|
|
|
|
|
 Nevşehir
is a modern town set very close to the wonders of Cappadocia
but without much of it's landscape to be seen. It is the
administrative capital of the region and has a huge market
running from Friday to Monday every week.
Nevşehir was founded by Damat Ibrahim
Paşa (1662-1730) who came from the village of Muşkara
and achieved fame and fortune as grand vizier to Sultan
Ahmet III. After producing many fine buildings to enhance
the glory of the Sultan in Istanbul he returned home to
found a new city (Nevşehir in English is new city). The
complex he built in what is now central Nevşehir consisted
of a mosque, seminary, school, library, fountain and hamam
(Turkish bath). Some of these buildings, and the beautiful
paintings which decorate the interior still survive. You
will see the name of Ibrahim Paşa everywhere in Cappadocia
where establishments from colleges to tea houses commemorate
the contribution of this local boy to his country and
his home town.
Nevşehir is crowned by an Ottoman citadel.
Only a few ruined walls survive but there is a fine view
and local handmade lace is sold around the citadel.
Just on the outskirts of Nevşehir is
the hamlet of Nar where the cave houses are still occupied
by families, there are no rock churches in Nar and so
very few tourists ever visit. |
|
|
 |
 Göreme
has the most beautiful setting in Cappadocia, the hotels
and pensions fade into the village and the village fades
into the fairy chimneys, hills and valleys.
Göreme has seen many changes particularly
over the last 20 years as tourism has developed in the
area. Nevertheless this small town still has a thriving
community working the fields tucked away between the fairy
chimneys and carrying on community seasonal activities
such as autumn harvest of pumpkin seeds and the preparation
of pekmez (made of wine) and village bread to see them
through the long winter months. In Göreme you can see
the old and new Turkey side by side (my personal favorite
is the donkey tied up for a rest outside the Internet
Cafe) and as you wander through the winding village streets
you will probably be invited to to the tea in one of the
ancient cave houses still lived in by local families.
Göreme has a friendly and relaxed atmosphere but there
is cafe society and nightlife in the center of the village
for those who fancy something more lively.
There is plenty to see in Göreme itself,
and that famous Göreme Open Air Museum is just up the
road, but Göreme also makes an ideal base from which to
explore the rest of Cappadocia. Walking maps are available
and just about every other form of transport can be hired
(including camels for the really adventurous) for longer
trips and tours. There is a wide variety of accommodation
available in Göreme from basic camp sites right up to
the beautiful Ataman Hotel, set at the edge of the old
village in the Uzundere valley and offering a complete
range of service in a traditional setting. |
|
|
 |
 Çavuşin
is a village about 4 kilometres from Göreme. The old village
is largely deserted because the area has been plagued
by rock falls. For this reason it is best to take a guide
if you want to visit Çavuşin and to watch your step. At
Çavuşin you can visit the Church of John the Baptist which
probably dates from the 5th century with paintings from
the 6th, 7th and 8th centuries.
Quite nearby another church contains
frescos commemorating the passage of Nicephoras Phocas
(a Byzantine Emperor) through Cappadocia in 964 to 965
during his military campaign against Cilicia. Nicephoras
may have visited the Church of John the Baptist which
was an important centre for pilgrimage at that time. |
|
|
 |
 Avanos
is about 8 kilometers (5 miles) from Göreme. The town
has a lively shopping center with all the usual amenities
including a modern, tourist orientated hamam (Turkish
Bath). A travelling market visits Avanos on Fridays.
Starting just outside the shopping
center the old village of Avanos winds up the hills leading
away from the town and is a beautiful maze of old stone
houses, some restored, some converted and some sadly abandoned
to their fate. In some of the abandoned houses the features
of traditional Ottoman architecture can be seen along
with ancient decorations, motifs and murals.
About 14 kilometers (9 miles) from
Avanos is the underground city of Özkonak and the 13th
century Seljuk caravaserai, Sarıhan (which is now a museum),
is only about 3 kilometers (2 miles) away.
