Welcome to the final post for Turkey.
Before we set out to Cappadocia allow me to include the photo of the inside of the last home and death-place of the Blessed Virgin Mary that I forgot in the last post and do not want you to miss…
Slept in to 7am today. Latest wakeup so far. The tent and sleeping back were especially warm last night given lots of moisture and a low of 5C. Today was special – a 10km run through the famous Ilhara Valley ending up at the Selime Rock Cathedral built into a Fairy Chimney. We were now close to Cappadocia which is full of Fairy Chimneys which look like tall candle sticks. The ones in Cappadocia were formed by the massive eruption of nearby extinct volcano Mt Hassan some 13 million years ago. The lava and volcanic ash fell upon softer limestone forming mounds of “tuff” or what the Turks call “Tufa Rock”. Since then, winds and rain formed the individual “needles” or “pillars” or “chimneys” that you see today. Thanks to the softer limestone, this rock can be easily carved giving rise to dwellings inside the chimneys and the formation of blocks to build with. These to be described later. The Fairy Chimney phenomenon also occurs in many other parts of the world but can be caused by sandstone erosion as well as volcanic ash erosion.
The drive to the drop-off point was spectacular giving us a view of the mighty Mt Hassan. The truck dropped people off 10km from the Selime Cathedral and 5km from the same. Aim was to walk back to the Cathedral. I decided to run. I set out with camera in hand and made a few stops along the way to take photos. The trail is easy but not well signposted in many parts – if it were not for my Organic Maps App (formerly maps.me) I would have got lost. The views are iconic as you will see below. High rocky vertical sandstone cliffs, flowing freezing freshwater river and lots of trees in areas. The day was sunny with some clouds. Temp hit 16C. Long sleeve was the order of the day given that lots of the valley was in shadow. I love trail running. The trail challenges you and the view entertains you. The highlight were the Fairy Chimneys outside Selime and 1km from the Cathedral. After a fair few shots, I ran to the Cathedral base and climbed up the rest of the way. I ran 12km in 65min given 60m of ascents and 168m of descents taking me from 1200m to 1150m net descent. The Selime Rock Cathedral was carved out in the 10th Century AD alongside several other cavities including a small monastic chapel, kitchen, refectory and bedrooms. This was a Byzantine Greek Orthodox Monastic Complex, 50m above the river, which ceased functioning in the 14th Century with the invasion of the Ottomans. I was lucky that not too many tourists were around when I arrived and I got mainly sunny clear shots, free of people. The truck waited for everyone else to arrive and have some lunch before leaving for Goreme at 2pm to do some shopping given our next 3 nights would be at an isolated campsite with facilities. I crossed my fingers for a room. If no room there then I was prepared to book a hotel in Goreme. And I did ! When we arrived at the campsite 3km outside Goreme there were no rooms and limited outdoor charging stations. I booked a hotel room in Goreme which I shared with Robert from UK. Four of us cabbed it into town arriving 6pm. Goreme (Pop 3,688 and Elev 1,312m) is small and quaint surrounded by Fairy Chimneys but it is way too touristy for me. Its permanent population can double with tourists. Every second shop is a café or restaurant filled in by hotels. It also has tourist prices – wine here was double the price. My hotel was an old classic stone building made of the same material as the Fairy Chimneys. It was cold (7C) and rainy that night so I was so glad to be in a warm room that required only undies and a sheet to sleep in – compare that to thermals and a -6C sleeping bag – this Tufa Stone has amazing insulating capability.
Another up-to-now record sleep-in to 930am in time for my 10am tour of the famous sites of Goreme. This 3-night hotel was also the perfect time to drop-off laundry before the tour. The Goreme attractions are many so they are divided into two day-long groups: red and green. I decided to do a combination of the two so I could see those attractions that interested me. The mini-van took 8 of us from the truck and another 8 from Kosovo, China and Italy.
On the way to our first stop our guide explained the history of Anatolia which is the whole Asian part of Turkey. It is a very fertile area and in between the Black Sea (to the north) and Mediterranean Sea (to the south). Given sailing ships did not emerge until the middle ages, peoples of the East and West routed through Anatolia to trade and reach these two seas. Given its geography and lush fertile fields, this area was occupied by an incredible parade of Empires/Peoples in the following order: Palaeolithic Tribes from Central Europe (7000BC), Ancient Greeks (2000BC), Hattians and Hurrians (2100BC), Hittites (1800BC), Luwians and Arameans (1200BC), Neo-Assyrians (1000BC), Cimmerians and Scythians (800BC), Persians (600BC), Alexander The Great Greeks (500BC), Romans (100BC), Byzantine Greeks (350AD), Ottomans (1450AD), Modern-Day Turks (1922AD).
According to our guide the Ottomans were a small nomadic tribe of unknown origin (guess by most is Iran/Syria areas) who settled near Troy and built up their numbers by inter-marriage with former occupiers. Fascinating because moder-day Turks are not descendants of the Ottomans but people who migrated from Turkmenistan (hence the name). This is why modern-day Turks do not identify with the Ottomans and in fact engaged in war with them from 1821 to 1922 and emerged as victors.
Our first stop was Pasabagi which comprises a whole collection of Fairy Chimneys rising up a ridge that offers great views of Goreme. The Underground City of Özkonak was the biggest & deepest underground settlement of 8 levels connected with narrow tunnels. These underground cities are more like underground shelters since they were not permanent dwelling places and use by residents of above-ground towns to hide from enemies given the number of cultures invading this area. They were equipped with stables, food storage, cooking facilities and sleeping quarters, They even had large stone wheels to block entrances just in case the enemy got in. Tunnels fit only one person so if enemy did get past the barricades, they could knife them one at a time.
