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Blown Away in Cappadocia My trip was hosted by Alan Turizm, a family run business based out of Urgup in the center of Cappadocia. When the transfer bus deposited me outside the Surban Hotel, I gaped openly at the yellow cliff face that rose above me, riddled with hundreds of dark cave entrances carved into the rock. “The old village,” explained manager Halil Elalan.“
Some people still live in the caves. But you’re only here for a few days. We must get started immediately.” I was whisked off to dinner with his family, apologies being offered for the unashamedly touristic dining venue. As dervishes whirled in the Yemeni cave restaurant, Halil filled me in on the crazy geology that shaped the area. Erosion Laboratory Cappadocia resembles a vast laboratory where nature conducts advanced experiments on erosion and durability. Volcanos laid down a thick layer of soft ash known as ‘tufa’ and a second harder covering over the top. Over time the tufa crumbled away leaving hard caps teetering on the top of isolated pillars. Volcanic activity finally petered out in the second millennium B.C., so impressing the locals that they started a fire cult that endured until the arrival of the early Christians.
Underground Cities Prehistoric residents began to dig into this stone, carving out simple dwellings that became increasingly elaborate. As Cappadocia was along important trade routes and subject to unending raids, they had the bright idea of digging down. Entire underground cities were constructed, an estimated 150 of them complete with stables, kitchens, wells, tombs, ventilation shafts, storehouses and latrines. Whole populations could vanish into these labyrinths and survive for months, connecting with other cities through now collapsed tunnels. While they are hard to date, most specialists attribute the oldest levels to the Hittite people making them some three thousand years old. Early Christians found Cappadocia to be highly suitable for their survival. Relentless persecution drove them far into the valleys where they hollowed out rock sanctuaries, as well as making extensive use of the underground citadels. The nearby fairy chimneys of Pashabaglari were used by hermits who spent their days in meditation, sitting perched between earth and sky. Hermits excavated their cells inside the chimneys, leading lives of extreme asceticism, digging their own tombs into the rock and competing with each other to see who could deprive himself the most. Into the Valley of Zelve In the Valley of Zelve there is a veritable warren of dwellings, churches and monasteries inhabited up until 1953 when it became a World Heritage site. In the tea garden I met Yeshar Bey who, between sips from a shaply glass, revealed that he had lived with his family in the caves that connected two valleys with a tunnel running between. As he watched tourists roam between the Church of the Grape and the cavernous monasteries cut into the cliffs, he reminisced on the days when water had to be carried home in buckets and the first day that an electric cable was strung from the valley floor to their cave entrance. There is little overlap between local lives and the visitors who come to marvel at the landscape. Although tourism has brought new income streams to some, the majority are still dependent on agriculture. On the steppe lands, potatoes are grown for export to Iran and Iraq and wheat is in abundance. Vines also do particularly well here, with little vineyards growing in the chalky soil between the valleys. The grottos make excellent natural cellars and there is an ancient tradition of viniculture.
Back in Urgup, I appreciated the continuity of this tradition when Halil showed me the fountain he built in the gardens of the meticulously restored Seljuklu Evi hotel. One tap is for white wine and the other for red. To find out more about the local cuisine, Halil arranged for me to visit the home of a family in the village of Ulasli Koyu. Preparing Dinner with the Family Cappadocians have a tradition of great hospitality and the Serim family were no exception. I watched as the women prepared the dishes and arranged them on a round tray at floor level. They explained the process behind each dish, the first step of which was always going to your field, orchard or barn to get the raw ingredients. Garlands of dried vine leaves hung in the kitchen, used for making ‘dolma’ or little rolled up vine leaf parcels with meat inside. Another speciality is a dish called ‘guvech,’ a tasty stew cooked in a tall, thin walled terracotta pot that is broken open for serving.
Valley of the Tulips Other valleys we explored were Soganli, known as the Valley of Tulips. As well as housing churches with frescoes in various stages of preservation, it is home to numerous dove cotes. The birds were an important source of fertilizer for centuries. It was gathered twice a year, some of used on the fields for fertilizer, some of which was exported. People decorated the entrances to the caves with patterns that were supposed to attract the birds. Many churches were sealed up and used for birds in later centuries, thus preserving the frescoes intact. In the village, the enterprising women sell knitted socks even in thirty degree heat. An elderly dame caught me off guard with her question, “Madame, do you want a baby?” A peek in the black plastic bag revealed the dolls she had fashioned from scraps of fabric, wood and wire. The Valley of Ihlara is a long canyon with a river flowing along the bottom. A tree lined walk takes you to several intriguing churches dating from 636 A.D. when thousands of Christians expelled from Syria and Palestine took refuge here. In the Snake church, naked sinners are shown being tormented in hell for various misdeeds, while in the imaginatively named Fragrant Church, a beautifully drawn hand makes a sign of benediction from the center of a giant cross. Many frescoes in Cappadocia are damaged by centuries of graffiti and the deliberate disfigurement of faces dating from Islamic times when the Byzantine frontline finally crumbled to Islamic expansion. Rest Stops When the Seljuk Turks took over, they left their own stone legacy in the form of mosques, palaces, hospitals and caravanserais along the trade routes. One of the best examples of a caravansaray is Sarihan on the road to Avanos. Camels were ushered through the great door in the fortified walls and sent to the vaulted stables to the left, humans were filtered to the bath house on the right and the bazaar took place in the center. The Seljuks arranged these rest stops across their domain to encourage trade, taking it upon themselves to guarantee safe passage to merchants. The remains of the caravansarais are dotted 30 kms apart across Anatolia, about a days journey for a loaded camel train. The Seljuks inherited the underground cities and used them for military purposes. One of the best examples is Derinkuyu to the south of Urgup. Descending over 40 meters in depth to eight levels, the city could house up to 20,000 people and their animals. The passageways were sealed by great millstones artfully engineered so that a few people could manoever them into place. Up Up and Away A hot air balloon flight leaving from Goreme at dawn gives an unforgettable overview of the area. The basket lifts gracefully off the ground, propane gas roaring like a dragon’s breath. The wind favored us with a trip across Uchisar, a former citadel carved into the highest rock outcrop in the area.
The pilot’s vertical control allowed us to drop low between the fairy
chimneys and across the flat roofs of the town, startling residents taking
breakfast on their terraces. From the balloon, the folds and valleys of the
steppe are laid out for full inspection and the gentle pace of travel gives
plenty of time for observation. The light winds of Cappadocia are well Other irresistable buys are pottery from Avanos. In the Sirca pottery works, Fahti Sirca continues the tradition begun by his family seven generations ago and will give you as much or as little information as you can take about the shaping and baking of clay. His cousin Bahri is a master artisan who spent months painting a design of eye-popping intricacy on a giant vase with a single haired silk brush. The record-breaking piece is on display in the cavernous showrooms. Carpet Making Center Urgup is a center of carpet making tradition In the Galerie Yunak you can watch skeins of raw wool being dyed with vegetable colors and the intricate work of carpet and kilim making. Women sit at wooden frames hand knotting geometric patterns inch by inch. The techniques and meaning of designs will be explained to you in detail over a glass of tea or something stronger. In preliterate times, each design was a means of expression and the woven symbolism emerges with study. It is hard to escape Turkey without making a purchase at some stage and you may as well succumb here. “You came through like a fast train,” Halil laments at the end of the visit. “There is so much more to see.” My promise to return was not hard to make. The combination of mind-blowing landscape, history and hospitality made this an unforgettable visit.
Balloon trip Includes with champagne on landing $140.00 Tell us what you think about this articleRead more articles like this on GoNOMAD Subscribe to our newsletter 'cause you like this stuff!
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