Fairy Towers

The bus journey to the region of Cappadocia was unfortunate because of my spectacular miscalculation in travel time. I first travelled to the large city of Antalya with its multi-story, 150+ platform bus station but could only get a connecting bus to the village of Göreme (central in the Cappadocia region) at 16:00 that afternoon. That seemed feasible and I figured that we should arrive at around 23:00 which was late, but there would still be enough places open to get a room for the night. Instead I was dumped at a petrol station outside of Nevsehir at 02:30. It was also suddenly cold - at this higher altitude it was about 10 0C and I was compelled to dig out my jumper for the first time. I later read a warning in a guidebook I borrowed from a fellow traveler that certain bus companies are notorious for this deception. This is also why overnight buses from Antalya are a more popular option when travelling to Cappadocia. Nevsehir (the major city in this region) is about 12 km from Göreme but you can be certain that no public transport was operating that early in the morning. The petrol station said that the first minibuses start operating at 07:00. After a bitter cup of chai (Turkish black tea, no relation to Indian chai which is much better) I spoke to a taxi drive who described several 5, 4, and 3 star hotels he was familiar with in Nevsehir but recommended Göreme for cheaper accommodation. Reluctantly I took a taxi to Göreme and once again the fare was more than the 10 hour bus journey.

The taxi driver was kind enough to drop me off at one of the hotels in Göreme and wake up the owner to get me a room. An exhausted looking man called Luksa emerged from the bed at reception and ushered me apologetically to a room. During the few days I spent there it appeared that Luksa was a one man band, single handedly running the twenty-something room hotel. It was a cave hotel where a portion of the building was carved into the hillside. The rooms were wonderfully insulated against the heat of summer, very quiet and equipped with central heating for the cooler months of the year. It was also one of the cheapest places I stayed at during my time in Turkey and the room rate included breakfast, served by (guess who) Luksa. I guess you’re starting to wonder why I travelled so far to get here and whether it was worth it. Cappadocia is famous for its bizarre geology. Many years ago volcanic activity covered this region in thick layers of ash. Over the millennia the ash compacted into a soft rock that has weathered in a peculiar fashion to give strange “fairy chimneys” of rock. These rocky pinnacles were later discovered by people living in the region and many of them have been hollowed out and used as houses and later as churches by Christian communities. A little further from Göreme, other communities built underground cities to escape invading forces, tunneling several levels down deep into the soft rock and one of the attractions I intended to visit.

I awoke at dawn to a peculiar noise … boooosh, booooooooosh. Once dressed I staggered outside and saw that the clear morning sky was filled with hot air balloons. The noises I had heard were the gas torches blasting super heated air into the balloons. This was a very popular activity on offer here - to take a dawn flight over the Cappadocian valleys to get an arial view of the fairy chimneys. No doubt it would be a spectacular thing to do and they charged a spectacular price too - $240 for a 40 min budget flight (I could get a commercial flight to another country for less than that). The deluxe package with champagne breakfast was more expensive. I hired a mountain bike for the day and armed with a local map, a bottle of water and packet of dried apricots I headed out to the Open Air Museum to get a closer look at the fairy chimneys. The road to the museum became so steep that I actually walked most of the way there, padlocking the bike to a lamp post. This museum contains the best preserved remains of a Christian community that tunneled into the fairy chimneys to build numerous churches, graves and houses. To label some of these places churches I find a little bit of a stretch, as some were little more than small hollowed out caves. Others however were large and impressive with decorative paintings – from simple red geometric patterns to elaborate frescos. Unfortunately many of the frescos were mutilated. Often the faces had been scratched out of the rock but the ones that were high enough had escaped this annihilation. I do not understand what motivates this senseless destruction of the arts.