The next stop was more a tourist shopping trap – this is to be expected on tours in very popular places – it happens the world over. On this occasion it was a ceramic factory called Aldag Seramik but with a difference. This is Turkeys No 1 Ceramic Factory established by the same family since 1746 with thousands of pieces in a maze-like facility carved into the side of a hill. They demonstrated the making of a jug. They also had designers, drawers and painters working actively to show us how the clay pieces are decorated. The finished product is perfect. The shapes even. The colours extraordinarily bright. The designs and patterns eye-catching and different. This company is world famous with pieces adorning the Vatican, New York Museum of Modern Art, The Louvre, British Museum. They even have pieces in the Blue Mosque and Topkapi Palace in Istanbul.
My favourite and highlight was the Goreme Open Air Museum which is in fact not a museum but a Byzantine Greek Orthodox Monastery Complex carved in a mass array of Fairy Chimneys. Sadly, the published name of the complex reflects the intention of the current Turkish Government to supress links to the Orthodox Christian past which flourished here – our guide was well aware of this. This monastic complex was established by St Basil The Great, one of the most revered Greek Orthodox Bishops and Theologians back in the 7th Century AD and flourished until the 12thCentury AD. St Basil was born nearby and visited St Anthony, The Desert Father in Jordan who invented Greek Orthodox Monastism and inspired St Basil to do the same in Byzantine Turkey. This place is home to just over 350 Churches and Chapels and also equipped with kitchens, store rooms, refectories and sleeping quarters for the peak 8,000 monks that lived and prayed here during its lifetime. I visited 10 Churches/Chapels and the best was The Dark Church followed by Snake Church. These contain the best preserved and most colourful iconography painted on wet and dry plaster at the time. This is a must-visit place since it captures the essence of the peak of Orthodox Byzantine Christianity.
Our final stop was the Pigeon Valley with views of Uçhisar town which is the symbol of Cappadocia Tourism with its steep pyramidal stone tower adorned with homes carved into it. By this time, it was windy, cold and sprinkling so the timing of the tour end was perfect. I was feeling weak that day with sore joints and muscles and some diarrhea that night and in the morning. At first, I thought it was the yesterday’s trail run but it was signs of the flu going around the truck. Most had it. I decided to try and sleep it off back at the hotel before our big Turkish dinner and dancing later tonight.
The 2hrs of deep sleep raised me at 730pm in a 80% state for our Turkish night. Di and I were picked up at 8pm and the first on the scene at the grand Halahan Turkish venue carved into the side of a Tufa Hill. A big place designed for 200 people with long tables adorned with Turkish starters of bread, yogurt dips, spicy tomato relish, pasta salad, lettuce tomato cucumber salad and loads of wine and even raki (40% proof white spirit fermented from potatoes). A clarinet and lone drummer opened the evening with traditional village songs that sounded very Greek. Then came the dancers, 4 girls and 4 boys dressed in different traditional costumes for each traditional dance they performed. At this time dinner was served: a choice of meat balls, sauteed chicken or sauteed beef. No Vego. Just Turkish. Dishes adorned with rice and chips. The best part was the unlimited beer, wine, raki and even ouzo !!!
Then the belly dancer came along and after a solo performance dragged us up to dance with her. After some more liquid encouragement we danced freeform alongside local Turkish couples. It was a good night lasting from 8pm to 1030pm but I was fading fast fighting flu and dived into my warm bed the minute I set eyes on it !!!
The next day I arose my second 930am in a row. I felt great. I had beaten the flu. Today was meant to be balloon day but it had been cancelled yesterday due to high winds and forecasts for the same this morning. They were correct. I thunderstorm came and went and by 11am the clouds scattered and some sun cam out. I wanted to test my wellness so I went for a run. Hard but finished and in OK time. I was happy. The views of the Fairy Chimneys on my run were outstanding. I planned to fly back into Goreme from Athens, the next time I was in Greece. Balloons and Cappadocia go hand in hand and I was intent on fulfilling this mission. Instead, I decided to send up my drone in place of the balloon so please enjoy what my drone saw…
We set off at 630am on our last day in Turkey to face a gruelling 660km drive to within 52km of the famous Sumela Monastery to sleep in the mountains. And what a drive it was. Flat fields at first but the mountains soon came. Huge ones but not as high as they looked – we topped out at 2160m in a place called Erzincan with snow on all sides. It was damp and cold. I was the only one in shorts and resolved to bring out the thermals at camp. I shall let the photos below describe this amazing scenery. We took toilet breaks at petrol stations every 2 hours. These stations are super clean and most of the toilets have touch free doors and motorised plastic covers on the toilet seats. Impressive. Equally impressive are the roads and tunnels. Infrastructure here is well-maintained and looks modern. There is a lot of mining in this region, mainly shale for concrete but also precious metals. There are even helipads on ledges carved into the mountainsides. After 10 hours of driving, we decided to camp on a ledge at 1336m height and 52km from Sumela Monastery in the Pontic Mountain Range, since it was getting dark and starting to rain. This was classic bush camping. We pitched our tents in light rain, cooked in light rain, ate in light rain, cleaned-up in light rain. Everything was covered in mud. It was 5C and very damp. This was camping at its toughest. I decided to watch a movie on the truck as it was way warmer than my tent – I also did not want to take any electronics to the tent just in case the damp caused a short. I slept with my mobile phone in a warm bag and did not feel the damp below me thanks to my heavy-duty 4-season mat. I shall bring you the wonder of the Sumela Monastery in my next post, the first one in Georgia.
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