The Wonders of Cappadocia

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The photos are of the outside of my cave room and from the inside. The paintings are of the cave church frescoes and the rest are views from the balloon ride and surrounding Cappadocia area.

After ten days in Istanbul, it was time to see some other parts of Turkey. Everyone says you have to see Cappadocia which is in the center of the country. I wasn't up for the eleven hour bus ride so the short flight seemed like a much better idea.

One of the guys at the hotel arranged for me to stay at the pension of a friend and also for a van to meet me at the airport. Turns out that the regular shuttle wasn’t going there then. It was too late to reach me so the owner of the pension (Isa) and his friend drove 80 kilometers to pick me up. It's soon clear to me what a big deal it was for him to drive all this way to get me.

On the way back, they suggest having lunch at a favorite restaurant and Isa asks if it's Ok to order for me. I'm happy to let him and it worked out great because it was one of the best meals I’ve had so far in Turkey. They also made us the house dessert which was a coconut thing that cooked over an open fire. Delicious!

The ride gave me a chance to see the landscape and the earth was pale and very dry. The soil sure didn’t look like much and appeared to be barren yet here and there were patches of vineyards, or other small crops. Actually the earth here is a volcanic soil rich in minerals and all it needs is some water for crops to grow beautifully.

Goreme is this little town in the heart of this region of Cappadocia. Not too long ago, it was an undiscovered rural village. Then in the 80’s it was discovered and now is on everyone's list of "must sees" in Turkey. The scenery is like nowhere else. There are rock formations everywhere which they call “fairy chimneys” that look something like gnome hats. Many of these have been carved out to make homes, or in my case, a hotel “cave” room. Mine was an upper room and everything in it was a little caddy wampus.

The expression “getting off to a running start” took on a new meaning in the morning when exiting the bed. The floor tilted downhill so much that literally, I would run a few steps before I could stop my legs. The place grew on me with its uneven wooden floors, two-foot thick walls and little chisel marks on all the inside surfaces.

The pension had a charming courtyard with pear trees, grape vines and purple morning glories. Breakfast was served here providing a good way to meet some of the other guests over the six days I was there. We often joined up with each other for lunch or outings.

Isa’s place is really a four or five month operation. It’s cold and snows through the winter here so he’s big on encouraging guests to do other “activities” while staying there. Since most of the sights require transportation to get to, taking day tours is a practical way to get around.

What really surprised me were the early churches that were built inside these caves. The early Christians were fleeing the persecution of the Romans back in the second and third centuries and they fled to this area. They were able to stay here undetected for centuries by building underground cities and putting their churches in these caves.

Some of the caves have very developed frescoes painted on the walls and ceilings and the dry air helped to preserve them. They are quite remarkable. We had a great guide who, besides being fun, was a history student so he had lots of interesting information about these Byzantine churches. It’s quite something to see the entire New Testament story painted on the cave walls. We were all impressed by these churches because none of us realized beforehand that there was anything like this there.

Another evening a bunch of us went to a “Turkish night” where we had a meal and some entertainment. Some of it was a little hokey and reminded me of shows in Hawaii where they make the guys look foolish up on stage. Only instead of a hula dancer, it’s a belly dancer. The folk dancers and musicians were fantastic and made the whole evening worth it. One guy played what looked like a lute with a long neck that sounded like several instruments playing at once. I had to look around to check that he was the only one playing.

One of the highlights for me was my first hot air balloon ride. It was awesome! We were up for two hours and went way up and then way down into little canyons. You could see nearby towns and the various kinds of rock formations that are all over this region. Four Korean girls from my pension were also along and we had a lot of fun and I made friends with one of them—Lee. We were next to each other in the baloon and her camera wasn’t working well so I gave her a CD of my photos later. She was so appreciative and has since emailed me and invited me to visit Korea.

When my stay in Goreme came to an end, I thought it time to give the Turkish bus system a try. This would be a ten hour overnight drive to Antalya, a coastal city on the Mediterranean.

Turks don't usually buy a separate ticket for children, preferring to put them on their laps instead. The bus was full and the woman next to me had an eight year old girl who tried in vain to find a comfortable possition. I offered my lap for her to stretch out on but she was too shy at first. The upshot was that none of us got any sleep with her shifting around all night. Out of sheer exaustion, she finally put her legs over my lap. Her mother showed her appreciation by offering me these these little things to snack on. I later found out were roasted chick peas. They tasted like cardboard and when I'd eaten all I could bear, I looked for a way to dispose of them without offending her. By the end of the trip my pockets and purse were full of these "treats".

You have to hand it to the Turks for having a great bus system. First of all, the bus companies are private so they compete for your business. They use big clean Mercedes Benz buses that have huge 8'x9' front windows. There is an attendant on the bus that collects tickets and provides services like flight attendants used to do. First they bring you cups of bottled water, later packaged snacks, more water, toweletes and lemon water for your hands. They offer you coffee, tea or coke in the morning. All this for $28. Greyhound should sit up and take notice.

The bus stops are huge, very clean and modern plus you have a choice between squat or sit-down toilets. At three in the morning that’s a big perk. The bus windows are washed at every stop—not with a squeegee that smears the dirt around but with a hose-brush combo tool. They clean all the passenger windows as well. The store is loaded with packaged treats because Turks always arrive bearing gifts.

Across the isle from me was a couple and we took the local bus into the center of the old town. I had reserved a place and they chose to stay there also. As we entered the old walled-in city, we came through Hadrian’s gate, this impressive arched entrance built by the Romans in the third century. Somewhere in the recesses of my mind I recognized the name.

Antalya is a big overdeveloped beach town but the area inside the wall was neat. The next day Alan and Sonia rented a car and I joined them for a drive up the coast. We went as far as a place called Olympus where there are treehouses and runins. They dropped me off there because I was thinking of joining some friends I had met back in Goreme. There are supposed to be some good ruins by the beach but I stayed only an hour--long enough to know it wasn't for me so didn't see my friends or the ruins and caught the next van back to Antalya.

That was an interesting ride. The van was packed and my seat was a little bench right by the sliding door. Because it was hot the door was kept open for air. Need I say there were no seatbelts? All I could do was hold on tight to the seat in front of me. Thankfully, people got off 45 minutes down the road and I moved to a seat. The served cola on the van too.

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Comments

[Carol P.]

Great Pictures
You look like the lead character in one of my favorite movies: Out of Africa. The photos are spectacular and the angle from the balloon picked up the vineyards, etc., among the barren areas. Just got back from Colorado with the Grandson and found your e-mail among the pack and moved to yours immediately, not wanting quite to end the vacation this fast. Take care. Looking forward to your next communication. Always, Carol P. PS We did not get Telepapaque as a second site for RE/MAX. Want to keep it retail; we think someone else had more money to buy out the owners or to pay more rent. Bummer!!