The village of Göreme is the bustling heart of Cappadocia. Hotels, pensions, restaurants, shops-you name it, Göreme has it. Because of its proximity tovthe Göreme Open-Air Museum (a UNESCO World Heritage Site), the village has developed rapidly since the 1980s although it still retains much of its charm, especially in the back streets.
Many early Christian hermits, who wanted to lead a life of seclusion and asceticism, chose to settle in Cappadocia, where they hollowes out hundreds of rock formations to creat astonishing churches, chapels and monasteries. Today, there are still perhaps 600 such churches in the area, some of them with superb frescoes on the walls. The frescoes range in date from the 7th through to the 14th centuries, although most were painted after the Iconoclastic period /730-87), when the Church forbade the creation of images. Anatolian Greek Christians continued to live in this area until the 1923 population exchange between Turkey and Greece, and the remains of 19 th-century churches built to server their congregation are also scattered across Cappadocia.
The Cappadocian saints
Cappadocia has server as home to some of the Christian world’s most important saints. For example, St Basil (Vassileiso), and important figure in Orthodox Christianity, was born in Kayseri, the ancient Caesarea; the 1st and 2nd of January are kept as St Basil’s Day for the Orthodox and Catholic faiths, respectively. It was St Basil who drew up the rules of monastic life for eastern Christianity. “What you possess is not yours to keep,” is one of his best-remembered sayings.
The patron saint of England, Moscow, and Catalonia, St George(Ayios Yeorgios) was supposedly born in Cappadocia, where he is usually depicted fighting a dragon. In fact, a real St George may not have existed. The stories told about him show signs of having been lifted from ancient mythology, with George represented as a strong hero, vaguely reminiscent of Heracles.
St Barbara, who has a church named after her inside the Göreme Open-Air Museum, was born in Nicomedia (present-day İzmit). Her father was a pagan aristocrat, who condemned his beautiful daughter to death because of her Christian faith. Later, the reward for her suffering was sainthood.
Göreme Open-Air Museum
The museum is situated on what is thought to have been the site of the original Göreme, then called Corama. As you enter it, you will notice small rock-cut cells once occupied by monks and nuns. The most important structures to lok out for are the Elmalı (Apple), St Barbara, Yılanlı (Snake) and Çarıklı (Sandal) churches, although the Karanlık (Dark) church has the most magnificent frescoes, as bright today as when they were painted in the 11th century.
Another of the most outstanding churches is the 10th-century Tokatlı Church, which stands across the road from the main part of the museum. The ceiling of the older section is decorated with scenes from the life of Christ. As you walk further inside, you will see other striking frescoes adorning the walls.
On your way to the museum, take the turning in front of the Turist Hotel that leads to the Aşk (Love) Valley where you can lose yourself amongst some of the most dramatic “peri bacaları” (fairy chimneys).
Local hoteliers are experts at converting the secrets of Göreme and its surroundings into incredible locations for events. Just something to bear in mind, if you are planning something special.
Mornings and evenings
Even if you’re not normally an early bird, it’s an ufforgettable experience to look down on Cappadocia from the basket of a balloon at the crack of dawn. Even in winter, the white blanket of snow is vey becoming; from Mt Erciyes in the east, to Mt Hasan in the west, the whole area is rendered a magical mystery land.
In the evening, try and catch the whirling dervishes performing their rituals in an underground cave. As they leave the stage to the more conventional folk dancers, you will be left wondering: “Is all this for real?”
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