The Underground City of Kaymakli

June 17th, 2014

Cappadocia’s volcanic earth makes it ideal for digging, and the lack of fuel makes underground storage and dwelling a good idea (temperature does not change underground).Kaymaklı is one of the largest underground settlements in the region, dating back to the Hittites  (1200 BC). It was used by the local people until the 13th century AD, as a place to hide from invaders.

In certain eras the need to develop these hideouts was greater than others. During the Roman persecution of Christians in the 2nd and 3rd century AD the need to hide was great. During this time, these underground areas were expanded.

Again, in the 8th-10th centuries when Arab raiders roamed at will, the desire to become invisible quickly was at a peak. The large area reserved for storage in such a limited area appears to indicate the need to support a large population underground, as many as 5,000 people could live in these rock rooms for months at a time.

The city was constructed in 4 levels, sprawling horizontally as well as vertically,  with connecting tunnels and narrow walkways between. (My pictures are VERY limited – I just could not get pictures that would do this justice).

A stable is located on the first floor. The livestock were kept on the first level so that they could have access above ground, and because it would have been difficult to take them down to the lower levels.

Located on the second floor is a church. Located in front of the apses is a baptismal font, and on the sides along the walls are seating platforms. Names of people contained in graves here coincide with those located next to the church, which supports the idea that these graves belonged to religious people. The church level also contains some living spaces.

The third floor contains the most important areas of the underground compound: storage places, wine or oil presses, and kitchens.

The high number of storage rooms and areas for earthenware jars on the fourth floor indicates some economic stability.

As we toured this underground city, we were glad that we do not have problems with small tight spaces.

The ceilings were low….. Fred could not stand up straight in most of the rooms.

And the passage ways were VERY narrow…….

The stairs going from one level to the next were pretty steep…..

Off to the sides of the network of walkways were rooms…..

Some fairly large and spacious……where a family might live. Our guide pointed out some ‘hooks’ carved out In the ceiling. These were thought to be used to hang a kind of hammock for the babies. (I really just kept picturing the noise…..of running children and crying babies…..)

In this picture you can see a large round stone, like the one used in one of the “Indiana Jones” movies. These stones were set upright so that they could be rolled into place to block entrance from any invaders.

This tour was a real highlight of the region. The size and elaborateness of the complex……Heck, even the idea of hiding underground for months was intriguing!

The Cave Churches at Goreme

June 16th, 2014

It was here at the Goreme National Park and Open Air Museum that we were able to tour the Cave Churches that we had seen featured on “60 Minutes”.

In the 1st and 2nd century AD, the early Christians had used this area of Cappadocia to hide from persecution, building churches in the peculiar rock formations.

By the 4th century AD, under the direction of St Basil, Bishop of Caesarea (now Kayseri), this area of Cappadocia became home to a number of monastic Christians, who lived in seclusion in rooms carved in the rocks. These monks and nuns lived a simple life of work and prayer, building churches to serve their community. St.Basil is recognized as a father of Eastern Monasticism and his legacy extends to the Western church through his influence on St Benedict. He is a noted for injecting  moderation in the austere practices which were previously characteristic of monastic life.

Cappadocia monasticism was already well established in the iconoclastic period (725-842 AD) as illustrated by the decoration of many sanctuaries which kept a strict minimum of symbols. However, in post- iconoclastic times, (800 AD and later) many churches were dug in Cappadocia and richly decorated with brightly colored frescos.

We toured a number of these cave churches and marveled at the paintings which were still visible, and still brightly colored where the light had not faded the paint.

We were not able to take pictures in most of the churches. (The flash degrades the paintings, and the park has decided to not allow any photography).

We were, however able to get a few pictures of paintings on the outside of the buildings……

And a few pics in an allowed setting - at least we thought it was allowed……

It was interesting to picture those early Christians, living in community……

In some cases, perched high up in the rock formations…..

The roots of Christianity were kept alive here in this rocky, arid region of Turkey.

