Cave living in Cappadocia

---

Have you been to Turkey and not visited Cappadocia? You have probably missed some great fun that Turkey has to offer. We spent 2 days in Cappadocia and the entire time flashed passed our eyes like a blink. There was so much to do and so much to enjoy that I did not notice how it was time again to leave Cappadocia for Seljuk.

We arrived in Goreme early morning after a night long bus ride. We were dead tired when we were transferred to Dream Cave Hotel. Cappadocia trip was planned by Mr. hubby so I was totally thrilled to find out that our room was actually curved inside the rock chimney. Cappadocia has a unique geological feature unlike anywhere else I had ever seen so far. This land had experienced 3 volcanic eruptions and formed unique 3 layered (each layer formed a different colored rock) land features. The straight, tall features with a cap like layer on top are called the “fairy chimneys” and very much resembles a… ummm… male reproductive organ! And our hotel, among many others, was cut inside these fairy chimneys.

We barely had time to freshen up, let alone rest- as our tour guide was already there to pick us up. As it happens, our bus arrived in Goreme a bit late than scheduled so other members of the tour group had to wait for us for around 15 minutes. One Russian woman was very prompt to remind everyone (do I need clarifying that it was intended towards us) that punctuality should be maintained-if required the tour should operate timely by leaving behind late comers!

Anyhow, other people were really friendly in that group and the guide whose name was Ramzan was a comedian-literally. He kept on cracking jokes throughout the day. Our tour started with a 3 km downhill hike through Cappadocia hilly area. We saw the vast land of Cappadocia and the rock formation from a bird’s eye view. It was a pleasant hike but the day was hot and left us all sweating. It was time for lunch after the hike and guess where we went for lunch? Yes inside a cave restaurant again. And though it was sweating hot outside, the restaurant was cold- almost like air-conditioned atmosphere.

In the same area, there are two workshops- jewelry making and pottery making. both were included in our package tour where they showed us fist hand how Turkish traditional ornamental pottery and turquoise jewelry are made. The hospitality at these souvenir shops were awesome- they offered traditional apple tea and local wine. As everyone knows, all these are done to make us tourists feel obliged to buy something from the insanely expensive shops- but I guess our group was really impolite as none of us actually bought anything!

We were taken to an ancient underground city. These cities were built hundreds of years ago under the ground- in several layers. This was done to keep the enemies out. They had built winery, kitchen, stable, storage and every other facility under ground. The caves would remain cold in summer and warm in winter- what an awesome natural temperature control! The floors are connected through narrow hallways, there are small holes to communicate between floors- I was amazed to see the architectural skill of those ancient generations. They didn’t have enough equipment but they sure had enough imagination and logical understanding power- way better than us I would say! I tried but couldn’t imagine how a clan lived under the ground in such claustrophobic atmosphere. But they had to come out because there was no bathroom/toilet facility underground. But still, I can’t picture myself living 3 floors down the mountain cave in total dark with oil lamps slightly illuminating the cold stone walls even in the brightest of days!

Before evening the tour ended and we were delivered to our hotels. Goreme is a quiet town with mostly tourist visiting the place, but still the town went unusually quiet after sunset- which usually does not happen in tourist places. There were very few eateries- options were very limited. And the few options there were close to our hotel, had limited seating space. So we had to wait for a while to get a seat at a street side café. The dinner was simple, the surrounding was quiet and dark, the breeze was slightly chilly and I felt amazing! We had to sleep early as we needed a very early start next morning (before morning actually, before even dawn) so we couldn’t stroll around the street lamp illuminated quiet fairy land for long after dinner. The moment we hit our bed in our cave room, we were out of this world…. Anticipating of the planned adventure for the next day …… guess what that adventure was? See my next blog for that J

---

Photos

Cappadocia Valley
3 layered rock formation