking throughout the 9 hour trip who had previously verified Goreme. The steward now had a puzzled look on his face, and the driver stopped the bus in a few minutes at the side of the highway and motioned for us to get off the bus. They put our baggage at the side of the road. We are in the middle of nowhere, no services, no businesses, limited lighting, no bus stop. I got back on the bus and told the driver and stewards, we paid for Goreme Otogar, I showed them tickets repeatedly,  I insisted Goreme Otogar, I argued, I tried German, they spoke no English, however they, NOW,  repeatedly kept saying “no Goreme Otogar”, after they had confirmed our destination repeatedly during the trip. One woman on the bus spoke some English and I told them, you can not leave us on the side of the highway in the middle of nowhere after dark, with our baggage and no way to get to town. I got out my Goreme hotel reservation form with the hotel phone number and showed them number asking them to call our hotel. The driver refused, though he clearly had cell phone with him. The stewards next lured us off the bus and pointed us toward the opposite direction of Goreme and indicated we should walk 1 kilometer away from the direction of Goreme. I asked the steward with the phone to call our hotel with the cell phone he clearly had and he refused.

We were tired after our 9-hour ride, felt completely freaked out, did not know where we were and what to do-there were no signs for anything. We were in the middle of nowhere by the side of the highway with no businesses or services anywhere in sight-and it was getting really dark. The stewards hopped on the bus and left us stranded.

We started walking the direction they had pointed, and at the corner of the highway, a middle-aged man in a rattletrap truck was parked at the corner of the highway intersection. At this point we were pretty desperate and since he was clearly looking at us, I opened his passenger door, and he said Taxi? He clearly was not a cab, but we were desperate by now. I held up 10 fingers to indicate 10 Turkish Lira and said Goreme, he nodded. We got in his truck and he drove about a kilometer to a gas station bought us two bottles of cold water and I got out the hotel phone number, which he and the gas station attendant called. We talked to our hotel and explained how we had been dumped off. Next the man in the truck took us the remaining 10 kilometers, to the Goreme Otogar. The truck driver now insisted on 20 Turkish lira where I had thought we agreed on 10 TL-but what ever- we paid, we were exhausted and freaked out. The Metro bus office attendant contacted our hotel for us, as the hotel said they would. Our hotel, Local Cave House (fabulous, by the way) did come and pick us up. I complained to the Metro bus office worker that night about our treatment and he told me to return the next day to talk to the manager.

The next day, on Friday July 15th, at 2:00 PM I went back to the bus station to talk to the manager. The manager was alone in the office, portly, with graying dark hair- about 50 years old. He spoke some English. I explained the refusal of the company to take us to where our ticket stipulated, the appalling treatment we had received, and that it had cost up 20 TL extra which the bus company should refund. He made excuses, offered zero apology or refund, blamed people in Konya, and took no responsibility for anything his company had done. I was polite but firm and never raised my voice. Two English-speaking tourists from Amsterdam walked in during this exchange and watched. I asked the Metro man to call his manager. He refused. Eventually the Metro man became loud and abusive and started yelling. Next he stood up, reached over his desk and grabbed my shoulder and tried to shove me out of his office. I was appalled. He next yelled “Fuck You” to me. I was shocked at his behavior and left the office. To be violently grabbed and screamed profanities by an employee of Metro for simply coming in to the office to file a complaint completely shocked me. The Dutch tourists left the office when I did and other English speaking tourists outside the office came up to me and said, they saw what happened. I told the entire story to the tourists outside the metro office and recommended they not use Metro-EVER. They assured me they had no intention of ever doing so after witnessing the behavior of their staff.

Our hotel employee told us they had heard similar and even more frightening stories that happened to women travelers traveling by bus. The bus companies don’t care and there is nothing you can do but post on trip advisor and complain to the bus company directly.

The weird thing is that Metro could have told us they had no intention to honor our ticket and take us to Goreme in the first place or when we were at Nevsehir. We could have taken a mini bus at Nevsehir. Instead they told us to stay on the bus specifically only to drop us off by the side of the road. Was this behavior meant to inflict the maximum amount of stress and harm possible- it certainly seems so in retrospect. What about the guy in the ramshackle truck who magically appeared on the highway and volunteer to take us into Goreme for another 20 TL? Good Samaritan? Mercenary? Friend of the bus driver or stewards who knows this happens every night around 9:30 PM and he can make a quick 20 TL? We will never know? It is all highly suspicious, duplicitous and according to our hotel employee, would not likely be happen to young cute blonds or if we had been traveling with a guy.

While I loved Turkey, this episode left a very bad taste in my mouth about this company. I do not recommend that anyone traveling to Goreme use their services, EVER. Metro lied from the outset and never intended to honor their ticket. Leaving two middle aged women at the side of a highway in the middle of nowhere after dark and refusing to call their hotel, to at least let them know where they had been dumped,  is the height of cruelty and mendacity.

I must say that most of the rest of our interaction with Turks had been fine and they had been generally pleasant and helpful.

Infobox on "Touring Turkey"
I made it, but I'm unsure it's good to have there or not. It seems a little random, yet the bus distances seem so far, it may make someone researching immediately decide that a roundtrip flight is the only way, when others are very common and generally more efficient. Thoughts? (WT-en) Bbb0777 00:54, 23 March 2011 (EDT)


 * I'll have to admit that it looks a little random, at least without any background information. I guess the intention and the desired meaning would be clearer if you add something along the lines of "...don't be put off by seemingly long distances which seperate Cappadocia from major tourism centres in the west of the country ... buses are an as good choice as planes...". I'm sure you can come up with a better explanation than mine. :-) – (WT-en) Vidimian 08:08, 23 March 2011 (EDT)

Thanks, I wasn't clear in conveying what I meant to, and your comment helped a lot. Edited now, though still open to criticism (or deletion even) of course. (WT-en) Bbb0777 21:51, 23 March 2011 (EDT)


 * It reads a lot better and much clearer now! It is certainly a useful addition to the article, IMO. – (WT-en) Vidimian 21:04, 25 March 2011 (EDT)

Suspect typo
from Correct typos in one click artizans->partizans? (omit) context: kilims, hand made local pottery by artizans artizans and very local wines —The preceding comment was added by SHB2000 (talk • contribs) 01:40, 13 August 2021


 * I'm pretty sure it must be artisan, and edited accordingly. Vidimian (talk) 22:14, 13 August 2021 (UTC)