After visiting the museum I followed the map to an off-road trail the bike shop had recommended and cycled or skidded (when the terrain became too steep) along the valleys. Natural springs had carved tunnels through the soft rock in some places which you could cycle through. I had wondered how the fruit trees and vineyards survived in this arid region so this at least was a source of water for these crops. It actually gets cold enough in winter to snow here and I suppose that when the snow melts in spring, it accumulates in underground reservoirs. Along the walls of the valleys there were small windows or dove alcoves cut into the rock. People had encouraged birds to nest in the cliffs to collect their droppings for fertilizer. There were also a couple of other small churches you could visit for a minor entry fee although they were not anywhere close to the condition of the ones at the Open Air Museum. A few hours later I passed through the small village of Cavusin and I was suddenly back in civilization with tar roads and returned to Göreme along the main road. It was a good day. I was completely alone, cycling along a hot dirt track surrounded by fascinating scenery and I couldn’t have been happier … strange.

On my second day in Göreme I searched for the underground cities I’d read about. I have to confess that this is a trip that would have been better via a tour bus and there were several around. I hired this clapped out Yamaha scooter that I estimate maxed out at about 60 km/h (40 km/h up hills judging by the whoosh of traffic passing me) and the only instrument that worked was the fuel gauge. It took all day to get to Derinkuyu (one of the underground cities) and back to Göreme on a circular route that would cover about 200 km. I noticed that the fairy chimneys are actually concentrated in a small area around Göreme. Beyond Nevsehir there were large flat tracks of dry reluctant fields, virtually no trees and the gravelly ground was crunchy underfoot. In the distance, dominating this landscape were the large peaks of extinct volcanoes. Derinkuyu was one of the larger underground cities in the area with about eight levels (or perhaps it was 80 meters down, I can’t remember) and most of the site is open to tourists. It’s not my idea of cozy home but I suppose if the choice is death or a dark, cold and damp hole in the ground, you’d also choose the hole in the ground. If you suffer from claustrophobia I would not recommend a visit to this place although modifications to the site now include steps along some tunnels and dim electric lighting along most of the route. The tunnels were purposely built narrow and low so that invaders would have to stoop in an uncomfortable position to get in. Large mill stones were positioned at strategic points so that they could be rolled into passages to stop further progress by invaders while side passages allowed spears to be thrust at unwelcome guests. The chambers were a lot roomier though and you could stand upright and move around. Some areas were designated for food storage while others were sleeping quarters. There was also a well for water and ventilation shafts to the surface. They even had a small church in one of the lower levels. After visiting those gloomy caverns, re-emerging into the sunlight was a relief.

The next stop was Ilhara Valley which you arrive at unexpectedly in the middle of the flat barren landscape. There’s a large gorge and a strong river flowing at the bottom. Large trees, sustained by the river, line the valley and there’s a short hiking trail that you can wander along too (for a fee). Onward from Ilhara I passed the settlement of Ziga where caves carved into the hillside had mostly suffered collapse and a large dog’s sobs at being chained up and left alone for the day echoed eerily around the cliffs. Then past several small villages and beyond Nevsehir to Urgup. Urgup was just beyond Goreme and within the fairy chimney area. It looked like quite a happening town with a number of bars, clubs and hotels. Larger than Göreme and possibly a bit more up market. Then it was back to Göreme to return the economical but retched scooter.

The next morning I was on the first bus back to Istanbul. The 12 hour journey to Istanbul was largely uneventful. We passed a very large salt lake being mined for its mineral deposits and through the sprawling Turkish capital of Ankara, arriving in Istanbul after sunset. One last night to soak in the sounds and festivities between the Blue Mosque and Aya Sofya.

I have enjoyed my time in Turkey and feel that I could spend a lot more time here. Perhaps more expensive than I expected but friendly people, wonderful food and extraordinary sights make this a special place to visit. I only scratched the surface of western Turkey and there’s still the eastern region, the Black Sea coast in the north and several islands to explore too. Oh well, next time … it’s been here for thousands of years, I’m sure it will be here when I return.

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