The area now called Turkey has been inhabited since the Paleolithic Age. After Alexander the Great's conquest, the area was later controlled by the Romans and ultimately the transition into the Byzantine Empire. The Seljuk Turks began migrating into the area in the 11th century, starting the process of Turkification. Starting from the late 13th century, the Ottomans united Anatolia and created an empire encompassing much of Southeastern Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. After the Ottoman Empire collapsed following its defeat in World War I, parts of it were occupied by the victorious Allies. A cadre of young military officers, led by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and his colleagues, organized a successful resistance to the Allies; in 1923 they established the modern Republic of Turkey, with Atatürk as its first president.
I was up at 7am to meet the tour company coming to pick me up. Before leaving on this trip I read an article about how a travel writer decided it was ok to go on tours without being an annoying “tourist.” I usually can’t stand tourists and try to stay far away from the buses, but I thought I would give a day tour a shot to see if I could stomach it. Also I did not have a car and a couple of the places I wanted to go to did not have public transportation access. After grabbing a Turkish breakfast, which I would have every morning for the next 9 days
I snapped this shot of dozens of hot air balloons taking off over the Cappadocia region. It seems to be a big attraction, but I did not want to cough up the $100 required. I met the guide and we took a 12 passenger van with some other hostel guests to a lookout over the town of Goreme.
You may have seen these pieces, shown below, before.
They protect from the “evil eye” The evil eye of Medusa is a look that is believed by many cultures to be able to cause injury or bad luck for the person at whom it is directed for reasons of envy or dislike. in Medusa's case it turns you to stone. Attempts to ward off the curse of the evil eye has resulted in a number of talismans that are meant to turn away or turn back harm. If you have blue eyes then you do not need to wear the jewelry.
The guide was great at telling us the history of not only the region but also all of Turkey. We boarded the bus and headed to one of the underground cities in the area.
The local Christians were persecuted, first by the Romans and then raiding Muslims, and they often had to hide from hostile forces. When they heard hoof beats, they would abandon the cave churches and go underground - quite literally. Beneath Cappadocia's rock formations is a network of subterranean cities, which housed up to 10,000 people each. The largest discovered are almost 10 levels deep, with narrow passages connecting the floors like hamster tunnels.
Below is one of their defenses. When invaders entered the cave system, they would roll the rock in front of passageway. It would not be able to be removed from the other side and the put a hole in the center so that they could thrust a sword through to the other side. They also had to relieve themselves in pots, sealing them with cheese. Sounds awesome
Our next stop was the Ihlara Valley, but had a couple nice encounters along the way
The whole canyon is honeycombed with rock-cut underground dwellings and churches from the Byzantine period. Due the valley's plentiful supply of water and hidden places, here was the first settlement of the first Christians escaping from Roman soldiers. In the Ihlara Valley there are hundreds of old churches in the volcanic rock caves.
Below are centuries old wall paintings done on a sort of plaster
Apparently they are depictions of Jesus and such but it kinda looked like characters from South Park to me.
If you click on the below image you can read what it really shows
We walked along the valley floor for an hour or so until we came to a restaurant stop over the river
I found this kickass bathroom
I think it would be funny if I had one of these installed in by bathroom, or basically just removed toilet and dressed up hole a bit. Then have a dinner party and see how people handle it when they go to use the bathroom. Just play it off like its no big deal.
Our next stop was some cave dwellings
Our final stop before returning to the Hostel was Uchisar. It is situated at the highest point in Cappadocia, on the Nevsehir-Goreme road, just 5 km from Goreme. The top of the Uchisar Castle (carved from rock, seen in picture below), provides a magnificent panorama of the surrounding area with Mount Erciyes in the distance.
Unfortunately we were also forced to stop at a jewelry store as part of the tour where they basically locked us in a room and tried to sell us expensive stuff as if we were at a timeshare infomercial.
I had checked out of my room that morning, so I just grabbed my gear at the front desk and headed to dinner until my overnight bus left at 10pm. I ended up at the Manzara Restaurant. They had a fire going on the roof, so I could not resist the view and warmth. They set up a table outside for me because I wanted to look out over the city. No one else was crazy enough to sit out there in the 40 degree night. I even got a blanket.
Here is the menu. If you can click on it to see some of the local fare
I ordered the Testi Kebab. I only did this because it said it came in a clay pot and they broke the pot open when served. How could I pass that up?
The guy came out with the pot and some mineral hammer he got from Shawshank redemption. He broke the pot; the only problem is that most of the clay pot ended up shattering into my food. I spent the next 10 minutes picking pottery out of my teeth.
The night closed with me sitting at a booth from a carnival that functioned as bus station surrounded my 5 Turks who were yelling and arguing for 30 minutes. My bus finally arrived and I was off on my 10 hour trip from hell to the city Antalya on the Southern coast.
Until Tomorrow
Darren
