Friday, May 9- Cappadocia

We had a really early wake up call at 4:30 this morning in hopes of taking a hot air balloon ride, but although the rain has subsided, the winds were too high.  It was a beautiful day, but we learned at 6:30 that we would have to try again tomorrow.  We had a leisurely breakfast with omelettes, yogurt, cheeses, breads and an assortment of interesting dried fruit.  We are not going hungry.  The photo below is across the street from our cave hotel.

We drove for many miles yesterday through a region of fantastic geological formations.  This area is covered with tufa, a soft stone of solid mud, ash and lava that flowed from two great volcanoes that are now extinct. Rivers and winds have carved unusual shapes of needles, pyramids, cones, and mushroom shaped spires into the canyons and valleys.  During various times of persecution, Christians made homes and churches inside these rock structures.   Our first stop today was the Goreme open air museum. It is a collection of these homes and churches built in 1200 AD or before.  Each family had a small chapel decorated with designs ranging from very simple to beautiful carved and painted scenes.  We spent some time crawling through these structures.

A room with a view!

Our next stop was the Fairy Chimneys, another unique example of these structures.  The wind is howling through the structures and there is no doubt that 200 years from now it will have carved completely different patterns into these structures.

 Much to our surprise, at this stop we came across two Turkish turkeys.  

Next stop was the carpet shop.  We learned how they are made and about the different materials, knot density and what makes one carpet more expensive than another.  I came really close to buying a beautiful carpet made from undyyed wool, made only in the Cappadocian region. Those you that know me know that making a purchase of that magnitude is not something I can do in 30 minutes.  

Cathy, Paul, Steve, Carolyn, and Candy get a hands on lesson in Turkish carpet making.  

Our final stop was a subterranean city called Kaymakli.  Last occupied about 1200 AD, it was a refuge for Christians escaping Roman persecution. There are 150-200 known underground cities like this in the area, some of which are connected. Orhan told us that up to 2000 people could have lived in this one.  We went down 4 levels and there were 3 more below that we were not allowed to explore.  Even their animals had protection.  We saw living areas, storage areas, ventilation holes, a wine press and cellar, round stone doorways (dubbed "Rolling Stones" by Ferrell Jr.- you can see the round stone in the doorway in the second picture below) and many other facinating rooms, all carved by these people into a labyrinth of tunnels. I can't imagine navigating such a place, especially first thing in the morning without caffeine. 

Our final stop was an impromptu photo op of the valley perfectly lit by the sunlight.  Come to find out this is also called Pigeon Valley.  We've learned that pigeons provide organic fertilizer for the region.  We have come to appreciate many of our common sayings on this trip including pigeon holes, (almost every cave dwelling has several) Rolling Stones, and "man caves." 

Despite our disappointing start, we had a great day.  This is the area where our guide, Orhan, was born. We heard great stories about growing up inTurkey and their customs. We have a much greater appreciation for this country and its people. I could go on and on, but I will close for now so I can post this before dinner.  I will add photos later if the wifi works.