Turkey on Thanksgiving Part 1 - Capadoccia's Early Churches and Indecent Erosion

In Cappadocia, with a group of 'fairy chimney' formations behind us.

  

Last year we met a smart, personable American named Cassie on a city tour in Barcelona on Thanksgiving weekend.  We spent a few hours trading travel memories and life stories (hers is captivating!) and by the end of our shared paella lunch she had convinced us to visit Istanbul and the inland area of Cappadocia in Turkey.  As coincidence would have it, we ended up there exactly a year later doing just as she suggested:  flying through Istanbul to Kayseri to explore the Cappadocia region and then back to Istanbul for a couple days before flying home.  As always, we would’ve benefited with a little more time, and would’ve loved a lot more sun this trip (it rained all but one day we were there!) Despite the crummy conditions we were captivated by the people, land, history, and inimitable culture of Turkey.

The first part of this trip was to Cappadocia, a landlocked region in central Turkey famous for its natural formations and importance to early Christianity.  We arrived into the town of Kayseri and took an hour shuttle to the little town of Göreme, where we spent a couple nights.   Göreme is in the heart of the Cappadocia region and is unique in that it is built right into the surrounding rock formations called fairy chimneys.  Take our hotel for example:

Our cave hotel in Goreme, Turkey.

 

It may be difficult to see, but the room (including the columns aorund the bed) is literally carved out of the rock!

The entire Cappadocia region was formed by a long series of volcanic eruptions that deposited 100’s of meters of ash that was then covered in a layer of harder basalt rock.  As water seeps through the basalt it wears away the softer rock below, oftentimes making columns which are then further sculpted by wind erosion.   The harder basalt on top wears away more slowly leaving behind some very interestingly shaped spires, columns, and other formations.   Starting with at least the Hittites in 1500BC, people have taken advantage of the ‘tuff’ (strong but softer volcanic ash layer) by excavating dwellings from the formations and surrounding hills.  These excavations range from simple rooms to extravagant churches to massive underground cities as deep as eight stories!

We spent most of the first day wandering around tiny Göreme and exploring its Open Air Museum, a fascinating valley full of the cave dwellings. Christ’s followers were first called Christians a few hundred miles south in Antioch, Turkey.  Close by, Cappadocia was a safe hideout during the earliest years of the religion when Christians were being persecuted by the Romans (and then later by the Arabs). The area was a stronghold for early Christianity and this one valley alone contains more than thirty churches built during the THOUSAND consecutive years it served as a monastic community.   It was for this area that Saint Basil wrote his ‘rules’ on monastic life in 340AD, describing how to follow the biblical precedent of living and communing with other like-minded individuals as described in Acts 2.   Wow.

Entrance to the Open Air Museum.  That's the 6-story 'nunnery' with kitchen and dining hall on the first floor, chapel on the second, and bedrooms throughout.

 Open Air Museum in Goreme
 These were all part of the monastic community that functioned from year 340 to around 1300.

So guilty, we didn't know we weren't supposed to take photos (and didn't use flash so hopefully didn't do any damage to the frescoes). This is one of the cave churches (of which there are 30 in this valley.)

Stunning ceiling

Another of the cave churches with its early frescoes.

Within a mile of Göreme are a few valleys with especially magnificent examples of the fairy chimneys.  Of these, we were particularly interested in hiking along Rose Valley.  Although we loved that most of the region is wide open and walk-able, there were almost no signs and the closest thing we had to a map was a sketch of the area.  We walked for a couple hours and did run across countless fairy chimneys and pigeon houses but sadly never quite made it in to Rose Valley.   As the temperature was due to drop to the mid 20’s, we abandoned our search as the sun was setting and opted instead for a warm shower in our cozy cave room.

Hot air balloon in the background near (but not in!) Rose Valley.

We wandered for hours in and out of caves, through old vineyards and orchards, and around weridly eroded land.



Just another view on the walk.

The next morning dawned cold, gray, and rainy.  We decided against the classic hot air balloon ride over the area and instead ‘had a bit of a lie in’ as they say here in England.  We headed out with a guide after breakfast, stopping first at an amazing underground city.  The softness of the tuff (aka tufa) made it possible for ancient civilizations (since at least the Hittites in the Bronze Age around 1500 BC) to excavate vast underground cities that served as bolt holes to escape invaders.  We visited the ancient underground Hittite city of Kaymakli, which had been enlarged to its present vastness by early Christians attempting to resist Arab conquerors.