The Kızılırmak (red) river separates
Avanos from the rest of Cappadocia, and is the longest
river in Turkey. It is by this river that the red pottery
clay is found from which Avanos derives it's main livelihood
and it's foremost claim to fame.
Pottery has been produced in the Avanos
area for several centuries and some of the techniques
still used date back to Hittite times. Avanos is a mass
of family run potteries, most of which are only too pleased
to let visitors have a go on the potters wheel and give
them a full history of the many and various pottery goods
on offer. Avanos pots make wonderful souvenirs and are
available at a wide range of prices from simple ashtrays
and mugs to ornate plates and chess sets.
Avanos is also famous for carpet weaving
and, more unusually, for knitting. Hand knitted garments
can be found on sale along with wool, needles and all
the other equipment you might need if your holiday is
incomplete without that familiar click click !
Avanos really specializes in handicrafts, there is a permanent
handicrafts bazaar and a three day Handicrafts Festival
in late August. |
|
|
 |
 Zelve,
which once housed one of the largest communities in the
region is an amazing cave town, honeycombed with dwellings,
religious and secular chambers. Here, the Christians and
Moslems lived together in perfect harmony, until 1924.Then
Christians had to leave the Valley because of the exchange
of minorities between Greece and Turkey, and the Moslems
were forced to evacuate the Valley in the 50's when life
became dangerous due to risk of erosion. They left the
site to set up a modern village, a little further on,
to which they gave the name Yeni Zelve (New Zelve).Now
old Zelve is a ghost town and the erosion still continues.
The three valleys in the Zelve region
are a paradise for the rock climbers. It takes at least
two hours for a good trekker to walk through these valleys,
which also house the oldest examples of Cappadocian architecture
and religious paintings.
Start your excursion by visiting the
first valley on the right taking the stamps in the second
valley, then turning right. While walking along the path,
you will see on the right some paintings on the surface
of the rock. These paintings on the surface of the rock.
These paintings are what remain from the now totally collapsed
Geyikli Kilise (the Church with the Deer) and afford examples
of the oldest paintings displaying the principal religious
symbols of Christianity, like the Cross, the deer and
the fish.
On entering the first valley you will
see a rock-cut mosque on the left, with a lovely minaret
obviously influenced by the bell-towers of the monasteries,
(Byzantine ciboria) which consist of a baldachin of four
collonettes supporting a pinnacle. You will then notice
a monastery complex on the right resembling an upside
down bowl cut of the rock. Immediately opposite, there
is a rock-cut complex accessible by a metal ladder and
connected to the second valley by a tunnel, but safety
considerations make any attempt to go thought it inadvisable.
On leaving the first valley you can enter the second valley
by following the path in front of the Mosque.
Before leaving this open-air museum,
be sure to pay special attention to the rocks at the entrance
of the third valley. Here you will find a rock-cut mill
with a grindstone which remained in use until the 50's.Recently,
its entrance has collapsed. Then follow the path to the
Üzümlü Kilise (The Church with Grapes) named after the
bunches of grapes, a symbol representing Christ himself,
in a country famous for its Dionysiac rituals. Just next
to Üzümlü Kilise is the Balıklı Kilise (The Church with
Fishes).On the apse above you will be able to discern
paintings of fish in a very faded red.
The nearby Paşabağ area contains some
of the most striking fairy chimneys in Cappadocia with
twin and even triple rock caps. |
|
|
 |
 Ürgüp
is about 7 kilometers from Göreme and is a modern town
catering to the needs of tourists as well as a market
town for the whole area on Saturdays.
Ürgüp has grown enormously over the
last twenty years or so in response to the needs of tourists,
and is now a major shopping centre especially for carpets,
jewelry, antiques, leather, ceramics, and hookahs. A permanent
handicrafts market (the El Sanatlar) offers a variety
of souvenirs and the Turkish Bath (hamam) is geared to
the needs of tourists as well as locals. Ürgüp has some
lively nightlife with a theatre, discos and bars offering
Turkish evenings of food, drink and traditional dancing.
Around Ürgüp the long standing Ottoman and Greek tradition
of wine making continues. Many wine shops offer free wine
testing all year round and a Wine Festival is held every
year in the first week of June.
