Cappadocia

Last post of this vacation!  Phew!

After spending a few days in Istanbul, Mark and I flew to Kayseri, Turkey and from there took a 45 minute shuttle ride to Urgup which is located in central Turkey.  The region is called Cappadocia and is unlike any other place on earth.  Millions of years ago, the three surrounding volcanoes spewed 300 feet of lava and ash over this landscape.  Tuff, as it is called, was compacted down and then the volcanoes spewed basalt which spread out over the tuff.  Through erosion, pillars were formed with basalt caps on top.  They are called the fairy chimneys of Cappadocia.

One of the volcanoes

Because the tuff was so easy to dig into versus building a home, people as early as the 7th or 8th century BC, and perhaps earlier still, came to this region and made caves to live in.   Recent discoveries had uncovered evidence of troglodytes (cave dwellers) who dug downward rather than horizontally.  More than 40 underground cities have been discovered and some of these cities were 8 or more levels down and were home to 20,000 or more people.  It is believed that early Christians used these underground cities, but it is not known if they actually dug them, or they simply moved into the cities that others had dug.

Our first morning there, we awoke at 5:00 and headed over to a nearby hot air balloon ride company.  I was quite uneasy about taking this sort of adventure, especially in a foreign country.  But I have to say that it was so amazing!

Our balloon held about 20 passengers

 Sunrise

There were over 70 balloons in the air that day

 This is called Love Valley - 'nuff said

 If you look closely at the hillside just right of center, you can see a horse carved into the hillside.  In this valley, the dirt has the same type of nutrients that Kentucky has.  It makes for really good grass which in turn makes really strong bones in horses.

 We toasted our safe return with cherry juice

Our pilot and I

 This is a dwelling place (above) and our hotel (below).  The back of our hotel was carved into the mountain.

 Goreme Open Air Museum - a UNESCO Heritage Site

 The Dark Church.  I was disappointed that we could not take pictures inside.  There were the remains of beautiful frescoes on the walls and ceilings.

 Our guide explained that all of these churches were INSIDE the mountain at one time, hidden from view.  Time and erosion have made them visible from the outside.

The region has over 700 Byzantine-era churches, formerly hidden from public view, many with frescoes 

The fresco below was on a dome carved inside one of the many churches we saw.  It is Jesus sitting on His throne of glory after the resurrection.  There were many other scenes depicting his life on the walls.

 This is a long table with long benches on either side all cut from the existing stone

 The fairy chimneys

This one looked like a rabbit

 The one above our heads looks like a snail!

 Overlooking one of the valleys.

 We ordered a bowl this man will hand paint in the design that is on this plate.

 We  explored Derinkuyu, one of the underground cities, and descended 18 stories down,  Many of the passageways were very tight and narrow to slow down attackers.  Not a place for claustrophobes.

 Millstone set in a groove so it can be rolled to block the passageway from enemies

A larger meeting room with double arches

 Back above ground, we visited several monasteries and other religious sanctuaries that were hidden from public view until erosion removed the outer covering of rock.

Photography of the most beautiful and best-preserved frescoes is forbidden because people apparently can't be trusted not to use their flash, which would damage the art.  These were nice and very interesting, but not the best. 

 You can see the outer rock that had previously extended over the dwellings.  Unwitting passersby would have no idea there were large communities hidden from view.  The indentations in the walls were for pigeons or doves.  They raised them and used their excrement for fertilizer.  This valley has many orchards and vineyards.

 These rock formations were the inspiration for some of the settings in one of the Star Wars movies.  It was not actually filmed here because they couldn't get permission.

 We were led on a hike through the beautiful Ihlara Valley

 We saw these juicers everywhere in Turkey

Enjoying some fresh squeezed pomegranate juice

Our guide, Sekran, for the two days we were there.

We flew back to Istanbul, spent the night at the airport hotel, and returned home the following day.  It was such an amazing trip!

Back to Istanbul

Our ship returned to Istanbul.  We were fortunate to be able to see the city from both the water and on land.  We spent two days touring Istanbul.

 Rumelian Castle built in 1451-52 by Ottoman Sultan Mehmet II before he conquered Constantinople

 Dolmabahce Palace built in 1846-56 by Sultan Abdulmecid

 One of the two bridges that spans the Bosporus linking Europe with Asia - reminded me of the Golden Gate Bridge except it's not red!

A view of the Blue Mosque (left) and the Hagia Sophia (right)

Ottoman military bands are thought to be the oldest variety of a military marching band in the world.  When our ship docked, we were welcomed by this band playing Jannisary music.  Check out that guy's mustache!