Inside Kaymakli underground city.

Sone door that could be rolled in to block certain passageways.

 

Kaymakli is eight levels deep and is one of 36 known (they keep finding more) underground networks in the area.  The cities weren’t particularly hidden - most homes and churches aboveground had entrances - but were impenetrable to passing armies.  The confusing network of narrow tunnels filled with traps and doors meant likely death for invaders as they walked single-file, hunched over through the labyrinth of passageways. 

We loved exploring Kaymakli and would’ve spent a day just at this site if not for our tour guide Mr. Happy, who kept us moving and became slightly annoyed (mostly amused) when Chris kept darting off along the side tunnels only to pop up below or above or next to where we were standing.  Can you say “kid in a candy store?”

Although the weather is oftentimes worse in the winter (we can attest to that), the sparse crowds make it more enjoyable to explore some of the more intimate sights.  Apparently this place is packed with tourists in the summer; we were able to wander around at our own (well, Mr. Happy’s) pace and never felt crowded. 

Our next stop was the “Castle” of Uçhisar, the tallest of the fairy chimneys.  Climbing to the top allows for a panoramic view of the region… if it wasn’t shrouded in fog.  Ah well, can’t change the weather!

Yep, cold and foggy!

Afterwards we visited Cavuşin, a once-Greek city built into the cliff that was mostly abandoned during the Greek-Turkish population exchange (euphemism for ‘agreed mutual expulsion’) that was part of a deal signed in Lausanne in 1923.  Two million people were affected by the forced outing of Muslims from Greece and Greek Orthodox from Turkey, the purpose of which was to stabilize the region.  The area was completely abandoned in the 1950’s after a deadly series of rock slides (or ‘land slips’ in England).

Cavuşin

Great example of just how many dwelling were cut out of the cliff face at Cavuşin.

After exploring the ruins we hiked about a mile around the back of the cliff to see an amazing panoramic view of the area, including a really sweet little fairy chimney “family” (bottom right corner).  We had to stop and take some photos, of course!

 

Chris (in blue) gives some perspective to how tall the formations are.

From there we went to an ancient town Avanos whose residents have used the red clay from its river to make pottery since the Hittite times.  We were especially impressed with the hand painting of the pieces… talk about detail work.  Yikes.  We tried our hand at the potter’s wheel and with a *little* help were both able to make a pot using the kick wheel.  We didn’t get to keep it, though.  What a bummer.  

 

Yeah, made it myself. 

Imagination Valley - There's a camel coming out of our heads!

 

Fairy Chimney

Chris climbed through a hole in the first story ceiling to get to that window.  The Spaniards below were laughing and yelling "don't jump, it's not worth it!"

And lastly, to prove that nature has a sense of humor... *blush*

 



Home to see the family

Mom's backyard.

Being away from family during Christmas is a real negative of living abroad.   For logistical reasons more than anything else we decided to take separate trips back to the States this winter to spend time with each of our families.   I spent a couple weeks in the States, mostly in Rochester but with an overnight visit to Charlotte and Charleston on the front end of the trip.  I’m thankful that mom lives in USAir’s hub so my ‘layover’ could be two days long! 

Keeping this short, it was an incredible trip home.  I got to see and really spend quality time with my mom, stepdad, neighbor friends and their awesome kiddos,  brother and his girlfriend, all the pups,  cousin, aunt and uncle, and grandparents.

Since it wasn't right during the holidays everyone was relaxed enough to talk for hours over coffee or a meal or whenever.  I was fed like a QUEEN by my mom, aunt, and grandma (the pattern emerges!)  On top of all that, the weather was warm and mostly dry… quite the change from England!  It was such a special trip.

Some of my favorite photos:

Sarah Boo

Morty by the fire.

Twinsies?

Mom, B, and Mortums.

Cal, Colleen, Ziggy, and Ray.

Me and Dziadz.

G'ma!

Aunt Mary Ellen and Uncle John.