The old dwellings of Ürgüp are now
principally used for storage and stabling but there are
still some strikingly beautiful houses of Greek and Ottoman
origin to be found and in the streets winding away from
the town centre many locals are living their lives in
the old traditions.
Ürgüp has a "Wishpoint" for
those who require lasting benefits from their holiday.
The route to the wishpoint is interesting in itself as
it starts opposite the 13th century Kebir Camii (mosque)
then follows a long tunnel to the top of Temenni, the
hill of wishes, where you will find the Seljuk tomb of
Kılıçarslan IV, a park where you can relax and admire
the view and a medrese (Islamic college) which is now
a cafe where you can refresh yourself and decide just
what to spend your wish on. |
|
|
 |
 Ortahisar,
which means middle fortress in Turkish, can be reached
by turning right at the 15th km on the Nevşehir - Ürgüp
road, and then continuing for one more kilometer. After
turning right you will notice doors on the rock surface
on both sides. These doors are the best example of cool-air
storages in Cappadocia. In these natural air-contitioned
rooms, lemons and oranges from the Mediterranean region,
apples from Niğde, local potatoes, quinces and onions
are stored. Green lemons slowly turn yellow in these store-rooms.
Ortahisar is famous for its friendly
inhabitants, picturesque stone houses both old and new,
narrow streets and lovely churches as well as the castle-like
rock formation after which the town is named. The natural
fortress, 90 m high, a prominant landmark in the region,
honeycombed with caves and tunnels, camouflaged by nature
without the slightest indication of human presence inside,
has partly crumbled away, revealing some of its interior.
Today it has been restored and the peak is accessible
by staircase. It offers a magnificent panorama over the
fairy chimneys of Hallaçdere and Mt. Erciyes. An underground
passage links it to İshak Kale (sometimes known as İsa
Kale, the Fortress of Christ), which rises at a distance
of about 350 m. From the foot of the castle the town descends
right into a deep ravine.
If you follow the street close to the
main fortress, you can visit Ali Reis Church with Christ
on the main dome, situated in a private. If you keep on
the main street down south you can have take in the Balkan
Deresi up to the Balkan Churches.
Some churches in the vicinity of Ortahisar
have been opened recently. Keep right for 2 km when after
leaving Ürgüp towards Mustafapaşa, after 1 km you will
see the yellow signs for Sarıca and Kepez Churches. Another
kilometer will take you to Pançarlık Church which has
very fine frescoes on its ceiling.
The Hallaçdere monastic complex 1 km
northeast of Ortahisar is one of the best examples of
the courtyard monasteries. It has vestibule, a kitchen,
a large tomb chamber, five rooms of different sizes and
a church with an inscribed-cross plan with four columns.
The animal-head decoration on some of the column capitals
and the sculpture of a human figure on the wall of one
of the rooms are unique in Cappadocia. The ground level
inside the complex is more than one meter below that of
the courtyard level because of the silting. |
|
|
 |
 Uçhisar
is a troglodyte village situated 4 km east of Göreme.
It is famous for the huge rock formation once used as
a fortification. This extraordinary rock is the highest
peak in the region and offers a magnificent panoramic
view of the whole of Cappadocia with Mt. Erciyes in the
distance.
The Citadel, carved out and tunnelled
by the cave-dwellers of the past, and concealed from view
and used for defence purposes, has now been destroyed
by erosion, revealing the inner honeycombed architecture.
A secret tunnel from the castle to the river bed 100 m
below, hewn out in order to provide the water supply in
the event of siege, has been recently discovered.
In the Pigeon Valley in the south of
Uçhisar there are the best example of the pigeon-houses
in Cappadocia. |
|
|
 |
 Hacıbektaş
46 km from the city of Nevşehir might look at first sight
no different from any other central Anatolian town. Indeed,
if you are driving from Ankara, in your eagerness to see
Cappadocia, the Ihlara Valley and the underground cities,
you might easily pass through Hacıbektaş without even
realising. But if you halt here before continuing on to
Avanos, and spare an hour or so to visit the dervish dergâh
(lodge) in the centre of the town, you will be able to
make the acquaintance of the Alevi order, one of the heterodox
branches of Islam.
