CAVETOWNS
AND GORGES OF CAPPADOCIA
For
millions of years, the mighty volcanoes
of the Central Anatolian Plateau erupted
and spewed their contents across the land
that would become the cradle of civilization.
Blessed with a moderate climate and fertile
soil, one of the world's earliest known
communities was founded 10,000 years ago
at Catalhoyuk along the river banks of
the Casambasuyu near Konya. Mankind's
first nature painting was found here and
it portrays the most recent eruption of
Hasan Dagi almost 9000 years ago. Today,
its snow capped peaks dominate the Konya
plain, awash in golden hues where vast
wheat fields blend subtly with the ochre
colored soil and the monochromatic palette
is interrupted only where rivers flow
and tall poplars flaunt their greenery.
Another
great volcano rises in the distance to
the east of Hasan Dagi. Once called Mt.
Argeus, the awesome presence of Erciyes
Dagi inspired legends as the "Abode
of the Gods" and the Persians built
a Zoroastrian fire temple nearby. These
two ancient volcanoes mark the western
and eastern boundaries of a region known
for its curious volcanic landscape that
has been relentlessly carved by nature
and by the people who have lived here.
'Fairy chimneys,' cones and strange rock
formations have been sculpted by wind
and rain while subterranean towns were
excavated by a populace seeking shelter
from the conquerors and would-be conquerors
who crisscrossed the wide open steppes
of the Central Anatolian Plateau. Ancient
Anatolian tribes, Assyrians, Hittites,
Phrygians, Turkic tribes from Central
Asia, Mongols, Persians, Syrians, Arabs,
Kurds, Armenians, Slavs, Greeks, Romans
and Western Europeans have all passed
through leaving behind some of their traditions
as well as their genes and rendering Cappadocians
as exotic as their surreal surroundings.
Although
the Hellenistic kingdom of Cappadocia
once encompassed a much greater area,
the name now refers to the region east
of Konya that is defined by Aksaray to
the west, Kayseri to the east, Nigde to
the south and Kirsehir to the north. Guide
books and tour buses focus on the underground
cities of Kaymakli and Derinkuyu as well
as the rock formations and Byzantine churches
found within the triangular area bounded
by Avanos, Nevsehir and Urgup. For those
who take the time to explore the less
traveled byways, Cappadocia is a land
of discovery. Away from Goreme, Zelve
and the major tourist sites, there are
partially excavated Hittite centers, cavetowns
and hundreds of churches that are rarely
seen, gorges to explore and some of the
most vivid, pastoral scenes to be captured
in all of Turkey.
Aksaray
is located on the Melendiz Cayi (Melendiz
River) along the old trade route that
connected Persia to the Aegean Sea. It
was once the city of Garsaura that was
later renamed Archelais but little of
its ancient past survives. During the
Seljuk era (1071-1300), Aksaray was transformed
into an exemplary Muslim city where a
hospital and schools were built. One of
the first two Islamic theological schools,
the Ibrahim Kadiroglu Medrese was built
here in the 12th century. The other was
built in Konya, one of Turkey's oldest
continuously inhabited cities and the
capital of the Seljuk Sultanate of Rum.
These and later schools attracted some
of the greatest Islamic scientists, philosophers
and theologians of the age including Jelaluddin
who escaped the Mongol invasion of Afghanistan.
He is better known as Mevlana Jelaluddin
Rumi, a renowned mystical Master and favorite
saint of Konya.
The
reign of Sultan Alaeddin Keykubat I (1219
- 1236) brought prosperity to the empire
when he renovated the long neglected road
system and constructed a series of hans
(inns) along the way. Generally, they
are massive fortress-like structures with
impressive entrances framed by intricately
carved honeycomb portals. Inside, a large
courtyard with a central mescid (small
mosque) is surrounded by arched porches
where animals were tended. Another portal
leads to the living quarters for travelers.
Hans were located about a days distance
apart by camel and they provided travelers
with food, lodging, entertainment and
protection. Twenty four miles to the west
of Aksaray, the Sultanhan Caravanserai
was the last overnight stop before reaching
Konya. It was built about 1229 and has
been partially restored. The Agzikarahan
Caravanserai nine miles to the east of
Aksaray retains its original features
and is one of the best preserved in the
area. This somnolent farming town now
serves as a base for exploring the Ihlara
Valley or as a rest stop on the way to
Cappadocia but during the 13th century,
it was an enclave of culture, refinement
and scholarship that attracted visitors
from all over the known world including
the great Spanish scholar and mystic,
Ibn El-Arabi.
