Cappadocia…a magical land

May 19, 2015 93 0 0

19 May 2015 | Cappadocia Turkey

The best thing about living part time on a boat is exploring different parts of the world. Typically that means visiting remote harbors and coastal towns only accessed by the sea. But we have been hearing about the magic of Cappadocia, one of Turkey’s completely landlocked regions, for years. One of us was a bit hesitant to travel further east during these tumultuous times, but the idea of a break from boat work was too enticing, so all concerns were quickly set aside, and off we went.

Cappadocia is a jewel with incredible landscape of eroded tuff (hardened volcanic ash), conical rock outcrops called peri bacalari (fairy chimneys), underground cities and a history dating back to the 1st and 2nd millennia B.C. Today, tourism is the mainstay of the local economy with travelers from all over the world visiting to learn about the area’s Christian roots, fascinating scenery, carpet weaving and pottery making. We found friendly, welcoming people and felt very safe during our time there.

During our four days in Cappadocia, we took our very first hot-air balloon ride. Getting up at 4:00 am wasn’t fun, but we were rewarded with the most beautiful sunrise and views, shared with some 150 other balloons which surprisingly only added to the experience.

Baris, our pilot, glided the balloon down through the eroded tuff landscape, scraping trees and barely missing (or so it seemed) other balloons. It was truly amazing.

And he finished the ride with a perfect landing on a small trailer that we were sure was not large enough for the balloon’s basket.

Local cherry juice mixed with local champagne is Cappadocia’s traditional celebratory drink after a safe flight and landing. Nobody cared that it was only eight o’clock in the morning, we’d been flying high for hours.

Gerome is a central town in Cappadocia woven between the mystical rock formations. The rocks near Goreme eroded into hundreds of spectacular pillars and minaret-like forms and people of the village carved out houses, churches and monasteries from the soft rocks of volcanic deposits. Today Gerome serves as a perfect base for a visit with cave hotels, restaurants serving traditional clay-pot meals, and a local nightspot with excellent live music.

Göreme became a monastic centre in 300-1200 AD. The Göreme Open Air Museum is the most visited site of the monastic communities in Cappadocia and is one of the most famous sites in central Turkey.

The complex contains more than 30 churches and chapels carved from rock, some with superb frescoes inside. Walking through town on our way to the open air museum we talked about the beautiful blue sky and mild temperature. We thought we should have worn shorts.

Within minutes, we were over taken by a sand storm, followed by a terrific thunderstorm. First we ducked into a pottery shop, but with a break between sand and torrential downpour, we ran to a coffee shop. When the rain stopped the temperature dropped so much that we had to go back to our hotel for our coats.

The ancient underground cities of Cappadocia represent some of the finest examples of underground architecture known to exist. It is thought that there are dozens of underground settlements in the region, six of which have been opened to the public. The first inhabitants of Cappadocia created deep cavities within the volcanic rocks to escape from the attacks of the wild animals, and hard winter conditions. These cavities were later enlarged and connected, creating large underground cities that were used as a place of hiding for the first Christians to escape the persecution of Roman soldiers, and later the Ottomans. We visited the deepest city of Derinkuyu. This multi-level city was once home to 20,000 people and their livestock. It has 18 levels and reaches a depth of over 180 feet. Not a place for the claustrophobic, or thoughts of earthquakes.

Hiking the valleys of Cappadocia is a must and we trekked through as many as time would allow. Ihlara, Pigeon, Rose, Red, Gerome valleys. Some had easy walking trails, while others required the use of ropes and ladders. Some had churches to visit, others surprised us with fresh orange juice stands at the top of a climb. All of them had spectacular views.

In Avanos, a small quaint town a short bus ride from Goreme, pottery making is a way of life. At one of the small pottery stores, they invited us to try our hand at their craft. They make it look so simple. And we’ve seen it done in movies, like Ghost. How difficult could it be?