If your visit is timed for august,
you will be able to watch the international commemoration
ceremonies, and get an idea of the living traditions of
the order's followers. Hacıbektaş is the sacred centre
of Alevi Islam, and every year on 16, 17 and 18 August,
tens of thousands of people flock here, not just from
Turkey, but from Bulgaria, Albania and other Balkan countries.
They come from communities which follow
the teachings of Hacı Bektaş Veli, whose emphasis on peace
and tolerance make his a universally relevant doctrine
still widely popular today. During the three days of the
ceremonies, people from far and wide: from the Deliorman
villages of Bulgaria, Albania, and the Turkish provinces
of Isparta, Tokat, Tunceli, Mersin, Antalya, and Erzincan
come together here. Teams of Alevi semah dancers from
different regions and in colourful costumes perform these
ceremonial dances, each of which represents a separate
thread in the rich cultural tapestry. The last representatives
of the folk ministrel tradition take the stage, sharing
it with modern-day theatre companies and music groups.
Book and souvenir stands are set up, and for three days
the small town is transformed by the festival mood. The
life of Hacı Bektaş Veli is shrouded in mystery. All that
is known are stories and legends passed down by word of
mouth until they were written down several centuries after
his death in a book entitled the Velayetname by a Bektaşi
dervish. It is believed that Hacı Bektaş was descended
from the Caliph Ali (Alevi means those who follow in the
footsteps of Ali), and his date of birth is given variously
as 1209 and 1247. The Velayetname tells us that Hacı Bektaş
came from Nishapur in Turkistan, where he was the student
of Lokman Perende, one of the followers of Ahmed Yesevi.
He later migrated to Anatolia, where he settled in Sulucakarahöyük
and began to spread the teachings of the Alevi mystic
tradition in Turkey.
These teachings, which came to be known
as Bektaşi, address the heart, and urge friendship and
humility instead of strife. Much later his teachings were
given systematic form by the 15th-16th century Bektaşi
dervish Balım Sultan, and so the Bektaşi dervish order
gained its body of tradition over the centuries.
The dergâh or dervish lodge of Hacıbektaş
became a museum in 1964. The entrance leads into a large
courtyard, to the right of which once stood buildings
accommodating the dervishes who worked the land and farm
labourers employed by the lodge. These buildings were
demolished when the lodge was being converted into a museum,
and a wall built here. At the far end of the wall is the
Üçler Fountain symbolising the Creator, Muhammed and Ali,
a fundamental concept of Alevi faith. An open space on
the left is like a small park, and originally there were
stables for the horses of guests, barns and other outbuildings
here. At the end of the courtyard a gate leads into a
second courtyard, where there is a pool with a border
of flowers. If it is not too crowded you can drink from
the holy water of the Lion Fountain. The inscription over
this fountain explains that the lion statue was brought
from Egypt as a gift to the lodge in 1853. The second
courtyard was the busiest part of the lodge, with the
aşevi (refectory), pantry, hamam (baths), guest house,
hall where the sacred services known as cem were held,
and the pavilion where the lodge's leader, the Dedebaba,
received guests. The final gateway leads into the third
courtyard where the tomb of Hacı Bektaş Veli stands. On
the right are the graves of dervishes belonging to the
lodge, and in the small mausoleum just beyond lie Balım
Sultan and Kalender Şah, two great figures of the order.
The ancient wishing tree in front of the mausoleum is
one of the places which visitors never fail to stop at.
Before entering the mausoleum it is customary for visitors
to embrace the cylindrical marble stone in the right-hand
corner. If you can embrace it with two arms, then it is
regarded as proof that your heart is clean and your intentions
pure. The tomb was built by Şeyhsuvar Ali, lord of the
Dulkadiroğulları principality, in 1519 following the death
of Balım Sultan.
