Mr. (and Mrs.) Luth Go to Turkey

This weekend marks my first journey off the subcontinent in nearly seven months and the wife's first since last Tuesday.

After much consideration and a number of factors (i.e., a fairly easy flight, something that might seem otherwise expensive from Chicago, something offering a break from Indian culture and life), we decided on a 10 day trip to Turkey that is really set up as three distinct 3-night trips. First, we're headed to the Aegean coast to tour the Roman ruins at Ephesus and a two night stay in Bodrum. Second, three nights in Cappadocia (which I'm looking forward to the most; the pictures I've seen resemble a Moab-esque landscape, only if early Christians had lived in the rock formations). Last up is three nights in Istanbul.

Everyone says that Turkey is a great blend of "West" and "East" (for obvious geographic and historic reasons). Based on my research and reading, it's not exactly Western Europe but not exactly India either; in other words, it's pretty much what I think I need.