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Archive for the Category »Cappadocia «
For many people, the rock of Uçhisar- the “citadel on the edge”-will probably mark the highest point from which they manage to gaze out over Cappadocia.
Looking curiously like an outsizesnail, the rock “kale” (castle/citadel) can be seen for miles away, completely dominating views towards Nevşehir from neighboring Göreme. Climb up to the top towards the ned of the day. As the setting sun plays light games with the extraordinary natural rock formations beneath you, you can raise a glass of Cappadocian wine and salute the beauty of life.
*Uçhisar Castle
Most people who fly to Cappadocia actually land in Kayseri even though there is a more central airport at Nevşehir! A fast new road whisks visitors straight from Kayseri to Cappadocia, bypassing the much restored Seljuk-era Sarıhan (Yellow Han), which was completed in 1249. These days, the Sarıhan hosts Mevlevi whirling dervish ceremonies in the evening, so you may to come back again later.
The road then skirts Avanos and enters the magical landscape of Cappadocia, which is frequently compared to the surface of the moon always assuming that the moon came with peri bacaları (literally, “fairy chimneys” actually conical rocky outcrops). If it’s springtime, stop at the Avcılar viewpoint and look down at Göreme carpeted with violets and lilies, the valley is a vision from heaven.
However, if you are coming to Cappadocia from Nevşehir, it will be Uçhisar in all its rocky splendor that welcomes you first.
The clay that the Kızılırmak (Red River) deposits in Avanos has been used to make pottery since Hittite times. It’s a tradition that is still alive and well today, as the whole town is dotted with pottery workshops.
In Hittite and Phrygian records, Avanos crops up as an enchanting, fairy-tale-like place created by the god of volcanoes. Standing at the junction of many trade routes, it was called Vanessa in Roman times. During the Seljuk period its names was changed to commander Evranos Bey; later this was corrupted to Avanos. The 1st-century geographer Strabo tells us that Venassa was the third most important town in the Kingdom of Cappadocia, after Kayseri and Kemerhisar, a now all-but-forgotten settlement near Niğde.
The clay that gives the Kızılırmak its color is the basis for pottery-making, a handcraft for which Avanos is particularly famous. Passed down from generation to generation, from father to son, it’s a handicraft that hasn’t changed much since Hittite times. Some of the local potters provide information for tourists and put on demonstrations of pottery-making. Chez Galip (Phone: (0384) 511 42 40) and Güray (Phone: (0384) 411 23 74) are two places, where you can watch mud being given artistic life. The Fırça workshop (Phone: (0384) 511 36 86) is inside a mini underground city where, as you walk through the interconnecting caves, you discover a whole subterranean world of ceramics and tiles.
Another source of income in this little town, as elsewhere in Cappadocia, is viticulture. The local grapes are good not just for eating but also for wine production.
If you have time to spare, do visit the 2nd-century Yamanlı Church, two kilometers from the center of Avanos. The Özkonak underground city near Avanos is also perfect for avoiding the crowds who descend on the Derinkuyu and Kaymaklı underground cities at the height of summer. It is thought that tunnels connected local houses to these underground cities that could accommodate thousands of people for months at a time, whenever enemies were around.
On the way from Avanos to Göreme you can make a side visit to Paşabağı (the former Keşişler Vadisi-Valley of the Monks). It is filled with interesting “peri bacaları” (fairy chimneys), some of them clumped together like asparagus spears. It’s a great place to come in early evening as the sun starts to set. Further down the road, the Zelve Open-Air Museum fills three valleys which were inhabited until the 1950s. Here you can visit the Direkli (Pillar), Balıklı (Fish), Üzümlü (Grape) and Geyikli (Deer) churches, as well as a small rock-cut mosque.
A little closer to Göreme, you pass through Çavuşin, where the 10th-century Church of St John (AKA the Great Pigeon House) is right by the main road, with some of its beautiful frescoes exposed to the air. Inland, in Old Çavuşin, the 5th-century Church of St John the Baptist boasts cathedrallike proportions. If you walk yo Kızıl Çukur from Çavuşin, you will find all kinds of forgotten churches scattered among the gardens and vineyards.
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?”