We loved the Basilica Cistern, I because of its beauty and Mark because of its appearance in From Russia with Love.  There are 336 marble columns supporting the ceiling and it has a capacity of over 2 million cubic feet of water.  The columns were taken from the ruins of older buildings.  Apparently some of the columns were not quite tall enough, so other recycled parts were used to lengthen the columns as shown in the second picture.

Medusa head used to lengthen a column in the Basilica Cistern

The Sultan Ahmed Mosque, or Blue Mosque as it is known popularly, was built from 1609-16 during the rule of Ahmed I.  It has six minarets which was a matter of contention at first because the norm is no more than four.  Only after one more minaret was added to the Grand Mosque in Mecca was the six minaret issue settled.

The courtyard of the Blue Mosque

The dome - The interior of the mosque is lined with more than 20,000 handmade ceramic tiles.

The Blue Mosque at night

The last day there, we discovered this side of the Blue Mosque and it was a nicer day!

We saw these three towers.  The first two are in an open area that was the Hippodrome during Constantinople's time.  The Hippodrome (think chariot races) was in ruins long before the Turks arrived and now it is an open park area next to the Blue Mosque.  This Egyptian obelisk was brought to Istanbul sometime in the 4th century AD.  It is only the top third of the obelisk!

Mark's favorite, the Column of the Serpent, was a victory monument of the Greeks who melted down the armor of their Persian conquests to make the monument.  Originally it had three serpent heads supporting a golden trophy and was located in Greece.  Like the Egyptian obelisk, it was brought to Constantinople in the 4th century AD.

The Cemberlitas column once had a statue of Constantine, depicted as the god Apollo, on top.  In Constantine's day it marked the middle of the Forum, the city's main square.  Now it is near a tram stop amidst lots of other buildings.

Cemberlitas

The Suleymaniye Mosque was more fun to visit and more interesting than the Blue Mosque, partly because there were not hordes of people there and no long line to wait in.  It is the largest mosque in the city (larger than the Blue Mosque, but fewer minarets!) and built in 1550-58 by the Sultan Suleyman, the Magnificent.  He reigned for nearly 50 years during the Golden Age of the Ottoman Empire.  The mosque burned in 1660, was restored by Sultan Mehmed IV, and part of the dome collapsed during the earthquake of 1766.  But today it is quite beautiful.

 The cemetery - each grave has two headstones, one for identification, the other for decoration

 A place to wash before you worship

We also visited the Grand Bazaar and the Spice Market.  I'm not much of a shopper, but it was interesting to see the hustle and bustle of both places.

 The Grand Bazaar (above and below)

 The Spice Market (above and below); Mark wanted to sneeze and ruin the guy's inventory

The Hagia Sophia, or Aya Sophya. was built by Justinian and completed in 537.  Upon its completion, he is said to have exclaimed, "Solomon, I have surpassed you!"  The Hagia Sophia is an architectural masterpiece.  It served as a church for 900 years until the Ottomans captured Constantinople and it was converted into a mosque.  All of the mosaics and paintings were plastered over.  In 1934 Hagia Sophia became a museum and the interior was restored as a Christian church with a few Muslim elements.

 Scaffolding kind of got in the way of this shot of the dome

 Interior of the Hagia Sophia

 One of the mosaics that have been restored

 Unearthed from debris in 2010, this baptismal font is carved out of one piece of marble and measures 10 feet long and 4 feet deep.

I think it is pretty clear that in Justinian's time Christians were baptizing by immersion.

The Topkapi Palace was our last stop before we flew to the Cappadocia region in Turkey.  We saw so much on this trip, I'm having a very difficult time paring down my pictures.  And still, I'm posting way too many, but oh well!

Topkapi Palace is built overlooking the Sea of Marmara, the Bosporus, and the Golden Horn.  In the 1470s, Sultan Mehmet II built a large complex of offices, military barracks, and council chambers.  One hundred years later, Suleyman the Magnificent turned it into a home.

 The Imperial Gate

Model of the Palace complex - it is huge!

 Council Chamber entrance (above) and inside (below)

Rick Steves' book tells us that "the word "harem" refers to two things:  the wives, favorites, and concubines of the sultan; and the part of the palace where they lived…. the Harem was not the site of a round-the-clock orgy, but a carefully administered social institution that ensured the longevity of the Ottoman Empire."

 Entrance to the Harem

 One of the rooms in the Harem - tile walls

One of the Harem courtyards

 Beautiful Palace walls (above) and ceilings (below)

 We stopped and had lunch at the cafe on the Palace property overlooking the Sea of Marmara.