Cappadocia

Cappadocia, which translated from the Persian means “Land of the Beautiful Horses”, is located off the Anatolian plateau in the middle of Turkey. Ancient eruptions by the region's volcanoes, Mt. Erciyes (3,916 m.) and Mt. Hasan (3,268 m.) covered the region in a thick layer of mud and ashes which solidified into a soft rock called tuff, ideal for excavation and easily eroded by the elements. The supernatural landscape around Göreme National Park , with its unique fairy chimneys (basalt capped tuff columns) is uniquely beautiful and was made a World Heritage Site in 1985. The fruit orchards, vineyards and fields add beautiful colour and diversity to the extra-ordinary country-side.

Being strategically place on main trading routes including the Silk Road, Cappadocia has been home to a series of civilizations since the dawn of history. Çatalhöyük; the second oldest city in the world is fairly close. There are remains of habitation from the Hittite, Phrygian, Persian, Hellenistic Roman and, most noticeably, the Byzantine period.

Cappadocia's famous rock monasteries and churches date from the explosion of Christianity during the third century when the monks, the “hermits of Cappadocia ”, introduced a monastic regime. Fed in their elevated cells by the locals using buckets on ropes, these monks continued the practice of meditation for hundreds of years. The Arab raids in the 7th century onwards provoked the Christians into creating labyrinthine underground cities that were undetectable from the surface. Self-sufficient communities with grain-stores, wells, stables, sleeping quarters and ventilation shafts lived up to eight stories beneath the surface. By the time the Byzantines were able to fend off the Arab attacks two hundred years later focus changed to the building of churches. Some 5000 in number and still often being discovered, these were carved out of the rock in typical Byzantine fashion and were often decorated with fabulous frescoes, many of which survive today. One of Hisar Evi's rooms has what looks like one of these fresco that has been painted over. Was this cave a church too?

The mixing of various cultures in the region has built up a tradition of workmanship in handcrafts such as pottery in Avanos, hand-made carpets and quality wine growing under the strong Cappadician sun. Most of the inhabitants still make their living from agriculture. Ortahisar's main business is storing citrus fruits and potatoes in large caves.

Turkey is a musical land, and most of the locals seem to need little encouragement to pull out a saz (long-necked lute) and to sing traditional Turkish songs, sometimes accompanied by a darbuka (or dumbek).

The region is located southwest of Kayseri, which has an airline & railway service to Ankara and Istanbul. The Göreme Open Air Museum is the most visited site of the monastic communities in Cappadocia.