Cappadocia

The overnight bus trip wasn't as bad as expected and we arrived here at about 3:00 AM. After a decent sleep we headed out for a very late breakfast at a patisserie in town. The food is really good here and much less expensive than in other parts of Turkey, which is a real relief. A few of the group headed off for a Turkish bath and the rest of us just wandered around town. In the afternoon we went to visit Kaymakle which is home to an underground city. It is an amazing maze of tunnels and rooms dug into the soft "tufe" or lava rock that forms much of the landscape around here. The city is actually about eight storeys deep but we were only able to visit five of them. It was plenty deep for me. This city wasn't lived in all the time but was used when there was some threat to the population. They even took their animals into the caves with them and there are stables as well as bedrooms, churches, kitchens and most importantly, wineries. It was originally built by the Hittites but was also used by the Christians hiding from the Arabs between the sixth and tenth century CE.

After a lovely dinner and the best apple tea I've had yet, we went to see the Whirling Dervishes. This is a sect of Sufi Muslims who date back to the 13th century Ottoman empire. They have a really neat religion which is actually very similar to Buddhism and other eastern religions. The whirling ritual was performed for us in a cave theatre which was quite dark and full of atmosphere. They are accompanied by four musicians playing bamboo flute, guitar, bongos and vocals. The music was really lovely (and I typically don't like the music from this region). The dance itself was very different than I expected, and was very slow-paced and constant. The five dancers basically just whirled around in circles which very slowly moving around the round stage. Some had their eyes closed and some seemed almost in a trance. They twirl for about 45 minutes and don't get dizzy - it was mind-boggling. The ritual was really something very special to witness, and had a mesmerizing effect on us all. It was definitely a highlight of the trip. We weren't allowed to take photographs during the ritual but they came out and twirled for a few minutes after it was over so we could take photos. Much to my dismay, I managed to totally botch this up and all my photos are blurred. My travelling companions have promised to share theirs with me.

Today was a full day of exploring the area. We started the morning with a beautiful one and a half hour hike through the countryside. The rock formations are really lovely and it was great to really get out into nature, but I must say that it paled in comparison to the majestic landscape I've seen in Tibet and Nepal in the last few months.

Following this, we visited a pottery factory and got a demonstration from the master potter. Their store was absolutely breathtaking - the workmanship, colours and patterns are so beautiful. They generally tend to stick to original Ottoman designs, and in this region Hittite designs, but they also do various other themes. I could have shopped till I dropped there.

Our next stop was the fairy chimneys, which are large pinnacles of tufe with granite caps. The tufe erodes at a faster rate than the granite, so the pillars are quite thin with big "hats" on top of them. They are really beautiful and interesting. We then visited an open-air museum near the town of Zelve, which is actually a collection of three valleys which make up a community carved into the hillsides. There are dwellings, churches, mosques, mills and other components of a village, however they are all in caves lining these three valleys. It was fun and interesting to scramble through the hillsides inspecting all the caves.

We grabbed another wonderful and inexpensive bite of lunch and then went to visit the castle in Goreme. This is another dwelling built into a hill but on a much grander scale that what we had previously seen. The whole hill appears to be hollowed out and riddled with caves. I believe that an entire city lived within this hill in times of threat. We climbed to the top of it (we really didn't see much of the inside) and had wonderful views of the surrounding area from the top.

Despite my best efforts to the contrary, I have broken down and done a bit of shopping here. There is just so much beautiful artwork, jewelery, pottery and other trinkets to buy, I just couldn't resist. I have kept the price tags low (still no carpets in my luggage) but of course everything I've bought is highly breakable and difficult to pack. I guess I'll have to jettison some clothes from my luggage to make room for it all.