Cappadocia Caves
As you should be aware, I needed to visit Ankara to get my visa for India. Since I was traveling on a holiday, and book-ended on the other side by a weekend, I decided to visit Cappadocia for the weekend, and drop off my visa application on Monday. Cappadocia is a unique area in central turkey composed of windswept rock formations and an obvious inspiration to Fraggle Rock.
The bus ride to Cappadocia was absolutely amazing. On one side was a serene salt lake. I watched the horizon of the lake disappear into a sun-set colored haze as if it continued like an ocean for an entire ten minutes before I saw the first whisp of wind churn the mirror-like surface. The other side of the road was buttressed against steadily growing curvaceous hills. The snow-covered landscape soon disappeared with the daylight, and it wasn’t until I arrived in Goreme I saw the first of Cappadocia. The fairy chimneys (or so they are called by locals), were lit up and surrounded the city. The mix of normal buildings, and bizarre rock formations was certainly a wild experience. Brad, Venecia, and I had decided it would be best to stay in a cave, and managed to find a hotel room for 10 euro nestled in the rock overlooking the city.
Cappadocia is actually a geographically large area; as such most people take a scramble around hustle and bustle bus tour. The three of us found out renting a car was the same price, and decided a more relaxed approach would be nicer. As the only person with winter driving experience, I was elected the driver. The driving was slow, but it was nice to pull over to take pictures or grab food when we pleased. Our first stop was the underground city of Derenkuyu.
Derenkuyu was a city capable of holding over 30,000 people with multiple entrances, and almost 100 meters deep. About 10% of the city is open for exploration, and small signs direct you around to make sure don’t get lost. Parts could be isolated by throwing mill stones in the path of invaders, and secret exits allowed them to entrap enemy. I haven’t had this much fun exploring in a long time, and would highly recommend going here if you get the chance.
We continued our journey by driving another hour to the Ilhara Valley. The “valley” is actually a steep canyon where many Christians built hidden churches in which to worship while being persecuted. A local dog seemed to know exactly where to go, and guided us around the snow covered canyon floor to the cliff dwellings and churches. We climbed, hiked, jumped, and crawled around the various areas. Seeing these humble churches with ornate hand paintings was a very stark contrast to the monstrous Gothic cathedrals of Europe, and a bit more personal. There was character, personality, and a level of understanding and siding with the underdog while visiting the churches. The hike around the valley alone was beautiful, and a great end to the day.
On our way home, we decided to take a different route, and ended up helping an old couple who were stuck in the snow. Another man had gotten out to help push as well, and we manged to get them out just fine. If they had snow tires they would’ve been fine. What little Turkish we knew conveyed less than the smiles on faces.
We arrived back in Goreme and our hotel guide brought us to a local bar to hang out. There weren’t a lot of people in the bar, but it was a fun environment, and the rolling brownouts were always a good time to laugh and relax. We ended up learning some Turkish Dances, and had a great time, until the bartender tried to charge us way too much. It definitely was a mood killer to the end of the night, but our hotel guide held his ground, and helped us leave unscathed.
