The Folk Dances

No one leaves Cappadocia without witnessing the local folk dances.

Almost all tourists will congregate at the same dining place for a night of entertainment and fun before leaving beautiful Cappadocia.

Turkey truly taps on tourism as a main source of income.

The evening was accompanied by local hard drinks. Of course you can opt for soft drinks. We tried the local alcohol and we were not used to it. So, coca cola was the better choice.

In all honesty, the evening was graced by other fun except the food.

We were served cold food and it was not palatable. 

Maggie mee would have been a better alternative at that juncture; it must be because we were beginning to miss the Malaysian cuisine.

Sufi whirling dance was the first dance.

3 gentlemen whirled up and down and as there was no explanation to the dance, we really did not know what it connoted. 

The men were not very youthful and I suspect they must have been in the trade for a long, long while.

 Pretty local lasses took the stage with folk steps and they were very flexible.

Belly dancing was part and parcel of the show and this was only the initial part as we were introduced to veteran belly dancers later in the evening. I imagined that these young girls were climbing on the career ladder and someone among them will one day take the centre stage and bring the audience up their feet. Everyone truly tried hard at the performance. They must have been trained from very young and entertaining tourists is in their blood.

I looked at compassion at this veteran dancer. She really did not look youthful bu the swirls she did was no easy feat. She danced a good 10 - 15 minutes tirelessly and her head motions would have sent an ordinary person to the ground.

But such is her fate.

She finds pleasure in her performance.

Do you not think this is no easy feat?

But the epitome of entertainment was this vivacious belly dancer.

She is a perfect host and her apt dancing caused her audience to be mesmerized. No one could take their eyes away from her movements. She was a perfect score.

She not only was the star of the night but she engaged her audience with the highest degree of professionalism. She had us in stitches when she coaxed some of the audience to join her in belly steps and no one went away without being entertained. She was really exotic.

Belly dancing is an art and only the best can do it.

The whole team got together for the final toast to Cappadocia.

Aren't we privileged to make a trip there?

Goodbye Cappadocia as we embark for Ankara, our next destination.