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Mother Nature - Cappadocia’s City Planner

by Carole Herdegen

Ask any number of your friends if they ever heard of Cappadocia. Surprisingly, most of them will say “Yes”. However, if your second question inquires as to what Cappadocia is or where it is, the percentage of accurate answers will be substantially lower. Cappadocia is, in fact, located geographically in approximately the center of Turkey.

The high point of my trip to Turkey most certainly was the Valley of Cappadocia. There is no place on earth like it. To describe it almost takes on the imaginary images only a child can envisage. Located on a plateau between two tectonic plates, Cappadocia is rimmed by extinct volcanoes. About 30 million years ago, the landscape was formed when the earth’s tectonic plates collided and created pressure. The subsequent eruption produced volcanoes which in turn gave birth to lava and rocks that deposited their imprint on the area. Over millennia, water, wind and temperature changes have eroded these deposits thus creating picturesque yet sometimes haunting formations popularly known as “fairy chimneys”.

As one enters Cappadocia, there is a feeling of arriving on a science-fiction movie set without resident film crew and actors. The visitor is suddenly surrounded by a vista of little cave houses with windows and doors carved out of the rock formations. There are also cave cafes, shops, restaurants and hotels carved out of rock. Immediately, there is an excitement to wanting to experience the lifestyle of how the Cappadocian people lived since civilized times. At my hotel, in the cave-like room, simplicity was the order of the day. That is, Turkish carpets covered the stone floor and little lace curtains adorned the windows. Niches carved into the walls were used for lamps and small objects of Turkish craft. The only modern and welcomed feature was the bathroom with shower. While these cave-like dwellings are cool in the summer, I was informed that they retain heat during the cooler months.

On walks through these formations, a guide might ask his guests to use their imaginations to see animals or other objects in the different rock shapes. The odd reality is that the more one looks at the different shapes, the rocks actually take on the appearance of the objects or animals the visitor will have mentally chosen.

Not only has nature provided a bizarre landscape but man has added to the surrealism of Cappadocia by carving out houses, churches, monasteries and entire underground cities. Some experts date the beginning of the habitation of these rock formations was by the Hittites some 4,000 years ago. During the Roman times two thousand years later, it became an early hidden city for the Christians. Out of sight on the surface, generations of Christians and monks were able to survive the waves of Roman and then Arab invaders in the 7th through 9th centuries in their hidden subterranean cities.

On a tour of the underground city of Derinkuyu, I was fascinated by the engineering feat of the early inhabitants. More than 150 or more of these underground cities that were the home of tens of thousands of people still lie unexcavated and unexplored. During my tour of the site, I viewed an entire wine making operation, a granary storage facility, stables for animals and wall niches everywhere for oil lamps. It was interesting to learn that even the dead were placed in a special cavern with ventilation tubes until it was safe to remove them for proper burial on the surface.

These subterranean structures weren’t discovered until 1968 when a resident was cleaning the back wall of his cave house and broke through the wall to discover a room which then led to another room. Eventually, archeologists found a maze of connecting rooms that descended more than 18 stories or some 280 feet beneath the surface. Meanwhile, it baffles the imagination to think about all the hidden secrets awaiting discovery in the still unexplored underground cities of Cappadocia.

Another area to explore is the Göreme Open Air Museum which is presently a UNESCO World Heritage site. Honeycombed hillsides contain countless living quarters with windows and doors embedded in the rock facades. More than 30 churches with magnificent frescoes can be viewed simply by walking on the path of the canyon floor.

Exploring Cappadocia can also be accomplished by hot air balloon. Each morning at dawn, balloon operators collect their clients from the surrounding hotels and guest houses and travel to a central location. On the morning of my adventure, there were more than a dozen balloons ready to be launched. Everywhere I looked; groups of men were rolling out the balloons and filling them with hot air produced by gas burners. It was still early and the bright fires not only warmed the chilly morning atmosphere but lit up the dark sky. Once on board, my camera clicked away. Gradually, the skies brightened as we became air-borne high above the sights we had walked over the previous day. What a fantastic bird’s eye view one can get from high over Cappadocia. As we sailed over this enchanted land of “fairy chimneys” and bee-hive homes, I was thankful for being so fortunate to see this strange but mystifying place that will keep anthropologists and archaeologists occupied for many decades. On previous visits, I have found Turkey to have an abundance of archaeological treasures that continue to offer up fascinating experiences for the adventure traveler and tourist alike; however, on this one particular and specific occasion, Cappadocia was certainly the highlight for me.

Travel Information

Official Website of Turkish Culture and Tourism
Trip Planner and Brochure requests
Website: www.tourismturkey.org

Tour Operator
Tribe Travel Tours
Website: www.tribetraveltours.com
Telephone:
North America - (604) 913-0045
Europe – 90 (252) 618-0452

Travel Guide Book
DK Eyewitness Travel Guides
Istanbul
Turkey
Order online at www.Amazon.com

Istanbul
A trip to Turkey would not be complete without a visit to Istanbul. The city, divided by the Bosphorus Strait and is the only city in the world that intersects two continents, Europe and Asia. The most important sights to visit are the Blue Mosque, Haghia Sophia, the Grand Bazaar, and the Topkapi Palace. A cruise up the Bosphorus is a must for visitors.

Recommended outstanding hotels
These hotels are consistently listed as top hotels in the world.

Four Seasons Hotel
It was built as a prison for women in 1916 and now an oasis of luxury in the heart of the historic area of Istanbul. Each of the 65 guest rooms and suites has a theme that blends Turkish traditions with contemporary comfort.
Located in the Sultanahmet District
Website: www.fourseasons.com
Telephone: 90 (212) 638 8200

Çirağan Palace Kempinski Hotel
It was built as an imperial palace on the shores of the Bosphorus for the Ottoman Sultans in the 19th Century. The Çirağan Palace combines the grandeur of a palace with the modern comforts of a luxurious lifestyle.
Website: www.ciragan-palace.com
Telephone: 90 (212) 326 4646

Ephesus
One of the greatest ruined cities in the world and is on many lists of 1000 places to visit in a lifetime.

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