Dziadz at the Rochester Public Market.

(Great) Aunt Irene

Ziggy waiting at the window just cracks me up.

Cal's street



Vesuvius, Isle of Capri, and the city where pizza was born

Mount Vesuvius.

We took advantage of the Columbus Day weekend to zip to Naples, Italy.  Naples itself isn’t a prime tourist destination but is a cheap and easy flight away (thanks to EasyJet) and makes an incredibly convenient base for exploring nearby Mount Vesuvius and the ritzy Isle of Capri. We flew in early Saturday, dropped our bags, and then took the efficient and remarkably inexpensive Circumvesuviana train about 15 minutes south.  We hopped off at Herculaneum, the ruins of a resort town destroyed by the same epic Vesuvius eruption that buried Pompeii in 79 AD.  Both Pompeii and Herculaneum were essentially frozen in time from that massive blast, and although Pompeii is better known and much larger, Herculaneum is a better preserved site and much more manageable for the non-history buffs amongst us.  Whereas Pompeii was buried in volcanic ash and pumice, Herculaneum was covered by a thick crust of rock and volcanic mud that sealed and preserved even the organic matter within (wooden staircases and food, for example).  The archaeological site is quite literally in the midst of the current city of Ercolano, and Mount Vesuvius sits imposingly just a few miles inland.  We were immediately struck with how similar the ancient city was to a resort town of today.  There were fast food restaurants, bars, bakeries, and grand homes overlooking the Bay of Naples (although the eruption pushed the coastline back a bit so it’s not quite on the water anymore).  It also had three-story tall buildings, a well-laid out grid of roads, and colorfully frescoed and painted walls.  There was even a library filled with papyrus scrolls, 1800 of which were found intact!  The most amazing things to me, though, were the intricately tiled floors, some of which are still beautiful two thousand years later.  It’s really tough to grasp that what you’re seeing is literally from the time of Jesus. 

 

Herculaneum with the modern Ercolano in the background.

An old fast-food restaurant. 

Original paint on that wall... 2000 years later!

Modern-looking streets.

Absolutely gorgeous mosaic.

After a few hours listening to the audio guide, we left Herculaneum and caught a mini-bus to Mount Vesuvius with two other Americans and a Czech space lawyer (yep, there’s such a thing), all of whom were about our age.   Vesuvius is 1200 meters high and the road to the car park near the top is winding and narrow.  I did a little praying and a lot of inadvertent gasping during the 20-minute ride there.  From the car park there’s a tough 20-minute hike up a steep gravel path to the crater rim.  Traveling often involves all sorts of strenuous activity, and for the millionth time we were thankful to be fit!

Our first impression of the crater was that it was massive.  It’s 500 meters wide and 300 meters deep with very, very steep sides.  (An eruption in the early 1900’s gave the volcano its current shape).  Vesuvius is still a real threat and the plumes of smoke coming from the vents in the side of the crater weren’t comforting!  A trail follows the rim of the crater about half the way around, so we got some great views both of the crater and of the surrounding landscape.   I really enjoyed chatting to the Czech space lawyer on the walk back to our van.  Her life story and job were so interesting! Also interesting was the ride down:  our driver was obviously ready to be home and had no qualms passing busses or anything else in our way, usually around blind curves. 

Vapors rising from inside the crater.

A cloud came right over us!

Us in front of the crater.

We arrived safely, said goodbye to our new friends, and shopped for snacks at a local fruit market. Whereas Chris tends to be cautious about trying fruits and veggies he doesn’t recognize, I gravitate towards them. Besides, I was pretty sure the strange thing I picked up was edible raw. I pantomimed eating it and the guy at the stand nodded… what more did I need? (We bought some peaches as backup.) I ate it when we got back to the hotel: it was tasty and didn’t make me sick and I still have no clue what it’s called. After one last photo of the volcano, we took the train 15 minutes back to the main train station in Naples and walked the two minutes to our hotel. Naples is rough anyway, but like most places the area around the train and bus stations was the worst. I was glad to have Chris next to me!

Naples. Not the prettiest city!

