Giveaway - Captivating Cappadocia

Gerdiş Evi Cappadocia Hotel – Return Again & Again

Our friends at the Gerdiş Evi, Kadir and Ali, have generously offered one free night at their Cappadocia hotel to pass on to one of you. If you are visiting Cappadocia this year, go to the bottom of this post for instructions on how to enter to win. Deadline to enter is May 27. The winner will be announced on May 30.

Gerdiş Evi: A Cappadocia hotel that will feel like your home in Göreme

If you could design a hotel room, what would you include in it? What kind of “feel” would you give the space? How would you make it communicate, “I’m glad you are here. Come. Rest and enjoy!”
Gerdis evi goreme cappadocia entrance

You might think it is simple. “Bed, bath, shower, desk and chair! What else?”

Continue Reading…

May 6, 2013 — 18 Comments

In Giveaway, Goreme, Hotels, Tourist life Cappadocia, Goreme, hotel, Turkey

April Giveaway: Free Night at Kismet Cave House in Göreme Cappadocia

— 15 Comments

Click to see who won the free night at the Kismet Cave Hotel

Goreme kismet fairy chimney

Would you like to spend a night in this cave? Enter to win.

Rather than re-write what I wrote last year, you can click and read all about Kismet and its friendly owner. I met Faruk on my first trip to Cappadocia in 2009, and then he helped us find a home when we moved here in 2011.
Faruk keles kismet cave house
The Kismet Cave Hotel is one of the gems of Cappadocia and Faruk makes it stand out as a must-stay accommodation.
Did you enjoy this post? If so, here’s what you can do. Please share this post with your friends by clicking on one of the buttons to the left side. Also, you may want to subscribe to these posts. Click here and follow the instructions. One of my goals is to help people who will visit Cappadocia. This is your way to help me meet this goal. Thank you, I am grateful.

Duke Dillard moved to Turkey with his wife and 6 children in 2007. He got an MBA at Bilkent University in Ankara, where they had their 7th child. After 4 years in Ankara the whole family moved to Cappadocia, and this blog was born. We love Cappadocia and Cappadocians and want to help visitors make the most of their time here. You can connect with Duke on Facebook, follow him on Twitter, and/or link circles on Google+. Click here to read more about Duke and his family.

April 8, 2013 — 15 Comments

In Giveaway, Hotels, Tourist life Cappadocia, giveaway, hotel, Kismet Cave Hotel, Turkey

As with every month you are going to have to watch the video to see who won the signed copy of The Janissary Tree: A Novel by Jason Goodwin.

My dad is in town this week so I had him help pick the winner. Watch to meet him.

If you have not read The Janissary Tree: A Novel (and did not win), I highly recommend this mystery novel set in 1830s Istanbul with Yashim the Eunuch as the unassuming detective. Be careful though… you may get hooked and end up reading the whole series.

Congratulations to our winner!

Are you interested in other Turkey-related books? Check this out:
29+ Books Related to Turkey: A Reading List with annotations

Did you enjoy this post? If so, here’s what you can do. Please share this post with your friends by clicking on one of the buttons below or to the side. Also, you may want to subscribe to these posts. Click here and follow the instructions. One of my goals is to help people who will visit Cappadocia. This is your way to help me meet this goal. Thank you, I am grateful.

Disclosure of Material Connection: Most of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the US Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

The Janissary Tree by Jason Goodwin – A Eunuch/Unique Novel [Book Review]

— 9 Comments

Click here to see who won the signed copy of The Janissary Tree: A Novel by Jason Goodwin.

Janissary tree by jason goodwin
The Janissary Tree: A Novel by Jason Goodwin
1830s Istanbul. Mahmut II is the reform minded Ottoman Sultan; his French mother is the Valide, female head of the harem; the Janissaries, the sultan’s special soldiers who had grown corrupt, were suppressed 10 years ago by the Sultan’s New Guard; the Ottoman Empire is in decline; and murders are happening all over the place.

What to do?

Continue Reading…

March 4, 2013 — 9 Comments

In Books, Giveaway book, Book Review, historical fiction, mystery, Ottoman Empire, Turkey

5 Winners of Portrait of a Turkish Family by Irfan Orga [VIDEO]

— 3 Comments

You know the drill… Watch the video to see who won.

Portrait of a Turkish Family by Irfan Orga is a poignant, fascinating, and, in the end, sad autobiography of Irfan Orga and his family. Set in the transition between the Ottoman Empire, WWI, and the founding of the Turkish Republic, this story will leave you with more questions after reading it then you had before picking it up. Click to read my review, and if you did not win, be sure to click here and buy it.

Congratulations to our 5 winners!

Are you interested in other Turkey-related books? Check this out:
29+ Books Related to Turkey: A Reading List with annotations

Did you enjoy this post? If so, here’s what you can do. Please share this post with your friends by clicking on one of the buttons below or to the side. Also, you may want to subscribe to these posts. Click here and follow the instructions. One of my goals is to help people who will visit Cappadocia. This is your way to help me meet this goal. Thank you, I am grateful.