Enchanting canyons, underground cities, cave dwellings, fairy chimneys, large rock phalluses and the first Star Wars movie. “What do these things have in common?” you ask. Well, you’ve come to the right place. Step into my cave-office…
Cappadocia (kap-a-do-kya) is located in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey. At just over 1000 meters elevation, it is an area of high desert distinguished by its plethora of beautiful rock canyons and quaint towns nestled within the labyrinth of rocky gorges. Early inhabitants discovered that the soft rock was quite amenable to the building of cave houses, cave churches, cave villages, you name it. If it was a structure that a human could inhabit, it was a cave. For centuries (even as recently as the 1950s), some of these original cave dwellings were occupied by descendants of the first inhabitants. In fact, many of the hotels and restaurants of modern Cappadocia are built into the rock walls and towers. It is in Cappadocia where we have found ourselves for the past four days. Imagine if you will a Flintstones family vacation to a mini-Yosemite valley meets mini-Grand Canyon which happens to be located near Bend, Oregon….or just check out some of our pictures below.
We arrived in the town of Goreme, in central Cappadocia in the evening and checked into the “cave” where we stayed for that first night. We then set about splurging on a couple of drinks and dinner at an outdoor café that we stumbled upon (figure of speech – not drunk stumbled upon). The café was playing a U.S. internet radio station that seemed to prefer Shakira, Pink and Lady Gaga (with just a touch of Eminem and Dr. Dre for good measure), and it was quite an interesting cultural collision to be chair dancing to Gaga while the call to nightly prayer was being projected in the background from the minarets of the surrounding mosques.
The next morning after breakfast, we set out on our first hike to explore the surrounding wonders of nature. Our trek on this particular day would take us through Pigeon Valley to a neighboring town, where we would traverse the ridge and then descend into White Valley which would then lead us into Love Valley. The hike was stunning…almost as stunning as the directions we were given by our helpful hotelier. The pension that we stayed in that first night is owned by an amiable couple, Kamel and Barbara. Both seem to enjoy whipping out their highlighters to demonstrate on the crude walking maps the best routes to hike. On this morning, Barbara, highlighter in hand, was describing the hike to me down to the last tunnel and turn. “As you come out of White Valley and enter Love Valley, you’ll see all the penises. Just keep going, weaving your way in and out of the penises. Once you pass the last one, you’ll come to a path that will lead you to the road…” Yes. I would testify in court that that is exactly what she said…with a perfectly straight face. I managed to stifle my school boy chuckle and left to inform Johanna that I now understood how “Love Valley” got its name.
After several hours of hiking, we returned to town and moved our belongings to Kose Pension where we would stay for the next three nights. Hot showers, hot food and early bedtimes were on the menu as we set about resting up for the next day’s adventure: the underground city.
Cappadocia is home to numerous underground cities, the largest of which is located underneath a town about 30 minutes away from Goreme. After yet another pleasant Turkish public transport experience, we descended upon (descended upon….get it?) the underground city. This particular underground city is 10 stories deep and includes multiple dwellings, a school, a church, a “disco”, a winery, stables, wells, and multiple air ventilation shafts. The first 2 levels were excavated between 2000 and 1200 B.C. Later, in the first few centuries A.D., the remaining levels were developed. In those later years, the city was utilized by the area's Christian inhabitants who would retreat to the underground city during times of siege. Currently, only about 10% of the original city is open to tourists. Even so, it took us nearly an hour to see that 10%...even with the aid of our impromptu tour guide.
As we approached the top of the stairs to enter the city, we assumed the security guard standing there was waiting to check our tickets. We realized otherwise as he waved off our tickets and proceeded to lead us down into the city. With child-like excitement, he led us around and showed us each tunnel and room. Using hand gestures, sounds and an infrequent word of English, he managed to “explain” to us the function of each room. A personal favorite was when he made horns on his head with his index fingers, made the sound “bahhh” and then pointed to an eye-let carved out of the wall to show us where the livestock were tied up. I will refrain from attempting to describe the gestures used to illustrate where the livestock went to the bathroom.
In order to explain to us that we were in the winery, he hopped in a rock basin and proceeded to simulate the motion of mashing grapes with his feet. He then mimed the universal sign for chugging and then mock-stumbled around a bit. In the picture below, I did my best to illustrate for Johanna and our guide the “party room”.
Day 3: Red Valley, Rose Valley and some quasi spelunking. After a relatively short walk, we were headed into the rose-hued rock of Red Valley. The rock formations and the contours of the ridges and valley were other worldly. That alone could have made for an exciting day. But this was not to be a garden variety hike. This was an exploration. This particular region of the park is dotted with abandoned cave houses and a handful of notable churches, all carved out of towering rock domes and the walls of cliffs. We were thrilled to find most doors and windows without barricade, thus allowing us more opportunities to play Indiana Jones. The first of such dwellings that we entered ended up being 3 and ½ stories high with small portholes between the floors that we were able to climb through. As well, we found the churches to be particularly amazing for the ornate carvings and frescoes that, though faded, still adorne many a wall and ceiling.
Cappadocia is such an enjoyable place to hike for three reasons. First, the scenery is amazing. Second, you would have to really work hard to get lost. It is easy to just pick a canyon, hike in, crest a ridge and then drop down into another canyon that will deposit you near where you started. Third, it provided the backdrop for some of the Tattoine scenes from the first Star Wars movie ("Episode IV: A New Hope..for all my fellow Star Wars nerds out there). Anyway, back to the ridges and valleys and the beautiful nature theme: as we crested the ridge of Red Valley, we found ourselves in front of yet another church with an abandoned tea stand in front. Luckily for us, the table and chairs that remained provided quite a picturesque spot for our lunch break. After dining on bread, cheese and salami sammies, we lingered awhile to take in the view. And this was when yet another cool “right place at the right time” experience occurred. A delightful older couple strolled up a few minutes later and we quickly struck up a conversation.
And now a quick pause for some background information. When we leave Turkey we will head to Israel, Jordan and Egypt. As excited as we are, both of us have been carrying varying degrees of concern about traveling to these countries in light of current events. As fate would have it, our new friends, Dorothea and Jeff from New Zealand, had just arrived in Turkey after spending 3 weeks in Israel and a couple of days in Jordan. Not only did they allay many of our concerns about safety in Israel and Jordan, they were also able to provide us with some very useful information that had there-to-for been illusive in both guide books and on the web. After some more very pleasant conversation, we snapped pictures of each other and parted ways. “You can be in our blog if we can be in yours”, were Jeff’s parting words.
What an incredible journey. We feel like we are learning so much: about ourselves, each other and the world. This opportunity to travel continues to be a gift in so many ways. I believe that “aha moments” are around us all the time. However, there is something about traveling – stepping out of your comfort zone and figuring it out as you go – that seems to accelerate and enhance these abundant opportunities to learn what we all inherently know: that the Universe will always give you exactly what you need exactly when you are ready for it. Currently, we are ready for a few days of R&R. Thus we are headed to Safranbolu, a quaint old Ottoman town near the Black Sea. Great friends recently advised, “enjoy the nectar” (thanks Burke & Meara). I believe we are doing just that!
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