A
few miles past Aksaray, a good road leads
to the main Nevsehir-Nigde highway by
way of the Ihlara Valley and Guzelyurt.
Rick Steves highlighted Guzelyurt in his
Turkey travel video for television and
now, even 'the pension where Rick Steves
stayed' is offered as a place of interest
for tourists! Guzelyurt is one of the
most tourist friendly communities in Cappadocia
with a multi-lingual aide who seems to
materialize out of nowhere and whose job
it is to assist visitors with practicalities
like parking, food and lodging. Villagers
and children will stop to chat and give
directions to the 'antique city' of the
old Greek quarter where the mosque was
once an old Byzantine church that honored
St. Gregory Nazianzus. He was born and
died nearby and is prominent as one of
the 4th century Cappadocian Fathers who
defended the Nicene Creed against Arianism
which denied the Divinity of Jesus Christ.
Formerly
known as Karballa then Gelvere, Guzelyurt
means 'beautiful land.' It is built on
the cliffs surrounding a narrow gorge
that is but a small appendage of the more
impressive Ihlara Gorge. There are over
fifty rock cut churches inside Monastery
Valley which lays beyond the old village,
past semi-troglodytic houses that line
a narrow, winding road. People still live
in these old cave dwellings and visitors
are apt to see women baking bread in 400
year old communal ovens or children making
mud pies on the roofs of their cliff houses
carved in the rocks below. Guzelyurt has
been declared a conservation area requiring
new buildings to be constructed of natural
stone so as to maintain its distinct Cappadocian
architecture. The boxy, stone buildings
with flat roofs and large arched doorways
are more similar to houses of Northern
Syria and Upper Mesopotamia than to structures
in other parts of Turkey. This is hardly
surprising because the earliest mention
of Cappadocians by Herodotus in the 5th
century BC refers to them as 'Syrians.'
The
Melendiz River finds its source in the
numerous springs of the Melendiz Daglari
and the adjacent Hasan Dagi to its west.
These mountains comprise a series of currently
inactive volcanoes that, over millions
of years, deposited a thick layer (1500
feet) of volcanic lava, ash and mud. This
material hardened to form a soft volcanic
rock known as tufa which was overlaid
with a thinner layer of hard basalt. With
the passing of time, the Melendiz River
has carved a steep sided gorge on its
way toward the marshes of Toz Golu (Salt
Lake) leaving behind expanses of flat,
basalt topped plateaus that characterize
this region. Further erosion of the basalt
layer expresses itself in the surrealistic
landscape of Cappadocia but in the Ihlara
Valley (Peristrema), rock cones are only
seen near Yaprakhisar and Selime.
Throughout
the years, this verdant valley has remained
relatively untouched by the tides of invaders
that have swept the land. Sheltered by
a natural barrier, the massive Hasan Dagi
to the south, the valley is located away
from the major travel routes that are
still evidenced by the main roads from
Aksaray to Kayseri and Kirsehir to Nigde.
It has therefore served as a physical
and an intellectual oasis for the people
who have lived here. Hittites found refuge
from the Phrygian invaders while early
Christian monks sought its isolation in
a remote corner of the kingdom during
the 2nd century Roman persecutions and
were later sheltered from the Arab invasions
in the 7th and 8th centuries.
The
valley became an important center of monasticism
that lasted from the 4th to the 14th centuries.
There are an estimated 150 churches and
several monasteries in the canyon between
the villages of Ihlara and Selime. A walk
through the tranquil 14 km gorge is a
delight. The dappled light under poplars
and wild olive trees as well as the constant
murmur of the water provide relief from
an unrelenting sun and the monotony of
endless wheat fields that make up the
Cappadocian landscape. Near villages,
the river continues to be the focus of
village life: women wash their laundry
amid chatter and laughter, children splash
nearby and shepherds bring their animals
for a drink.
The
main churches are marked although a few
have been closed to the public. The most
popular churches are those in the canyon
area between the villages of Belisirma
and Ihlara. However, Yaprakhisar and Selime
are more interesting architecturally with
stone houses that extend into the rock
caves. The village of Selime is named
after the sultan whose conical tomb stands
on the river's bank and numerous facades
are carved into the cliffs at Yaprakhisar.
For the adventurous, the entire length
of the Ihlara Valley is a wonderful place
for exploration. The children know the
hidden entryways and they offer some of
the most incredible 'tours' to be found
in Cappadocia as they share their extraordinary
playground, scampering up tracks through
the rocks to a labyrinth of caves and
tunnels that open to unexpected hideaways.
