Turkey Day 4: Cappadocia

On the fourth day, we got up early to catch a flight to Kayseri, a city in central Turkey. When we got there, we took an hour-long bus ride to Cappadocia, which is an area full of wonders. We went first to an underground city. The people there built these underground cities hundreds (maybe thousands) of years ago as a place of refuge against attacks from their enemies. Each family had a room to themselves (pictured on the right), and then other areas, such as the kitchens, were common. Over 200 underground cities have been excavated in the area, ranging from 2 to 8 stories deep.

We weren't sure if Luke was going to make it through all the tunnels, but he did!

From the outside

After the underground tour, we visited a shop on the side of the street that sold a bunch of different foods, teas, candies, etc. Below are sesame-covered peanuts, which were delicious.

Our next stop was an area full of a geographic formation referred to as fairy chimneys. Through some interesting erosion processes, the rock has been reduced to these pointy towers. Hot air ballooning is popular here early in the morning, but we didn't make it at the right time. We had a tour guide here, who I thought was the least annoying of them all, although she did "you know" a lot. She kept us moving at a quick pace, though, which I appreciated.

Many of these chimneys have been carved out and turned into houses, churches, stores, etc. Many of them are no longer inhabited, but in the town there are still some being lived in. In one park that we visited, you could climb inside and see what they were like.

We visited Goreme Museum, which has several rock churches (no longer in use) which have paintings and carvings inside. We weren't allowed to take pictures inside, but they were pretty impressive. The one below used to be used as a convent.

That day we also visited a ceramics shop, where we learned about their traditional way of making pottery with a kick wheel. Luke got to try it out.

Each one was hand stenciled and painted.

This color combination and pattern on pottery was all over Turkey in the markets and shops we visited. I LOVED it and I wanted to buy it all. It's all quite expensive, though, so I settled with a trivet, which is now packed away safely until I someday get my own kitchen again.