We set off this morning to explore Cappadocia and perhaps
get off the beaten path a bit. As we
passed through Mustafapasa, we were stuck by its central square and some of the
intricately carved buildings nearby, so we made that our first stop. After a
nice wander around town, we headed out on a drive through the agricultural
countryside. It is hard to believe that
anything grows in the sandy and rocky soil here, but it seems to yield an abundant
bounty. Huge fields were filled with
yellow squash, and we often saw piles of them on sidewalks in towns. We saw families and workers harvesting
potatoes by hand, and truckloads full of them on the roads. Withered cornstalks and sunflowers, along
with changing leaves and an overcast day provided an autumnal feeling, though
the day was quite mild. We drove past
towns built into the rocks, many caves high above us, as well as along the
road, grapevines everywhere, and apple and apricot trees. We had to be mindful
of chickens crossing the road, especially as they do seem devoted to playing
chicken! The Turks love their olives
(every breakfast features several varieties) and the roads are lined with olive
trees that have grown into bushy thickets.
We were also struck by large, modern farmhouses, built of stone blocks,
with homes above storage areas for farm equipment, vehicles and produce –
living above the barn!
We did have a more touristy destination today: the
Underground City at Derinkuyu. We hired a guide who took us down eight levels (about
180ft deep) through long, low and narrow tunnels. Here, people have lived since Hittite
times. The Byzantines made use of the
cities to hide and escape invading Persians and they established elaborate
evasive and defensive strategies for doing so.
Thousands of people called these caves home and there is evidence of
social and religious organization, as well as provision for the basic
maintenance of human and animal life.
Without our guide, it would have all been just tunnels and alcoves to
us, but our guide could not protect us from the physical challenges of ascent
and descent in the tunnels, though he did relieve Tom of his backpack on a
particularly confining stretch of our ascent. Probably inevitably, Tom’s skull
now sports several scabs, temporary souvenirs of our trip underground.
En route back to Goreme, we made several interesting
stops. At Sahinefendi, we stopped at an excavation of the ancient
city of Sobesos, where we saw the Roman baths and a large chamber with
beautiful mosaic floors. We also stopped at the Keslik Monastery, a Byzantine
complex of frescoed churches, a refectory and more, cut into the rocks.
Back in Goreme, we walked among the rock formations, which
were once inhabited and also contained many dovecotes. We came upon several churches hewn into the
rocks, with carved decorations, altars, and wall paintings in various states of
deterioration. It seemed that every time
we looked at a hole in a rock, we found something unexpected.
We again enjoyed our local wine on the rooftop terrace of
the hotel and stayed until the lights came on around town and the surrounding
rocks were illuminated. The magic
continued as we had dinner outdoors, surrounded by a scene that seemed nothing
short of magic.
Cappadocia is a fascinating place geologically, historically,
and culturally – unlike anyplace else we’ve been. With the rocks and caves holding all manner
of secrets, we couldn’t help thinking that it must be a great place to grow up
– unlimited hide-and-seek locales and places to explore!
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