Only
nine miles from Ihlara, the village of
Helvadere sits among the foothills of
Hasan Dagi. Its peaks are both over 10,000
feet high and its northern face is threaded
with ribbons of snow where ravines have
etched the mighty volcano. The mountain
beckons for it abounds in secrets and
legends. It has witnessed the comings
and goings of Central Anatolia since the
dawn of civilization. Roman ruins, Byzantine
churches and Seljuk graves lay scattered
along its northern slopes and mountain
villagers tell tales of intriguing snake
legends. In his book, Caves of God: Cappadocia
and Its Churches, Spiro Kostof interprets
the symbolism of the paintings in the
Yilani Kilise (Snake Church) located across
the bridge from the Tourist Pavilion in
the Ihlara gorge. For one painting, he
suggests that a woman is being punished
for not nursing her children because 2
snakes are attached to her nipples. It
seems likely that the real meaning may
be hidden within the snake legends of
these mountain people. While we long to
uncover the secrets of Hasan Dagi, there
is only enough time for a half an hour
hike behind Helvadere to visit the ruins
of Viransehir (Destroyed City). There
was a large monastic complex here and
remnants of a Byzantine fortress and two
churches can be seen.
A
drive through the region to the north
of the Aksaray-Nevsehir road is to visit
the true heart of Turkey. Numerous farming
communities are located along the streams
and rivers that empty into the stalwart
Kizilirmak, Turkey's longest river that
is over 800 miles in length. Farming in
Turkey is generally highly mechanized,
but here, reapers still wield the scythe
and plants are sometimes hand-watered
with scoops dipped into nearby irrigation
canals. When the sun reaches its zenith,
workers gather under shade trees for their
midday meal and a well earned rest in
a scene reminiscent of Bruegel's 16th
century painting, "The Harvesters."
This centuries old way of life continues,
seemingly indifferent to the encroachment
of mass tourism.
There are cavetowns and rock formations
scattered within this area. Tatlarinkoy
boasts an extensive semi-troglodytic complex
but only a few caves are available to
the public. The small Byzantine church
has not been vandalized and its original
colors remain rich and vibrant. A typical
cave dwelling with several rooms can be
explored and it is complete with 'telephone'
(a special chute for talking to those
on another level), toilet, kitchen, shelves
and a large, solid, wheel-shaped rock
that serves as a rolling door. Above the
doorway is a compartment from which to
attack an intruder who may have broken
through the barrier. The main features
of this cave dwelling are duplicated throughout
Cappadocia. In Tatlarinkoy, cave entrances
speckle the surrounding cliffs carved
by the Acisu River. Some caves are used
by farmers for food storage and animal
shelters but many seem to have been completely
abandoned.
Kayseri was already an ancient Hittite
settlement called Mazaca when it was renamed
Caesarea of Cappadocia by the Romans in
the 1st century AD. Nearby, archaeological
excavations at Kultepe have revealed that
the area was first occupied around 4000
BC and known as Kanesh in ancient times.
It was a powerful commercial trade and
mining center around 2000 BC and 4000
year old Assyrian silver mines can still
be seen there. Most of the artifacts from
Kultepe are housed in the Archaeological
Museum in Kayseri.
During
Byzantine times, Caesarea Mazaca maintained
its prominence as a city of commerce and
trade as well as a major metallurgical
center that specialized in the manufacture
of heavy cavalry armor. Its schools were
ranked with those of Athens, Alexandria
and Constantinople. It must have been
an affluent city because historical references
have been made to its beautiful homes,
elegant cuisine and the many almshouses
that were built by St. Basil the Great,
another Cappadocian Father and friend
of St. Gregory Nazianzus. Much of its
Byzantine years has been lost because
the city was razed in the 11th century
when it was captured by the Seljuk Turks
and it lay abandoned for fifty years.
Ruins of a 4th century monastery and Justinian's
6th century citadel that has been extensively
renovated by the Seljuk and Ottoman Turks,
still remain. Surprisingly, one of Caesarea
Mazaca's culinary traditions has survived.
They developed a type of cured beef called
paston which was introduced to Hungary
and Romania as pastirma by the conquering
Turks. It was then adapted and carried
to New York as pastrami by Jewish immigrants.
Under
the Seljuks, Kayseri became prominent
once again as the second most important
city in the empire with many architecturally
important structures. Theological schools,
a medical school and hospitals were built
here. As an important center of learning
and commerce, Kayseri attracted an intellectual
elite, merchants, tradesmen and skilled
artisans. Today, Kayseri is a university
town, a major agricultural center and
enjoys a bustling trade in carpets and
kilims.
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