Cappadocia–Anatolia, Turkey

June 16th – 17th, 2014
It all started with a “60 Minutes” news program that we had watched a few years ago. We had remembered seeing a program about an area in Turkey with these neat cave churches that had beautiful frescos painted on the walls and ceilings.The only problem was, we did not remember where in Turkey this was.
But, thanks to the internet and a bit of research, we located the “60 Minutes” segment and re-watched it. In the interview, Bartholomew, the Patriarch of the orthodox Christian Church talked about the roots of Christianity in Turkey and took the crew to Cappadocia. And with that, we made our plans to explore this region of Turkey.

Cappadocia is in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey. It is famous for the peculiar landscape that formed from volcanic eruptions and the effects of erosion on the softer volcanic rock.

This weathering created formations known as ‘fairy chimneys’.

These weathered rock formations were soft on the inside and easy to hollow out. For centuries, man had used these formations as shelters.

Expanding the caves and creating whole communities built into the rock.

This particular rock shelter was in the area known as “Monks Valley”. St Simeon, who was living in seclusion in Aleppo in Syria in the 5th century, moved to this region to escape the attention that he had generated through working miracles. It is said that St Simeon lived in seclusion in this particular rock formation, coming down only to get the food and drink brought by his disciples.


Over time, these simple rock shelters became more elaborate houses……..

And towns built up around them.

Today, many of these cave houses have been turned into hotels to support a growing tourism industry.


For this region, also, we had hired a private guide, Sinem (Her name is very similar to our previous guide). Sinem  and a driver picked us up at the airport in Nevsehir at about 9 am, and we began our exploration of Cappadocia.

We took our time…..stopping to ‘'”Use our imagination……...”and picture the different rock formations.

As we toured some of the cave dwellings we were surprised to see many doves.The local people had for centuries raised doves, providing them with places in the rock to nest, and collecting their guano (or poop) for fertilizer.
There was so much to see and do….and just two days to explore this fascinating region. On to Goreme and the cave churches.

Cruising the Bosphorus and Strolling the Modern District of Istanbul - Taksium Square and Istikal Street

June 15th, 2014

This was our last day touring Istanbul, and we had been advised to get out of the historical district to see another side of this big city.

We started our day with a relaxing 2.5 hour tour, cruising on a passenger ferry up the Bosphorus, the waterway that separates the European side of Istanbul from the Asian continent. We enjoyed taking a more relaxing pace and just soaking up the view.

We ended our cruise at this little, quaint fishing town where we had lunch. We ordered a local fried fish dish and our guide tried to get the waiter to bring our fish ‘fileted’, rather than cooked and served whole.However, ‘fileted’ to them simply meant without the head….not without the bones! It was delicious, anyway!  One real advantage of touring with our guide, Senem, was that she could communicate with our waiters and help us know what to order….and by watching Senem, we could figure out just how we should go about eating the different dishes that we were served.

After lunch, we took the metro back into the heart of the modern side of Istanbul on the Asian continent.

Taksium Square…..in the heart of the government district, and the site of any protest in Istanbul that one might see televised. When I asked Senem about their local news coverage of any protests (I was thinking about the recent protests about the mining accident in Turkey), she told me that their local TV was definitely government controlled. She cited one time where there was a protest going on that was covered by CNN, and their local channel was showing a program about penguins! She said that the protesters began showing up wearing penguin buttons or masks to mock the TV coverage. I LOVE it!

Across from Taksium Square is Istikal street.

A modern, bustling street to rival New York’s 5th Avenue or New Orleans’ Canal Street. In other words…..it was a zoo!  Ok…..paradise, maybe, for those who like to shop….but just a great time people watching, for us.

This is a city where old meet new in so many ways…….

I got a kick out of spotting names and stores that seem uniquely ‘American’.

Can’t live without pizza…….

And, of course, Starbucks!

From Istikal Street, we said goodbye to our guide, and made our way back to our hotel.  More adventures ahead, tomorrow, as we take a flight into Cappadocia, in the center of Turkey.

The Grand Bazaar and Other Sights

June 13- 14th, 2014

Not all of our sightseeing centered around churches and mosques. Another highlight of Istanbul is the Grand Bazaar.

The Grand Bazaar is the shopping center for the historical district of Istanbul. In past times, it was the only place to shop.

Inside, are streets (and side streets) of stores where you can buy almost anything…..for a price!

There were LOTS of jewelry stores…….

