Konya

We had a long drive from the steaming pools of Pamukkale to Konya. We finally pulled into our hotel, the Ozkaymak Hotel, and settled into our tiny room.

Once we got settled Cheryl, Don and I walked across the street to the huge shopping mall. Don was excited because he had spotted a Citibank ATM there, so we walked to that end of the mall first. We have been looking for the many Citibanks that are supposed to be in Turkey since we arrived, frustrating Cheryl to no end with our continual marches around the city searching for the holy grail, oops, the fabled Citibanks. We authoritatively marched u to the Citbank ATM, card in hand, ready to get money, only to find the message that the ATM was out of order. Foiled again!

So, we gave up on the money idea and went into the mall and strolled from one end to the other and back, admiring the housewares, clothing, and appliances for sale. The clothing in the shops is very nice, high quality stuff. The women's clothing is very stylish and cute. As we passed the Laura Shop (a Turkish version of Frederick's of Hollywood) we at last found out what they wear under all of that baggy black clothing. OooooLaLa! We strolled around for about 45 minutes and then returned to our hotel for dinner.

When we entered the dining room we looked around and noticed many of our group were getting up and putting on coats to leave. Boy, they finished dinner really early, we thought. Then we got our plates and started out to check out the buffet. Well, the Japanese group had beat us to the punch. Most of the chafers of hot food were scraped out and empty, just a few grains of rice or a soggy green pepper left. We picked up a few salad items and found a table to wait for food. Well, the food never came. The hotel kitchen staff stood and looked at us with glassy-eyed stares and we tried again and again to find something to eat. Finally some bland lamb stew came out, but the rice was never replenished and most of the rest of the food was sparse. Many of our group went across the street to Burger King, including Salih, our guide.

So, the Ozmaykak Hotel is not recommended by us. The rooms are very small and the food is not up to par.

The next day we jumped on the bus and headed out for Cappadocia