The walls of the mausoleum are decorated
with painted kalem işi, and there are examples of Bektaşi
calligrapher. The door is original. The mausoleum of Hacı
Bektaş Veli himself is known as Pir Evi, and at the entrance
are the graves of the baba's of the order, dervishes who
attained the highest degree. As you walk towards the Kırklar
Meydanı hall, on the right you pass the çilehane, a cell
where the dervishes spent time alone in the presence of
God. If you wish to see inside you must bend almost double,
and a few minutes alone in that dark cell gives you an
impression at least of what it must have been like for
the dervishes who came here. On the raised platform to
the left of the Kırklar Meydanı are buried the descendants
of Hacı Bektaş who sat on the ceremonial fleece of office
and were known as çelebi or bel evlatları. In this hall
where the dervishes performed the ceremonial dance known
as the kırklar semahı, are now exhibited the twelve sided
stones known as teslim taşı which the dervishes hung around
their necks as symbols of the Bektaşi order, earrings
worn by unmarried dervishes who devoted their lives to
serving their lodge, handwriting of the Caliph Ali on
gazelle skin, beautiful examples of calligraphy, torches,
censers, and the Kırkbudak Candelabra which according
to the Velayetname came from India. Finally a small door
on the right leads into the tomb chamber of Hacı Bektaş
Veli, where visitors perambulate three times around the
sarcophagus before offering up a supplication to Hacı
Bektaş Veli. Near the lodge is Dedebağı, an open park
scattered with trees, where visitors who have come for
the commemoration ceremonies gather to picnic and drink
the ice cold spring water from a fountain known as Şekerpınar.
Another important holy place is the
Çilehane, a cave where Hacı Bektaş Veli spent forty days
and nights alone in prayer to God. A narrow entrance leads
into the cave, inside which is an aperture through which
it is said that those who manage to pass have pure hearts,
so many people can be seen attempting to do it. But it
is quite a feat, not to be recommended for people with
high blood pressure or heart complaints. Every evening
in the amphitheatre next to the Çilehane you can listen
to musicians playing wonderful traditional folk music
and watch theatre plays. Monuments to the 16th century
poet Pir Sultan Abdal and 14th century poet Yunus Emre
are also near here. The town of Hacıbektaş continues to
be a fount of the mystic concept which sees God in man,
and it is this idea which brings people who believe in
peace between men and forbearance towards others flocking
here from all over the world. |
|
|
 |
 In
the strange and wonderful landscape of Cappadocia is the
old, tranquil and picturesque town of Mustafapaşa 5 km
from Ürgüp. Known formerly as Sinassos, this is a small
town of 2500 inhabitants where originally Turks and Greeks
lived side by side, and the sound of church bells mingled
with the call to prayer from the mosque. The road to Mustafapaşa
winds through a green valley watered by many tiny streams
and is lined by rustling poplars. The old houses of the
town nestle at the foot of Golgoli, a high hill of Cappadocia's
yellow volcanic rock. As you enter the central square
you encounter a magnificent building on the left. This
is Sinassos Hotel, originally the private residence of
an Anatolian Greek who owned shops in Istanbul's Fish
Market and had this house built in 1892. Further along
the road leading off the square is Şakir Paşa Medrese,
an Ottoman period university college with an intricately
carved portal now housing a traditional carpet centre.
It was constructed in the 19th century by Mısırlı Şakir
Paşa to educate the sons of Turkish families in the town.
Adjoining the medrese are two houses with large courtyards
dating from the beginning of this century. Over the gate
of one is the date, 1900, and the name of the owner. Opposite
Şakir Paşa Medrese is the Aşağı Mosque, formerly known
as Camii Kebir, dating from 1600, although the portico
and one minaret are recent additions. The old minaret
is in Seljuk style, in interesting contrast to the new
minaret.
Mustafapaşa was given tourism site
status in 1981, and the 93 traditional stone houses in
the town dating from the late 19th and early 20th century
are under conservation order and awaiting restoration.
