Turkey's Magical Highways Day 5 (Monday)

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Up at 3:45 a.m to get to the airport for an early flight to Cappadocia (450 miles). Visited another UNESCO site, Kayseri. This region is like no other in the world. GIANT rock formations over thousands of years in what is called tufa rock which is a soft white volcanic rock. These are tall cones & columns that dot the entire region that spreads for miles. Everything is quite dusty and the people in the area have a high level of cancer due to the volcanic white dust that almost looks desert-like. People have lived inside these formations for years, carving out not only houses but entire cities. These housing sites are actually caves and in ancient times, were used to hide the early Christians from their enemies who wanted to take over the fertile land. Yes, even though it looks like desert, the land is quite fertile. Local businesses still store goods in the caves which is kept at a constant mid 50's degrees because of them being like caves. Some locals still live in the structures. There are over 600 Christian churches within the caves and date back to the third century AD. There are internal staircases, tunnels to connect rooms with no windows or openings (to hide from enemies).The formations are nick-named Fairy Chimneys which is a good name for them. Some have as many as 8 or more stories. King Midas was buried in one near here.

Today, we visited the Goreme Open Air Museum where we were able to go inside these structures and see the frescoes inside that date to the 10th - 13th centuries. See the picture of The Last Supper at the end of the carved out long table that probably would seat about 30 people. The other end had a cross painted on the wall. This was very impressive. We hiked, and then hiked some more around Cavusin and Urgup areas.We also climbed among the formations in the Pasabagi area, going inside many.

We also visited a pottery making studio which is a tradition in Anatolia, the region. Pottery was (and is) the main industry due to the volcanic clay earth readily available. Chez Galip is the name of the potterer who is considered the best (or one of the best) in Turkey. Linda purchased a wine decanter from the Hitite period, a design which is unique to the area and a 4,000 year old style. We even ate a stew-type meal baked in pottery. The pottery was then broken in order to serve to stew. It was delicious after 3 hours of baking.

We stopped at a winery and tasted a couple of their wines. There are only 2 vineyards in the area. We didn't purchase any of their wine because it doesn't measure up to Round Peak Wines!!! I did purchase a table runner which I hope to use in our new house.

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Photos

Winery stop
Pasabagi (?)

Goreme -- Fairy Chimneys
Houses in tufa rock formations where people lived (some still today).

Ancient church
Dining room with Last Supper Mural at end of table and the other end, a cross.

Comments

[Larry Borst]

Jeanne went to Costco so I have free time to catch up on your blogs. Really enjoy them! Fascinating!