Cappadocia!

When I went to Turkey, my friends and I spent two days in Goreme/Cappadocia. (Cappadocia is pronounced "Kap-uh-doh-keeyuh.") We flew from Istanbul to Kayseri and then received a van ride (from a young guy that we later nicknamed "The Blemish") into Goreme. While we were in the van ride, this young guy convinced us to hire him as a guide. His English-speaking skills were adequate when it came to bartering tour prices, and we eventually took him up on his offer. However, we learned soon afterward that he didn't actually speak English very well. His "tour" was a little ridiculous, and he didn't really understand the questions that we asked about the area. (I remember he particularly had trouble with any question that began with "How long...") Anyhow, we felt like this tour guide was the one sore spot (or "blemish") of our trip, which accounts for his nickname. I can't even remember his actual name.

The Blemish offered to pose for a picture at one point, so Zillah obliged

That being said, I did like a couple of the things that The Blemish showed to us. His mother owns an art gallery, and it was fun to see her painting in the Ottoman water-painting technique. We also got to see a pottery-making demonstration in Nevshir, which was also located in the same little cave as the Hair Museum (which was so gross!).

 One good thing came out of our "tour" with The Blemish. We met a man named Mehmet when The Blemish dropped us off to look at a rock-cut complex. Mehmet owned a shop at the base of the complex, and he climbed up and took us around. He was a very nice, sincere person and we were happy to have met him (photo removed)

Cappadocia and the surrounding area is one of the most interesting places that I have visited, geologically-speaking. The climate and unusual formations reminded us a little bit of Southern Utah, but there was still something very unique about the area. The "fairy chimneys" and other formations are the result of volcanic eruptions. However, the resulting landscape is not entirely the work of nature. Since the cliffs are made of soft rock, for many centuries people would carve different dwellings and churches out of the rock. There even are rock-cut restaurants and cave hotels in the area, but we didn't visit any of those.

The Open Air Museum in Goreme used to be a monastery complex which was in use between the 10th and 12th centuries.

Here is one of the paintings from a church in the monastery complex. One of the figures below is probably Saint George, and it is thought that the scorpion-like creature is a depiction of the dragon which George fought.

On our second day in Goreme/Cappadocia, we took a tour and hiked through the Ilhara Valley, which is the deepest gorge in Anatolia. We also visited the monastery caves in Selime and the Underground Museum. There were some really interesting people on our tour, like James and Liz, a retired couple from Australia who spend every other year traveling. There also was another professor named James, who was really outgoing and talkative. We also had an Italian family in our group, and it was fun to listen to them and try to pick out Italian phrases that I remember from college.

One of my only photos of the Underground Museum. That is our tour guide on the left (not The Blemish, but a very competent and professional guide).

 The Ilhara Valley gorge

 It was really hot at the Ilhara Valley, but I wore a sweater as much as possible to save my skin from sunburns.

Here is one of the paintings from a church in the Ilhara Valley. Once again, the painting is an image of George and the Dragon, although this time the dragon looks more like a snake.

The monastery in Selime

It was really impressive to see the amount of carving that went into some of the monastery rooms. Superimposed arcades!

We finished this tour by visiting Pigeon Valley, which has a whole bunch of pigeon homes carved into the cliffside. Pigeons have historically been very useful to the Cappadocia area. In particular, pigeon droppings are used for fuel and fertilizer. This tree in Pigeon Valley was decorated with the "evil eye" charm, which is supposed to bring good luck.

While we were in the area, we stayed at the most charming place. I would recommend the Köse Pension in Goreme to anyone who visits the area. The place is run by a Scottish woman who has the most adorable baby. And their garden is very whimsical and lovely.