Day 5 - Cappadocia

I was very excited to finally reach Cappadocia. This is the area of Turkey I was most interested in visiting. Once I read about the underground cities, I knew I had to see them. We were finally in the area! Cappadocia also has some very unique, naturally occurring rock formations. These are often called "Fairy Chimneys"[*].

What I learned:
These are not stones piled on top of other formations. The caps are made of a harder stone which hasn't worn away.

Another treat: we got to stay in a cave hotel[*]. I had read about them and was really pleased when I found out we would be staying in one. Calling it a "cave hotel" makes it sound a bit primitive, but it wasn't at all. The hotel isn't entirely in a cave, but the rooms really are dug into the hillside.

How is this possible? The rock is easy to carve when it is wet, but once it dries, it's quite hard (or so they tell me). I considered testing this, but decided against it.

the breakfast area
my room

Mustafapaşa

Our first activity in Cappadocia was a walk around Mustafapaşa, our home base in the area. It is a town where many people live in the traditional ways, but it also has an art college so there are many young people. Traveler's Tip:
Grape molasses is delicious; yoghurt with grape molasses became my favorite breakfast treat. Many people still live in houses dug into the hillside, although some of the hillside dwellings have been abandoned. We saw one woman with alfalfa spread out on the roadside, drying it to make hay. Another woman was cooking part of her grape harvest to make grape molasses. (Many of the houses have grapes growing along the fence.) And there were so many interesting doors and windows that I could have gotten lost just taking pictures of them all!

and some of the abandoned dwellings
a typical view of the village
 
drying alfalfa street shop
grape molasses
and grapes

Göreme Open Air Museum

There was so much to see and do in Cappadocia that we were kept busy all day both days. After our walk around Mustafapaşa, we boarded our bus and headed off to the Göreme Open Air Museum[*][*]. This was a very unusual place, and that's saying a lot in Cappadocia! Like much of the area, it was full of unusual rock formations, but that was the least of it. Carved into these rocks were dozens of small churches.

I have no idea why there were so many of them in such a small area. (If we were told, I've forgotten. Sigh.) I believe many of them served as monasteries. One of the formations is called "The Nunnery" and is filled with many small rooms, with passages connecting them inside. Unfortunately, we couldn't go in.

The Nunnery
Note:
Remember this one. We'll see it again later.

There was one really spectacular church, known as "The Dark Church"[*]. I was really disappointed that I wasn't allowed to take photographs inside. There are some good images on the Internet, though, and I recommend looking for some. It really is amazing.

Traditional Lunch

And finally, it was time for lunch. We were invited to the home of a local woman for a traditional Cappadocian lunch. Yum - white beans cooked in an outdoor tandoori oven, fresh tomato salad, seasoned rice, and bread. Delicious.

After we were finished eating, I asked our hostess to show me how to put on a scarf the way she does. Do we look like twins?

While we were there, her mother and her mother's sister also stopped by to visit. We asked if we could take her mother's picture, but the answer was no. When we asked why, she said it was because she had been on the hajj. (The hajj is a trip to Mecca that all Moslems are supposed to do at some point in their life, if they are able. I'm not sure about the connection, but I think it has something to do with being purified or cleansed in the process.) This is her mother's sister. She didn't mind being photographed.

Carpet Demonstration

What I learned:
What makes Turkish carpets special is that they are tied with two knots, not one like other carpets. A "kilim" is similar to a carpet, but it has no pile and is often woven rather than tied.

After lunch, we visited a carpet-making co-op. I was especially interested in the silk carpets. I had never seen silkworms before and I was curious how they got the silk from the cocoon. They showed us the process and explained how the fine strands of silk were spun together. Then we actually got to try a hand at making a carpet. (No, that's not me, that's one of their carpet makers.) I'm sure that as soon as we left the room, they took out the knots I put in!

And then it was time to see the carpets (and be served apple tea by the salesmen, just like in Istanbul). We saw all sorts of styles and colors. The detail on the silk carpets was amazing. This shows the front and back of the same carpet. Almost as pretty on the back, just no pile.
back      
front     

(And yes, I did buy one - just a small one to keep by my bed. The silk ones were a bit out of my price range.)

Surprise Performance

After dinner we had a surprise performance of traditional music and dance. (One of the performers was actually the local mayor.) It looked like so much fun, I had to try it too.