Naples is literally where pizza was invented, so we sought out a really highly recommended pizzeria and ordered the classic Margarita pizza they’re most famous for.  The pizza was a steal at €5, and together with side dishes of what I think was broccoli raab, a zucchini and parmesan dish, and bruchetta topped with vegetables (plus a bottle of decent Chiante), the whole meal set us back about $40.  It was totally worth it, but we actually weren’t floored by the food.  I admit we have high standards for Italian food, but it almost never disappoints.  After dinner we decided to skip going into the center of Naples and instead went to bed early to get ready for the next day’s adventure to the Isle of Capri. 

The Isle of Capri is about an hour’s ferry ride off the coast of Naples.  It’s a swanky sort of island where the rich and the famous hang out.  It’s also a great island for walkers because of its lush, dynamic scenery and multitude of well kept paved footpaths.  Despite the obvious wealth, Capri (as Chris put it) “could use a scrub and a fresh coat of paint.”  It did seem just a smidge grimy compared to the Greek islands, but maybe Naples had just primed us to notice?

Port of Naples with Vesuvius in the background.

The view from lunch - the sea, the cliffs, and Capri town.

We spent the majority of the day walking what was probably a 7-mile loop (not a bit of it level, either) from the harbor to Capri town to and then along the coast.  The first store I saw in Capri town was Prada, so was surprised to find a take-away sandwich shop nearby selling drinks and €4 baguette sandwiches made to order.  We both ordered the Caprese as it was the island’s namesake!  We ate our sandwiches on a bench overlooking the cliffs, Capri town, and the water.  The food was so simple (literally a fresh baguette sliced in half and topped with a thickly cut tomato, two thick slabs of fresh mozzarella, a drizzle of super-tasty olive oil, basil, oregano, salt and pepper) but was the best meal we had the entire weekend.  We lounged over lunch for more than half an hour… tell me we’re not turning into Europeans!   After lunch we bought what turned out to be chocolate covered hazelnuts and almonds from a roadside stand (total score!) and continued our walk.  The first bit was along a street whose houses fetch something ludicrous like $1600 per square foot, and we followed it along past the Arco Naturale, an 18 meter-tall natural limestone arch that juts out of the water along the coast.  The trail then went past another grotto (cave), then along the coastal path overlooking Capri’s famous limestone sea stacks.  From there the path cut into a really cute part of town, where we window-shopped for a bit before making our way to the Garden of Augustus, then along the scenic zigzagging Via Krupp and finally back into town.  At the end of the day we went back to the baguette place for a bottle of Prosecco and ordered two more of the exact same baguettes to take home for supper! 

It was late afternoon by the time we made our way back to Capri’s port and sadly we were ten minutes too late to take a boat trip around the island.  Oh well!  We had a cup of coffee and people-watched until the next ferry to Napes.   We spent a really quiet last night in Naples and were home by mid-afternoon Monday.   We totally regret not having stayed an extra day and going to the Amalfi coast since we were so close!  Maybe next time J

Arco Natural

Capri's sea stacks.

Gorgeous view of Capri!

Zigzagging Via Krupp from above.

Chris getting frisky.

Capri's port.

 

 

We had some really good belly laughs this trip.  Firstly: the coffee.  Italian coffee is amazing.   It’s the best.  The problem is you get served what amounts to one gulp or three tiny sips.  I know American portions are wildly out of control but can I just get a cup of coffeeeeeeee?  Thank you sir, and now I’ll take four more just like that.  J

That's a normal sized spoon and sugar packet... 

 

The second laugh was about trading photos with people.  If we want a photo together somewhere we use the age-old trick to take some other couple’s photo and then expect them to offer to return the favor.  The problem is, no one knows how to frame a photo.  We’re in Capri, right?  See those famous rocks in the background?  We want them in the photo!  The best was when we were in Egypt and someone took our photo and literally managed to use us to block ALL THREE of the pyramids out of the background.  I still don’t know how he did it.  The third laugh was me ALWAYS losing gin rummy.  Chris has won something like 14 games and I’ve won ONCE. Arrrrrrrggggg!!  We also got a little kick out of the olive oil recycling (only in Italy!) and the cable car driver who was texting the whole way down the mountain.   

Taking the text-and-drive to the next level. 



Greeeeaaat picture of us blocking the famous Capri landscape.

Only in Italy!