Fairy Chimneys, intestinal tunnels, caves in the sky-we saw it all in one day.
The underground city of Derinkuyu was built to house people in times of war. In the soft tufa or volcanic rock, is a warren of rooms, kitchens, chapels, wine and food storage areas, water containers and air shafts. We crouched to shuffle along low tunnels which connect each area, going further and further into the earth. The tourist paths are well lit and signposted, but we could see a myriad of passage ways in many directions. Fantastic place to hideout, if you can control the claustrophobia!
There are at least 36 underground cities in Cappadocia, in central Anatolya. dating from at least 7th century BC. People could live as troglodytes for up to six months, and there is evidence that tens of thousands did so. There are round stones to cover up entrance ways, booby traps for unwary enemy, and holes in the roof to pour in boiling oil if enemy did breech the doors.
Rising above ground, we stood on a stomach lurching plateau looking at a perfect triangular volcano (dormant), Mt Erciyes, a carbon copy of Mount Taranaki. Below it the valley floor was full of conical rocky outcrops.
On closer examination they revealed little holes for doorways and windows,. There were even ladders and steps cut out of the soft rock. This was the unearthly monastery of Goreme, the land of the so-called fairy chimneys.
Once a double monastery, with separate dormitory blocks and individual cells cut into the rock, Goreme is the most fascinating of all the world heritage sites we visited. There are several little chapels dedicated to different saints, some still with beautiful bright wall paintings and patterns. They date back to the 9th century, and are Byzantine frescoes depicting the lives of Christ and the saints.
One is St Gregory of Nyssa, the old name for the place we stayed, Nevsehir. Gregory was the brother of the more famous St Basil, the local Archbishop. There are rock kitchens with black cooking smoke on the walls, refectories with seating platforms, and complex pigeon houses, where the dropping were collected. This fertilised the productive valley floor where even today there are excellent crops of apricots, grapes, cherries, sugar beets and chick peas. . The surrounding hills are a national park.
The light snow fall made it all seem ethereal and other-worldly- a place I wish we had more time to explore to just absorb the atmosphere.
My heightened awareness was rudely broken when I stopped to take a photo of a camel sitting by the car park. The owner leapt out of his chair and shouted in a very unsmiling fashion. I think he wanted me to pay for the photo, but his manner was so aggressive I decided to move quickly to our waiting bus and not discuss the matter.
The underground city of Derinkuyu was built to house people in times of war. In the soft tufa or volcanic rock, is a warren of rooms, kitchens, chapels, wine and food storage areas, water containers and air shafts. We crouched to shuffle along low tunnels which connect each area, going further and further into the earth. The tourist paths are well lit and signposted, but we could see a myriad of passage ways in many directions. Fantastic place to hideout, if you can control the claustrophobia!
There are at least 36 underground cities in Cappadocia, in central Anatolya. dating from at least 7th century BC. People could live as troglodytes for up to six months, and there is evidence that tens of thousands did so. There are round stones to cover up entrance ways, booby traps for unwary enemy, and holes in the roof to pour in boiling oil if enemy did breech the doors.
Rising above ground, we stood on a stomach lurching plateau looking at a perfect triangular volcano (dormant), Mt Erciyes, a carbon copy of Mount Taranaki. Below it the valley floor was full of conical rocky outcrops.
On closer examination they revealed little holes for doorways and windows,. There were even ladders and steps cut out of the soft rock. This was the unearthly monastery of Goreme, the land of the so-called fairy chimneys.Once a double monastery, with separate dormitory blocks and individual cells cut into the rock, Goreme is the most fascinating of all the world heritage sites we visited. There are several little chapels dedicated to different saints, some still with beautiful bright wall paintings and patterns. They date back to the 9th century, and are Byzantine frescoes depicting the lives of Christ and the saints.
One is St Gregory of Nyssa, the old name for the place we stayed, Nevsehir. Gregory was the brother of the more famous St Basil, the local Archbishop. There are rock kitchens with black cooking smoke on the walls, refectories with seating platforms, and complex pigeon houses, where the dropping were collected. This fertilised the productive valley floor where even today there are excellent crops of apricots, grapes, cherries, sugar beets and chick peas. . The surrounding hills are a national park.
The light snow fall made it all seem ethereal and other-worldly- a place I wish we had more time to explore to just absorb the atmosphere.My heightened awareness was rudely broken when I stopped to take a photo of a camel sitting by the car park. The owner leapt out of his chair and shouted in a very unsmiling fashion. I think he wanted me to pay for the photo, but his manner was so aggressive I decided to move quickly to our waiting bus and not discuss the matter.
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