Cappadocia - Day 2

For my second day in this region, Ata suggested we get up quite early to take a chance the famous balloons would be taking off.  We arrived at one of the many viewpoints around 8:30, well after the sunrise, but thankfully the balloons had been given the go ahead to take off.  I have already posted a blog about the balloons to I won't go into more detail about them here.

Our next stop was the Goreme Open Air Museum.  This is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  From the museum ticket booth, follow the cobbled path until you reach the 11th-century Chapel of St. Basil, dedicated to Kayseri-born St Basil, one of Cappadocia's most important saints. In the main room, St Basil is pictured on the left; a Maltese cross is on the right, along with St George and St Theodore slaying a (faded) dragon, symbolizing paganism. On the right of the apse, Mary holds baby Jesus with a cross in his halo.

I was still feeling the effects of jet lag and the extended walking we did the previous day so I suggested that we cut the visit here short as it really was very much like the rocks and caves we'd seen the previous day.  One thing about having a private guide is that you can do that sort of thing.  I did visit the Chapel of St. Basil as well as take a lot of photos of the caves and rocks which again included wine cellars, dovecotes and living area including a communal kitchen.  

From there, we drove to Urchisar where, from a distance, we could see the castle fortress.  Centuries-old citadel perched on a rock spur, with commanding views of Cappadocia from the top.  On a clear day, Mount Erciyes is visible in the distance.  It is thought that the castle was the main point of defense in the region of Cappadocia. It’s unclear when it was built since it was made by hollowing out natural caves in the rock into adjoining rooms.  However, it was first mentioned in the chronicle by Aziz ibn Ardasir, which was written in the 14th century when Turkey was under Ottoman control.  People have been living in the area as far back as the 7th-8th century, because people had fled to the Cappadocia region to escape from the Islamic rule in underground cities.  Therefore, it’s possible that the castle was formed even earlier than the 14th century.  There were stunning views across the landscape from there as well.

On the way to our next destination, we stopped briefly so I could take photos of some unique rock formations - not that there aren't unique ones everywhere - but these looked like mocha-whipped cream and were different from others we'd seen.  

We drove to a viewpoint overlooking Pigeon Valley.  The valley is named after the thousands of pigeon houses built into the valley's rock formations. The pigeon droppings were collected and used as a valuable fertilizer for crops.  The 6 km long valley connects the towns of Uchisar and Goreme.

From there, we visited Keşlik Monastery outside Ürgüp which is about 17 km away from Ürgüp.  There are two churches, a bezirhane, a winery, a kitchen, a dining hall, a school, a meeting room, a holy water source, and houses where monks and priests stay. It is thought that the monastery can accommodate 200 people. It is one of the mystical places that is a must see. One of the two churches in the monastery is dedicated to the archangel Archangelos and the other to St. Stephen, who is considered the first martyr of the Christian world. Archangelos Church is also called the Black Church because it is covered with soot.  St. Stefanos Church is located in a separate rock block. It is also called the Cross of the Church because of the cross on its ceiling.  Keşlik Monastery started to be built in the 3rd century with the spread of Christianity during the Roman Empire.  Christian monks, who want to worship comfortably, have carved the rocks over time and gifted this huge structure to Cappadocia.

We quickly drove through the village of Mustafapasa, formerly known as Synasos, where you can see both Greek and Turkish architecture.  It was difficult to get any photos of it, however,  

We drove also through Urgup where Ata showed me the hotel where I was originally booked to stay.  While impressive, it is on the side of a hill with the restaurant, bar, rooms, and pool all located on different levels and, at times, in different buildings.  Further, there were no restaurants nearby so I would have had to eat in the same restaurant every night.  Goreme, as it turned out, was a much better option.

By then, we were hungry so we headed back to Goreme where we had lunch sitting on the terrace at our hotel.  I had sigara boregi which are cigar-shaped cheese rolls stuffed with feta cheese.  Very tasty!  After that, I had to get organized for our very early morning departure. 

Ata had suggested we go and watch the sunset over the Red Valley.  It was beautiful but, gosh, was the wind cold.  I was freezing.  Back in Goreme we just went to a pasta restaurant for dinner and I had hot red wine to warm myself up!  We had an early night as we were going to be leaving just after 5 am the next day!