Cappadocia

Whenever I have a visitor, I kind of feel like Bob Barker on The Price Is Right, yelling into my wand-like microphone, "Lindsay, you just won an all-expenses-paid trip to...Cappadocia!!" Unfortunately, all expenses were not paid, but we did have a great time in Cappadocia, which is a beautiful region smack dab in the middle of Turkey. Cappadocia is famous for its "fairy chimneys" (rock formations naturally shaped by wind and water), and Byzantine churches carved right into the rock. I think this is definitely one of those journeys better expressed in pictures rather than words.

Here is a Byzantine monastery carved right into a massive rock formation. You can see the doors opening into large rooms on several levels. Many are inaccessible now; the the ladders once used to reach the upper levels are long gone. It was thought that these caves also served a defensive purpose, even though I have heard from multiple sources that the persecution of Christians in the Byzantine period has been seriously overemphasized in the history of Cappadocia.

A grand sweeping view of one of the wadis, or large plains shaped by wind and water over millenia.

Many of the churches had several graves at their entrances, and most are now exposed. When Lindsay and I approached one of the cave churches, we saw two workers happily cleaning outside. I said good day to them, and we had a brief chat. After talking for a few minutes, one looks around and then asks me, in Turkish, "hey, you want to get a better look at this grave?" I figured, what the hell, and said yes. They immediately bent down and lifted away the thick plastic that allowed visitors to walk on top of the grave (this one still complete with skeleton) but still view it underneath their feet. I quickly snapped a photo. Not creepy at all!

This is the interior of one of Cappadocia's most famous churches. It is called the "Black Church" because there are few windows and therefore very little natural light, but this is actually a great thing because the frescoes inside of the church are incredibly preserved. It was really beautiful, and Lindsay and I had a great time identifying all of the Biblical stories and characters depicted on the walls. I was pretty proud of myself; using the logic of deduction, I managed to identify all 4 evangelists, reading their names in Greek. Knowing something about fraternities comes in handy at some point, I guess.

A detailed picture from a fresco in the Black Church, from the Byzantine period. I just absolutely love the angels surrounding Christ; they are so beautiful.

A nice dramatic shot of Lindsay, admiring one of the earliest rock-cut churches in the area. We are actually in a subterranean chamber here.

This rock-cut house was literally a block from our hostel. And we loved the magical horse that showed up to graze right in front of it.

Cappadocia also has a lot of really cool outdoors-hiking options. As part of our tour, Lindsay and I visited the Ihlamur Vadisi (Linden Valley) which is this huge canyon with a river rushing through it. I was in hog heaven with all of the massive boulders strewn about our path. I couldn't help but scramble up on top of them.

We also visited one of the "underground cities" as part of our tour. Derinkuyu is an underground city, supposedly done during Byzantine times, and then added upon later. The city is carved straight out of the rock, that goes down for 8 stories. To be honest, it was a little disappointing, even a little shady, because it's history is so spotty and there is an appalling lack of archaeological information about these places. But, it can still be enjoyed as a massive labyrinth of dark passageways and spooky corners. Lindsay and I were amused by the bible school we found on the first level of this complex. the chamber was complete with a dunking pool for baptism. I immediately climbed in and was ready to be saved.

Another shot from the Ihlamur Valley. This is the rambling river going through the gorge. I bet white-water rafting on that baby would be a lot of fun.

Another rock-cut city. I just thought this passage way was really beautiful, even extraterrestial.

This one goes out to my pigeon-loving friend out there, Diana. This is a picture of a pigeon in the aptly-named "Pigeon Valley." One might notice dovecotes in some of my photographs. A dovecote is a series of small square holes designed to attract birds for nesting. Apparently, the Christian monastics wanted to raise pigeons because they used them as carrier pigeons, and they also valued their droppings for making paint for their precious frescoes, as well as fertilizer. Unfortunately, the monks are no longer here, but the pigeons are!

One of the cheesy rest stops had a tree completely covered with evil eyes of all shapes and sizes. It was really pretty, so I decided to take a picture of it. FYI, I am really obsessed with the evil eye, because I really like the color combination (blue and white, so classic) and I will definitely be using it next year as the inspiration for decorating my studio apartment.

There was one and only one reason we chose the hostel we did: kittens!!!! The hostel was infested with the three tiniest kittens you ever did see. They could name their price; we were staying. The other guests were frighteningly passive about the little guys, which made me question if they had a soul. Lindsay went berserk and definitely warmed up to the little orange and white fellow. I think he warmed up to her too.

I was really interested in the arrangement of the Byzantine tombs because they resembled the early Christian tombs I saw in the catacombs in Alexandria. I was busy musing over them when we struck up a conversation with a British guy (or he was Australian, I can't remember now). Anyway, we asked him to take some pictures of us in front of this church, then he put down Lindsay's camera for a second and said, "hey, why don't you guys just jump down into those tombs?" Both of us were a little freaked out by his cheerful suggestion that we settle into someone's last resting place for a photo op, but I conceded and dragged Lindsay down into my web of shame. It was a cute shot, though.

Nice picture of one of the gorges. You can faintly make out the dovecotes carved into the cliff; they resemble the cubbies they throw mail in at the campus post office.

GREATEST SIGN EVER

Our hostel room was great, it really was. It was cut into the side of a mountain, for goodness sakes. But we kind of had a problem with the key; it was really difficult to turn it and open the door once it was locked. On checkout day, we just couldn't manage to open the darn door, so, we just climbed out of our window. A narrow escape!

Lindsay took this picture of me in full art history mode. I believe I was excited because I saw a painting of St. Onuphrius, this hermit saint that lived naked in the Egyptian desert. I wrote a paper about him in my Baroque class.

The food in Cappadocia was also exceptional. We were enjoying some home-made wine at this family restaurant, where we had to call five hours ahead so they could slow-cook our meat in a clay pot, which was broken at our table! A gourmet life, I'll tell ya. 

Cheers to Cappadocia!