Cappadocia

Hi everybody! Reporting here from Bordum! I meant to post this about three days ago, but I just got the internet password today!

To be honest, I've been dreading writing this post. I did so much in Cappadocia and I am not looking forward to writing about it. Not to mention, I took over 1000 photos, choosing the ones for my blog are going to prove troublesome, I know it.

Fasten your seatbelts folks, this is going to be a long one. 

Last Friday, I was dropped off at 10pm in a parking lot to wait for my bus. When the bus finally came (an hour later), I put in my earplugs, put up my hood and was looking forward to a good sleep. I had two problems while on the bus:

Pet peeve #1: The lights were on. It was midnight. Why, for the love of god were the lights on? People should be sleeping. 

Pet peeve #2: The radio was on. I’m not talking quiet lounge music. There were club beats blasting through the speakers. I could have sung along to every song with my ear plugs in. Also club beats? I’m on a bus where the average age is 55! I don’t even... 

This went on till about 12. We had to make additional stops to pick up other passengers. Maybe this is why I went through two hours of torture. At least I got a window seat. 

and thus begins DAY 1

My sleep was fitful, but at least I got some. I fell asleep with my head against the window. The bus rattled all night on cobblestone and dirt roads, so it was no surprise when I woke up with a raging headache.... thank god they served tea on the bus. 

After breakfast, I met some people on the bus. The woman sitting behind me, Pervin, knew plenty of English and basically narrated most of my trip. I forgot to mention that I was with a Turkish tour group. I was not only the only foreigner, but the youngest person on the bus! Our first stop on our trip was at Ihlara Valley.

I should probably first explain that the interesting geological formations you will be seeing in this blog are the products of volcanic eruptions some 10 million years ago from Mount Erciyes, Hasan and Göllü Dağ. Plateaus, valleys and “fairy chimneys” shaped by lava and flooding  give Cappadocia its present day shape.

Can you see the eyes?

The Ihlara Valley is 14 km long and is about 150 meters high. The canyon was eroded by a Melendiz River, which still exists today, but is much much smaller. The valley is covered in cave dwellings. Monks found Ihlara valley to be a place of seclusion and many cave churches are found along the riverside. Some of the churches date back as late as the 6th century. The valley was also used for defensive purposes. It offered protection and a safe hideaway for people during invasions. Many of the caves are connected by tunnels for this purpose. Our group visited two churches, both of which date back to the 9th century, and both in the Byzantine style. Despite the age of the churches, frescoes still adorn the cave walls. If you take a close look at the photo I posted, you will see that the eyes are filled in white. During the Ottoman empire takeover, the eyes were filled in. Muslims were afraid that people would look into the eyes and feel the power of god and revert to Christianity. 

Beautiful walk beside the river

After we visited the churches we had some free time so I hiked off on my own and found  another church. The frescoes were not nearly as well preserved as those in the other churches, but you can get a good idea of the inner structure. I tried to get some pictures at the other churches but they were jammed with people. 

Cave church entrance

Next we went to some lake. I’m not sure what the name is but it has a super high sulphur content. It is what they call a “volcanic bowl”, the water bubbles (I think she said the water is just above 40 degrees Celsius) and there are mud geysers along the edge. We couldn’t get to close to the lake because of these mud geysers. The high sulphur content is what gives the water its greenish colour. 

Cappadocia is pretty famous for its underground settlements, the first home of the Hittites, prehistoric men of the Bronze age. These settlements were later enlarged into cities during the Roman and Byzantine period (5th- 10th century). The largest underground city is said to accommodate 30 000 people. The underground city, or rather village, I visited (named Derinkuyu) consisted of five levels underground. There were lots of rooms including a church, school room, kitchen, common room, dining room and stable. The tunnels were very narrow with low ceilings. These were useful during raids because enemies had to come in single file. These people were pretty smart, many of their wells directly opened up underground so enemies could not poison them and they even had some type of air ventilation that circulated cold air throughout the place.

Low ceilings 

On the first day I got to see a variety of  “fairy chimneys”. These are formed by the erosion of the the softer tufa rock layer. Harder rock is left behind. Most of the fairy chimneys have conical heads. Many were hollowed out for churches or homes. People still live in some today!

Fairy Chimneys

After dinner I was so tired I fell into bed. I knew I had to be up early the next morning for my HOT AIR BALLOON RIDE!!

Cappadocia DAY 2

I was up at 4:30, giddy with excitement. At 5, a bus picked us up and to take us to the balloon. Pervin and I ended up in a group of older adults from Hong Kong. They were equally excited to get on. The weather was amazing, a very light wind and it wasn’t too hot or cold. I think I will just let the pictures speak for themselves.

Our ballon descending into a valley. 

Afterwards we visited a grave site of grave site of Balım Sultan. He was a huge religious influence in Turkey. He worked very hard to preserve the Muslim faith and Turkish culture. 

In the evening we went to TURKISH NIGHT! It was about three hour long and it was all live music and traditional dancing. I loved it. The older people in the group kept giving me red wine and Raki (Turkish liquor.. tastes like black liquorice. Not a fan), resulting in me having noooooo problem when I was pulled up to dance multiple times. Dances included belly dancing, traditional whirliing dervishes, sword dancing and a bunch of other folk dances that I don’t know the names of.  Really glad that I was with a Turkish tour group because they taught me the dances pretty fast so I didn't look like a fool.

Our Tour Group!

Dancing with the Turkish Ladies!

Cappadocia DAY 3 

The following day we went to the Goreme Open Air museum. A lot more churches, but one church in particular had the most beautiful frescoes- Tokali church. 

This day I also saw traditional handicrafts- rug making and ceramics. Some of the rugs take months and months to make. I was thinking of picking one up, but I can’t even afford the smallest one. Haha. The ceramics were pretty cool. There is no school for ceramic making, it’s a family tradition. Children begin learning the trade at age 6, gaining knowledge and experience as they go. They say that until a man can make a jug with a lid that fits perfectly he can not marry. 

FYI the lid fit perfectly!

Cappadocia was such an amazing experience! I had such an great time with my tour group :) If anyone has a chance to go to Turkey, I definitely recommend going here.