Carpet salesmen are the most sociable people in the world . And even among them Ali was the champion . Every day he got up on our way to beach - and how else if the hotel was located in the center of Kemer, and the road was only one . Charter to beat off phrases in European languages, I still gave up and went to his store . Ali was a soldier on a pardon, his part was at war with the Kurds somewhere near Diyarbakir: "demobilized" photos were shown immediately . I was with more . Ali could not understand in what language I communicate with my family . The fact that we arrived with the Finnish group knew the whole town . But even when I started to quote the first stanzas from "Eugene Onegin" clarity did not come . "Ah! - suddenly guessed Ali . - You are from Yugoslavia! "It was autumn 1992 .

After 17 years I again found myself in Kemer, vaguely hoping that somewhere at the crossroads I would find a sign" Here was the first Russian tourist in our city ". But I did not even find carpet shops - the whole street was selling watches with diamonds, and the current owners of the coast walked along the sidewalk, and according to their speech it was possible to study the geography of Russia . The hotel was given a monotonous meal, the animators shasted along the beach like foxes at a pack of geese . "On "on" from a close disco pierced tightly curtained windows . And I closed the resort for myself Turkey . To open this .

It's easiest to get here by plane from Istanbul to Kayseri. If you book a hotel, you will be met by a minibus. If you do not call there and do not remind yourself - you have to go 100 km by taxi. Under the sign on "Nowhere" turn right. Everything, we are on another planet, in Cappadocia.

And although I aspired It was here that this sensation of timelessness, unreality, struck me another. Yes, Cappadocia gave the Christian world more saints than any other ancient land. Yes, here the very nature created the walls and spiers of the first monasteries. People turned malleable hills into city-ant-hills, and if the enemy approached - went to multi-storey underground settlements. And today it is possible to live in a hotel cut down inside the rock, feeling like a caveman.

But the main thing is that nobody was selling me carpets here . Restaurant barkers did not lurk at every corner . Yes, and the restaurants themselves - in the courtyards of houses , with her grandmother in the role of chef and grandsons-waiters - had rather to enjoy home cooking and leisurely conversation with hospitable hosts . The hostess of the hotel, who forgot about our visit, except that under the ground did not fail from repentance - and did not take money for one day, and each ve black spread in our fireplace construction of brushwood: bring a match - and in the cave coziness! And the most amazing thing is that I met New Zealanders, Brazilians and even a couple of Macao residents for three days in Cappadocia - but not a single compatriot . As if not in Turkey at all .

However, in Turkey . In the reserve Goreme was approached by a young Turk: "Excuse me, are you speaking Russian? "The guy's open face could belong to the seller anything, up to a timeshare, besides he moved from a broken Russian to a decent German ." I just did not expect Russians to meet here, but you do not look like them ". I felt easy offense for his country . "I have a wife from Riga, but here it is, and this is my brother and his family! "A minute later we were sitting at the table, a lot of children looked at us with open mouths, and the waiter all wore and wore - coffee, ice cream, juices . We did not have time to discuss half the world problems, how it became dark . I tried to pay , but the woman who was silent until this moment Suzanne only smiled: "It's useless . You're in Turkey! »