Passing several of these brings you to a second square,
on which stands the Church of Constantine and Helen, one
of the town's foremost monuments. It is dedicated to Constantine
the Great and his empress, Helena. The frescos date from
1895 and were executed by a Greek artist named Kostis
Meletyades who had been trained in Venice. Seated at tables
on the pavement outside the cafés around the square, elderly
men sip their tea as they play backgammon or watch the
visitors to the town with curiosity and smile in greeting.
Another old building on the square houses the local library,
and next to that is the Taş Fırın bakery of Mustafapaşa
whose bread is famed throughout Cappadocia. The town is
surrounded by apricot, apple and pear orchards, and vineyards.
Wine production is a major part of the local economy,
and there are two wine factories with a total output of
around 600 tons per year, all of which is sold to local
hotels and restaurants. As well as wine, the small black
grapes of the region are used to make pekmez, or grape
treacle. When autumn comes the local women tuck up the
legs of their baggy şalvar and set about the task of making
pekmez for the winter. The technique is the same as that
used by the Hittites thousands of years before! The grapes
are heaped into shallow stone pits and the women tread
barefoot on them to crush out the juice, which is then
siphoned off into huge cauldrons placed on wood fires
in the garden. The people of Mustafapaşa are friendly
to strangers and always ready for a chat or to invite
them into their homes. Two of the oldest inhabitants of
the town, Şabat Topuz and Süleyman Temur, are delighted
to find listeners for their ancient local tales. The houses
built of the soft local stone are cool in summer and warm
in winter. Some are now run as guest houses or small hotels.
The hills around are filled with Byzantine rock churches,
chapels and monasteries. In the Gömede valley are the
churches of St. Steven and St. Basil, and 2 kilometres
away is the Church of St. Nicholas. Another church of
St. Basil in a nearby valley is a three story rock church
whose interior is decorated with frescos depicting scenes
from the bible. So if you plan a holiday in Cappadocia,
do not miss visiting Mustafapaşa, or perhaps make it your
base for touring this fascinating region of Central Turkey.
|
|
|
 |
 Ihlara
Valley, near Mount Hasan (one of the three volcanoes of
Cappadocia) is a canyon with a depth of approximately
100m and was formed by the Melendiz River thousands of
years ago. It begins at Ihlara village and ends at the
village of Selime after making 26 bends along 14 kilometers.
It is believed that the valley housed
more than four thousand dwellings and a hundred churches.
It is estimated that around eighty thousand people once
lived here.
It is very pleasant to walk through
the Ihlara valley by the vineyards, poplars and pistachio
trees to the soothing sound if the rushing water and surrounded
by a rich wildlife of lizards, frogs, butterflies, birds
and sometimes eagles and other mammals like lambs and
sheep.
In the middle of the Ihlara valley in
Belisırma village there are good restaurants to be found.
The churches in the Valley can be divided into two groups:
the Ihlara group, including the Ağaçaltı, Pürenli Seki,
Kokar, Eğritaş and Yılanlı churches that reflect Oriental
influences, and the Belisırma group, comprising Sümbüllü
Church and others with Byzantine characteristics.
The churches of the Ihlara group display
scenes dissimilar to the scenes depicted in other Cappadocian
churches. In fact, they are reminiscent of the early churches
of Syria and the Coptic churches of Egypt. The texts in
Ihlara group churches are unusually long. In this group
special emphasis was laid upon Satan, and women as the
source of evil.
There are many churches in the valley.
However, relying on the yet undisputed information given
in Mme. and M. Thierry's book, we have chosen 11 of them
for you to visit.
Important Churches from Ihlara Village
to Belisırma Village
Eğritaş Kilise (Church with Crooked
Stone)
Kokar Kilise (Church of Sweet Smell)
Pürenli Seki Kilisesi (Church with the
Terrace)
Ağaçaltı Kilise (Church under the Tree)
Sümbüllü Kilise (Hyacinth Church)
Yılanlı Kilise (Church with Snake)
Karagedik Kilise (Church with Black
Collar)
Kırk Damaltı Kilisesi (Church of St.
George)
Bahattin Kilise (Bahattin's Granary
Church)
Direkli Kilise (Pillard Church)
Ala Kilise (Mottled Church) |
|
|
|
