Cappadocia Turkey
September 2011
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Cappadocia; Walks and Museums
25 Sept
2011
Cappadocia, the land of fairy chimneys and sculptured hilltops is full of ancient cave homes and churches carved into the hills but it is also perfect for our favourite activity, hiking. Cappadocia is a 1000 m high plateau in the center of Turkey. An eruption of Mt Erciyes 2,000 years ago created huge lava flows that carved valleys and layers of ash that formed soft-rock that was eroded by the wind and water into pillars and minaret-like forms, the “fairy chimneys”. As people arrived in the area they carved homes into the soft rock, keeping their dwellings cool in summer and not so cold in the winter. Christianity arrived in Turkey with the first apostles and converts established monasteries and churches in this remote area. Göreme, our base for our visit, became a monastic center between 300-1200 AD. We started our walks by exploring the village of Göreme itself, where many of the rock pillars and hillsides have been converted into hotels featuring cave rooms. We chose to stay in the pleasant Köse Pension, owned by a Scottish woman and her Turkish husband, with windows in regular rooms. There was a nice pool outside that we did not use as we were too busy hiking the valleys and by the time the sun disappeared behind the hills in late afternoon the temperature had dropped markedly from the highs of 20+ C during the mid-day.
Our walks
started right from our hotel. We often felt as if we had the valleys to
ourselves, encountering other hikers only occasionally. We had a very
basic map with dotted lines indicated paths and there were some arrows
pointing the way and we could see well-worn paths in the valleys from
vantage points on top of the hills so we didn’t get lost. The Rose and
Red Valley walk was our favourite. There were orchards of apple, peach,
plum and pear trees and small plots of Grape vines, tomatoes, squash and
other vegetable, still maintained by the local people, to pass through
in the valleys. We climbed up the strange rock formations to explore
caves where people lived and worshiped. Cave churches and chapels,
dating from 9th to 11th C, were decorated
with simple red patterns and a few had beautiful Byzantine painted
Frescoes on the interior walls.
A trail
leads through the Pigeon Valley, named for the dovecotes, or pigeon
houses carved into the rock faces. Built in the 19thand 20th century, the pigeon droppings
were gathered and used as rich fertilizer for the fields and orchards
that thrive to this day. Our goal was the hilltop fortress town of
Uςhisar, just 2-3 km from Göreme, as the crow flies. We had a little
more trouble finding the correct route than through the Rose Valley. We
weren’t the only ones having trouble, but each person we encountered
could help us or we could help them find the best route. Besides, as Ray
said, we were “exploring new territory”. Part of the route was through
tunnels carved through the hills, either naturally or by previous
generations. Eventually we found ourselves in a deep gorge, bordered on
either side by high cliffs with capped in white stone.
At the
end of the gorge was Uςhisar. We walked up the steep streets to the
entrance to a Roman era castle, complete with corridors and rooms carved
into the hill. We walked through the lower levels, the only ones open to
the public, and climbed stairways leading all the way to the peak,
another 1000 m from the plateau floor. From there Cappadocia was laid
before us. We could see Göreme in the distance as well as other towns in
the valleys and hills surrounding Uςhisar.
After a lentil soup lunch, a speciality of the region, we hiked back to Göreme. Of course, we couldn’t take the exact route we had taken earlier. Ray’s GPS saved us a few times from continuing in the wrong direction but we eventually found ourselves on a familiar path and made it back to Göreme, still in good spirits. Everybody, except us, goes for a balloon ride in the morning before breakfast to see the wonderful topography from a different perspective. We could hear the whoosh of the flames heating the air in the balloons urging them upwards. I got out at 7 AM one morning to see scores of them rising above Göreme. Another fellow staying at our place went out to see the balloons take off. He counted 75 balloons that morning. We were told an average of 1000 tourists each day take to the air. If only it weren’t so far above our meagre budget.
There is
more to see in Cappadocia than just the area around Göreme. We decided
that an inexpensive Day Tour was the most convenient way to explore. We
joined 9 others in a minivan and set off with our pleasant guide for a
busy day, starting with a stop at a viewpoint above Göreme, with a good
view of the Pigeon Valley. We continued on to Selime, at the northern
end of the Ihlara Gorge, where we climbed a small hill to explore a
Byzantine era cave monastery, with its series of large rooms, a
refectory and kitchen, plus several chapels, some with lovely painted
frescoes depicting Jesus and other Biblical figures.
We had a
hike for an hour alongside a river, flanked by wild blackberries and
pistachio and other fruit trees, in the base of the narrow Ihlara Gorge.
Sheer cliffs on either side provided the perfect hiding place and
retreat for Byzantine monks and their followers. Christians were sought
out and persecuted by the Persians, Arabic armies and others. The monks
carved their homes and chapels high up on the cliffs, some accessible
only by rope ladders that could be pulled up whenever dust stirred up by
approaching invaders was spotted.
The
highlight of our day was exploring Derinkuyu, an underground city, built
to provide protection from Persian and Arabic armies who roamed the area
in the 6thand 7th centuries, seeking out the
Christian infidels. The city covered seven levels, linked by low, narrow
corridors. An air shaft, disguised as a well, provided fresh air for the
complex. Stables and guards were on the top level while the residents
inhabited the more inaccessible lower levels. Up to 10,000 people lived
in the complex for several months at a time. It must have been a very
harrowing existence.
Our last
stop of the day was to a large jewellery shop where we watched a
craftsman cut a piece of onyx and polish it into a perfect egg shape.
Our guide from the shop displayed the different types of onyx and
turquoise found in the area before letting us loose in their store. We
just browsed the selection but were not tempted to buy any expensive
souvenirs. Before boarding our bus we snapped photos of a pigeon house,
as large as a resort hotel, carved into the cliff across from the
jewellery shop. It had been a rewarding day for everyone.
I crossed
another World Heritage site off my Life List. The Göreme Open Air Museum
was just a brisk 1 km uphill from Köse Pension. As I walked up in the
late afternoon following our walk to Uchisar, at least six big tour
buses passed me. I had thought the museum would be less busy in the
afternoon after the morning tour bus rush but it remained popular all
day long. I was determined to visit the site and this was my last chance
so I continued on. I entered an amphitheatre ringed by conical rocks
pockmarked with carved out caves built by Byzantine monks as a
monastery. The monastery became an important pilgrimage site in the 17th c. One large cone shaped rock
near the entrance had been fashioned into a convent for visiting nuns.
Every other rock face contained at least one chapel, several covered
with intricate, painted frescoes depicting the life of Jesus and other
bible stories, the perfect media for instructing an illiterate
population in the stories of Christianity. Even though two of the large
church caves were closed for renovations and one other was too jammed
with a large tour group for me to brave, the Museum was worth the visit,
if just for the frescoes and other decorations alone.
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