And GOLD! Gold necklaces, bracelets, even gold coins. Our guide, Senem, told us that a bride had the right to ask her future mother-in-law to buy her a whole set of the gold jewelry as a wedding present. Have you ever heard the expression “Worth your weight in gold”? Well….a bride could ask up to her weight (pounds converted to ounces) in gold! Another custom in Turkey would be for the grandmother or mother to greet her children with a kiss and a gold coin. Gold is used as a common currency in Turkey. The stores in the Grand Bazaar must pay their rent each month in gold.

The Spice Bazaar was another, much smaller shopping area.

It specialized in spices of all kinds……

And teas and other bulk goods. The smells as we walked through the Spice Bazaar were intoxicating!

Another site that we toured was the underground cistern, the largest of several hundred ancient cisterns that lie beneath the city of Istanbul

This cathedral-size cistern is an underground chamber approximately 453 ft by 212 ft-  about 105,000 sq ft in area - capable of holding 2,800,000 cu ft of water. When full and in use,the cistern would be filled to the ceiling with water. This allowed the city of Istanbul to keep water in reserve for when they might be under siege.

The ceiling of the cistern is supported by a forest of 336 marble columns, each 30 ft high.  The capitals of the columns are mainly Ionic and Corinthian styles, with the exception of a few Doric style with no engravings. The majority of the columns in the cistern appear to have been recycled from the ruins of older buildings, likely brought to Constantinople from various parts of the empire, together with those that were used in the construction of Hagia Sophia.

The bases of two columns reuse blocks carved with the face of Medusa. The origin of the two heads is unknown, though it is thought that the heads were brought to the cistern after being removed from a building of the late Roman period. Tradition has it that the blocks are oriented sideways and inverted in order to negate the power of the Gorgons' gaze,

The cistern was used as a location in several books and films. It was featured in the 1963 James Bond film From Russia with Love, and the  cistern with its inverted Medusa pillar was used prominently in the climax of the new Dan Brown novel Inferno. Fred had read Inferno, and recognized the setting by its description in the book.

Along our walk through the city, we passed through this famous train station.

The Orient Express was the name of a long-distance passenger train service which operated from 1883 to 2009 Although the original Orient Express was simply a normal international railway service, the name has become synonymous with intrigue and luxury travel. The two city names most prominently associated with the Orient Express are Paris and Istanbul, the original endpoints of the timetabled service.

I would be remiss if I did not talk a bit about the food that we enjoyed in Istanbul……Breakfasts at our hotel were interesting and delicious. A typical Turkish breakfast included cold cuts, tomatoes, cheeses, olives (and more olives), breads (not necessarily sweet rolls), and maybe a small egg based dish. The food was plentiful, but not ones typical ‘American’ fare.And the coffee was great! Strong and flavorful, like I like it!   : )

 

Our lunches while touring with our guide were included in the package, and consisted of local and traditional Turkish foods. Our first day, we stopped for lunch at The Pudding Shop, a cute little place that had become famous as a ‘Hippy’' hangout in the 1960’s (when, I guess, it was hip to go and hang out in Istanbul). Our next two days, we also ate locally and sampled many different dishes, many using yogurt in some fashion. Almost every meal was served with a basket of bread and some form of spread or toppings, like a tomato based bruschetta or a yogurt based sauce.

Our evening meals we ate locally…..walking just around the corner from our hotel to sample the different outdoor cafes. Here, as in Athens, one could almost be knocked down by the café waiters trying to get you to stop at their café. With “Hey lovely couple…..” or “Would you like to look at our menu?” or “Maybe just a drink?” You could find yourself drawn into a café and seated before you knew what had happened!

But, we were there to eat….so we sampled the menu. We tried grilled dishes (served with bread) and a clay pot baked stew (also served with bread to use for dipping) and felt very adventuresome as we sat and watched the world go by (and the occasional traffic jam on these very narrow streets!)

And each meal ended with a wonderful cup of hot tea……

The tea was served in these cute little tulip shaped glasses which held just the right amount. They looked delicate (and maybe a bit ‘touristy’) but, everywhere we went, we saw people….from ladies to big burly men….sipping hot tea from these glasses. We decided that this was a custom that we might just have to take home with us.   : )