The mountian monestary

Anatolian Tour

After a long and tiring overnight bus trip, I entered one of the most indescribable places I had ever seen (therefore I shall try to describe it). However, before I get into the magical land of Cappadocia, I should justify the bus system here. I would not have been as fresh after such a trip in Canada because the buses are generally more comfortable here. They are more spacious, with actual en route service of cake and coffee and the occasional water. Nevertheless, 12 hours on the bus is 12 hours on the bus.
Cappadocia is one the natural wonders of the Anatolian region and the world for that matter. Formed from prehistoric volcanic ash, it contains unique rock formations that are relatively easy to carve into. With even modest tools and a lot of persistence anyone can work away at them and burrow oneself a little dwelling, which is exactly what thousands of people have done throughout the centuries.
Like most regions and cities, this one has been both at the heights and the depth of prominence. On the eastern boundary of the regions lies Kayseri, which was the once famous city of Caesareia. It was the Christian monks and hermits, though, which gave the region its distinct flavour and character. For several hundreds of years, pilgrims flocked to this region in search of semi-solitude and Christian community. Along side the rock houses are also numerous cave churches, some of which even contain traces of ancient frescoes and other signs of worship. In the open air museum, for example, there are dozens of little churches in a very condensed area.
When we arrived at our little cave pension (guesthouse) we were met with a very friendly Turkish man with excellent English. He brought us back to his place and welcomed us with a tea and a not so subtle sales pitch for a couple of different day tours. At first I did not mind but as we got used to being there we realized that selling the tours was one of the millions of little ways that the merchants there get their money. It was not a big deal though, as the tour was a reasonably good deal.
I have mixed feelings about tours. If you get a good guide it can be a truly rewarding time, but if not, one can feel a little rushed. However, in places such as Cappadocia getting around to see all of the interesting places is hard unless you have a car and a good map. The tour then acts as a convenient form of transportation.
As Sirin needed the rest I went out and ventured on my own to the general area that the cave dwellings were. When I reached the top of the valley where the open air museum is located I realized that there were places to see both on the right and on the left of the road. The place on the right cost money, so I went left to hike around the caves and rocks there. I learned a valuable lesson in this, one that has not has a counter instance to prove it wrong yet: where one has to pay, one will find the tourists, where one can see things for free one will be left alone. Therefore I had a wonderful time wandering around and exploring the caves on my own, forming a delightful first impression. It was being like a kid again. I would sometimes have to climb or crawl to get into them, and I would become overjoyed when I would find one that was still relatively in tact. Sometimes I would sit and imagine what it would have been like when people lived there, and sometimes I would say a few prayers, as some of the places I found were old chapels.
I kept my adventurous wanderings relatively short, for I did not want to leave my travel companion unharassed for too long.

Some cave dwellings

Cave Chapel Frescoes (again no flashes)

In the evening we explored the town a little. It is a remarkable place, for there is a complete contrast between the tourists and all the shops and restaurants they patronize, and the local peasants who still dressed and maintained the same habits that people have been keeping in that area from time immemorial. On the way to our cave pension, for example, sometimes the narrow road would be blocked by someone’s shipment of straw, and there was one time where one of the other travelers was chased by rooster for trying to imitate them. Right next to the pension a number of old women would sit on the ground and work away at some craft with their colorful scarves and dresses. Inside their houses we could see that there was pretty much no furniture and no other ornaments or decoration.

The Village of Goreme

The region was quite poor, for the farming was bad and for those who weren’t in the tourism business there was no other way to make money. Many people still lived in houses that were carved out of the side of a cliff. What struck me the most, however, was that they seemed to carry on with their lives entirely unaffected by the numerous strange foreigners that were wandering around everywhere. I imagine that the town has become completely transformed in the last few years as tourism has been introduced into the area, but for those that have been their all of their lives, they just carry on with things as it has always been. Though, I am sure that when the old men get together to have their morning afternoon and evening tea the talk about it constantly.
The following day we gathered our strength and went on the tour of the area. I will not bore you with the details. It was a reasonably good tour in so far as it covered a lot of things in a short time, things we would have not been able to see on our own without at least three days. The highlights for me were the underground city that was used as a hiding place against the many invaders that swept through the area, and the mountain side monastery. We also saw an interesting family pottery business that had some of the most remarkable things I have seen. I was a bit put off though, for in the advertisement it was promised that there would be no shopping, which is another way that the tours make their money.

One of many examples of excellent Turkish craftmanship

Underground city (not a great place for pictures but a wonder for the imagination)

The next day we saw the amazing churches in the open air museum. Unfortunately it was absolutely overrun with tourists. Two of the persistent themes for me as a tourist has been a dislike of other tourists, especially crowds and an in ability to put myself in the proper mindset to visit sacred sites; the two problems work together. How is one really able to enter into the contemplative spirit in which such churches were built while surrounded by people gawking and taking pictures of themselves by every little scrap of antiquity, as though they will be edified on account of proximity. I suppose this is the natural effect of state control of the heritage sites of foreign religions. It is the right of conquest I suppose, and to be fair, they do upkeep them rather well.

Characteristic Fairy Chimnies

Open Air Museum (before the crowds)

This basically concluded our tour of Cappadocia. I would have loved to have stayed several more days, but there are so many things to see, and we did not have unlimited time. We took another night bus, this time to Antalya for the seaside portion of our journey.

An old palace gate in Olympus

Antalya is one of the larger cities in the country and it is renowned for being a great holiday spot as there are numerous small resorts on both sides of the city. The place we choose was the site of the ancient city of Olympus. It was not a significant city, but had some excellent ruins. What was most important though, was that there was an excellent beach. The village itself was just a string of pensions along the valley leading to the beach. They were quite rustic, just a number of small, quickly slapped together cabins set in lemon orchards, a perfect place for a relaxing holiday by the beach. It was remarkably similar to places in BC, such as the Slocan valley or some of the gulf islands. It would have been heaven for me ten years ago.

Ruins of Olympus by a natural spring

A great view of the beach taken from the Acroplis

We spent just shy of two days there: relaxing by the beach; getting sunburned; playing tavla (backgammon); swimming in the Mediterranean; exploring the ruins. If anyone reading this intends on going to Turkey, they should definitely consider Olympus, especially in the off season, when the weather is still great but it is much less crowded.
After two relaxing days we went back to Istanbul on the third overnight bus trip in a week. As some of you know, I cannot sleep on buses, so the rest in between was much needed. I had one night back in Istanbul, then back on the road where I am now. More to follow…