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Arches, Columns, Frescoes
all inside the rock churches..........
We visited Marco Polo's pit stop along the Silk Road. The caravanserai at Sultanhani was built in the 13th century and is easily one of the grandest in Turkey. There was a separate hall where the animals were kept and sleeping quarters for the caravan. The way it was structured, arches and all, I would have thought there was a cathedral or at the very least , a chapel within the compound. This "inn" was just right across a souvenir store, and provided a well-needed break for us and the driver. There were a lot of photo ops too, as the place is well-preserved. The best part is we had the place all to ourselves!
From this pitstop, Sultanhani Caravanserai
This was Marco Polo's pitstop along the Silk road! we drove on to the land known in Roman times as Cappadocia. Goreme's Open Air Museum is a good starting point in exploring this area. Dating as far back as 4,000 BC, we found many dwellings and churches hewn into the rocks. This complex houses the region's best collection of medieval painted cave churches carved out by Orthodox monks. We were simply bowled over by the splendour of the frescoes in its interiors. Complete with what passes for a rectory, an altar, a kitchen , stone dining table and stools, wine storage, some even have domes and columns proclaiming Cappadocian stone carving and frescoing techniques! We checked out at least 3 cave churches and found that we can take great photos of the frescoed walls inside even without flash. There was just enough lighting from any one of the cave openings, an engineering marvel if you ask me. Many of the rock churches here have frescoes of the gospels, quite a treasure trove of Byzantine art. St. Barbara Church surprised us with its vaults. In the Dark Church, there is a painting of Christ Pantocrator among many paintings of saints and byzantine murals dating from 900-1200AD. All the paintings are
in good condition. Ironically, such paintings were "preserved" as the caves became a sanctuary for pigeons. How? Pigeon droppings covered and preserved these murals for posterity. It took all of 14 years to scrape all that pigeon poo to reveal the New Testament frescoes. Such count among the best preserved pieces of art in the whole of Cappadocia. There is also the Apple Church, so called because an apple tree used to stand by the mouth of the cave church. Unfortunately, most of the painted saints have their eyes gouged out by superstitious Turkish locals who are afraid of the evil eye.
As Christian hermits arrived in the fourth century here, monastic communities must have since followed and now comprise the many Flintstone-like cave dwellings by the hills and cliffs. Where's Fred and Wilma? What a strange territory, but somehow I get the sense that those guys had a good life then. Those hermits surely lived it up here, what with all those storage bins for harvested grapes and wine. There was also a dwelling claimed to be where St. Simon (the first hermit, they say.......but wasn't it St. Paul? Anyway, I was not about to Strange Shapes (I told you....)
Architecture By: Wind and Water argue) lived for 15 years. One has to be nimble enough to scale a ladder to get up to the cave. I was midway through the ladder when thoughts of Nanjing, China crossed my mind (this is where I had a minor but nightmarish accident. check out
Misadventure in Nanjing, China (2007)) so I decided to pass off the opportunity to check out the place. My niece reminded me that there is a line behind us, but the insecurities brought on by the Nanjing memories were enough for me to quit the climb. Call me chicken. =(
So there I was, down below watching magpies, eagles and falcons soaring up above, while Shelly went up the ladder . This geological wonderland has been attracting millions of tourists yearly. We are lucky we came early. Otherwise, that line of tourists waiting for me to climb down the ladder (after deciding to quit) must have cursed me no end. I didn't waste time waiting for Shelly. I happily snapped away while standing there in awe , viewing a sea of cones and giant pinnacles. The fairy chimneys made of basalt and tufa "necks" reminded me of Turkish hats. Among others. I tell Goreme Open Air Museum
A complex of over 1,000 cave churches with Byzantine murals dating from 900-1200 AD. you, wind and water truly make for the best architects as these 2 elements combined to erode the tuff into strange shapes. Fairy chimneys best describe them, as do Camel Valley (found right before the Open Air Museum), though some other thoughts come to my mind which are best left unsaid. You check it out. :-) Those shapes are really something.
We also found the time to check out one of the Underground Cities. Again, we marveled at how early Christians avoided invading Arabs by digging underground , undetectable from the surface. Once more, we noted how living underground then could not have been so bad. The dwellings made me feel like going through holes of a giant Emmenthal cheese as we wandered from one chamber to the next. There were stone doors which look like stone wheels , pushed to enclose the chamber to make it look like a stone wall with nothing more beyond. Such ingenuity. And living inside is not without luxuries as we again found storage bins for wheat, mills for pressing olives and grapes, and rock dining tables and stools. We checked out the rock stools for size and imagined a spread of dried apricots, figs, raisins , unleavened bread and wine on the table. Not bad. There were even small holes which must have outlets to the surface above ground for ventilation! Cool.......
Shelly wanted to try the "chute" used by those who push the round stones to "lock" or seal the underground chambers from invaders. As soon as they seal the chambers, the designated guards climb down through these chutes to get inside. I ignored her, till she lost interest. Instead she found receptacles - don't ask me what they are - where she tried to fit in her whole body. Oh, ok. The chute drop should have been more thrilling. Anyway, we spent a good hour inside the underground city and was amazed we spent that long inside. The chambers go deeper, but some are no longer open to the public. Let's just say, we went as far as we could. There was one particular tunnel which I found intriguing. One bends low to go through, but there is more overhead space as one goes deeper. We moved along until we found ourselves in a 3 x 3 square meter space that must have Interior Byzantine Art
Would you mind living in a cave with museum-grade art like this? been used as sleeping quarters. As we moved from chamber to chamber, tried out every possible hole and what have you, my black pants managed to turn sandy beige .
The adventure did not end here. We also passed by a rural village where we found shawled women riding donkeys weighed down by baskets filled with farm produce, and tourists tempted to play ball with the rural kids. Everywhere we found vendors selling trinkets with the blue and white charms meant to drive away evil. Most vendors were male. Most farmers were women. It was not uncommon to meet women coming from the farms with baskets of farm produce and even, farm implements. An unlikely scenario in most countries, including mine. This memory stays with me, as do memories of warm, friendly rural folks. And kids who readily welcome strangers. One even offered to play ball with a couple of tourists. Not far away, the same rock dwellings which continue to be lived in to this day dot the landscape. We wondered if these pieces of property were affected by the property slump which affected the whole world. Maybe not.
I made Charms, Anyone?
We found these blue and white "evil eye" being sold almost everywhere we went for as low as 1 turkish lira. Not too far away, one can view the rock dwellings which are still lived in to this day. a mental note of coming back to Cappadocia if only to check in in one of those cave hotels, and maybe rent a bike to go around this geological wonderland. Who knows? I may even scale that ladder to St. Simon's cave after all. And maybe the next time around, I will also snatch up one of those Hereke carpets and Iznic tiles made of quartz and volcanic clay. But not this time, I'm far too busy taking all these wonders in!
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The Travel Camel
Shane Dallas
Cave Hotels
These photos bring back great memories of my time there many years ago - thanks for the blog! I did stay in a cave hotel for two or three nights and it was a great experience - but they can get really cold at night - so be prepared. PS: I didn't know about Camel Valley - it is a good reason for me to return and see it for myself!