Change In Plans

This post is about our time in the Cappadocia region of Turkey. Without a doubt, Cappadocia is one of the most weirdly beautiful, unusual and historical places I have ever been.

The canyons and rock formations of Cappadocia were formed 30 million years ago, as its soft volcanic rock (tufa) was eroded by a network of rivers. Because the harder rock (basalt) which lay on top of the tufa did not erode as quickly, it created the pillars and mushroom caps and “fairy chimneys” that characterize the region.

Starting in about 1100BC, Cappadocians used hand tools to tunnel into the soft rock. The early Christians (from about 400AD onward) mined houses and churches and entire underground cities out of the tufa.

Using the Museum Hotel (which is carved into the highest hillside) as our base, and having an excellent professional guide from Istanbul, named Levent, we have had an incredibly busy few days in Cappadocia.

On the first morning, Levent led us on a 4km hike through the “Rose Valley,” a canyon where the rock is pink-tinged (from iron oxide?). We saw cave houses, primitive wineries and rustic chapels, all dating back 1500 years or more. There was no one else hiking in the valley.

That afternoon, we visited the “Goreme Open Air Museum,” which is a dull name for a truly special place. The museum encompasses a valley which was a big monastery and center for early Christian learning, all carved out of the rocks during the 4th century. The later frescoes (done in the 9th and 10th century) are most amazing. They generally depict brave early Christian saints who were martyred for their faith. I’m not sure what the impact of these was on the morale of the 800-1,000 young monks in residence.

Yesterday morning we got up very early, and flew in a hot air balloon. Every day, about 30 balloons are launched at sunrise. Our pilot took us up to about 2500 meters, where we could see the entire spectacular Cappadocia region. To be honest, I felt very uneasy during the entire flight, which was unexpected. It may have been that I had to hold Tallulah on one of the internal corners of the basket, which felt precarious, or just that hanging 7,000 feet in the air was just too unnatural for my primate brain.

After the balloon ride, we went to explore the Kaymakli underground city. It is an 8-level warren of rooms, tunneled out in the 4th century to let about 1,000 Christian farmers hide from Arab raiders. Apparently the refugees were able to stay down there for about a month at a time (before the lack of a sewerage system caused a dysentry epidemic). It was easy to imagine the huddled masses, crammed into the tunnels and living spaces underground, waiting for the “all clear”.

We visited a cave home owned by one of Levent’s friends, and used as a summer house. It was comfortable, and had modern conveniences, and a great view of the valley below.

Finally, we went for a hike in the “Monk’s Valley,” and drove around to explore a few of the other abandoned cave villages. Both kids fell asleep at dinner.

We are still processing and considering what we have seen. Without a doubt, the scenery and the ancient history and the spiritual resonance are remarkable. The recent history, with the Orthodox Christians abandoning these villages to flee to Greece in the 1950s, and the villages themselves being defaced and neglected for 20-30 years is unfortunate.

Under any circumstances, I am very glad we came here, and that we have seen these places.