Cappadocia Tours in the press
Motorbar
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“Cappadocia - the landscape that Barcelona’s Antoni Gaudi, one of the 20th Century’s most celebrated architects, made his own...”
The oft-used description of 'Lunar Landscapes' certainly falls far short. This is not a bald, monotone, virtually featureless stony desert at all — the rocks are of many hues, from subtle greens and reds through to vivid sulphurous yellows. And the rock forms — so varied and over a vast area — range from bizarre pinnacles with precariously perched hats to a sea of waves seemingly frozen in mid-flow. In between many of these rock formations, small and large patches of farmed land, both arable and orchards, add soft dashes of contrast. At every turn, the features change: no two vistas are the same. So much so that although we took over one hundred photographs a day, we only just scratched the surface.
Here nature is arguably at its most imaginative. And neither has mankind been slothful; burrowing into the soft rock for some 5,000 years to create many thousands of caves. This is truly unique: Cappadocia's landscape is found nowhere else on earth — or even on the moon.
Whilst the area is large, the central part is fairly representative of the overall Cappadocian landscape, and can be enjoyed at a relatively relaxed pace in three well-spent days.
We became rather blasé on the historical aspects as there is so much to see and learn — the 13th century, in this setting, seems almost like yesterday. Elsewhere, the minor sites of Cappadocia would be major trophies. If you are a keen historian, walker, horse rider or enjoy white water rafting and relaxing in good quality, individual and high-standard cave hotels, you will find that any extra days are well rewarded.
We found the guidebooks a little wanting in assisting us to organise the right balance and ingredients for our purposes; some were even misleading on basic data. However, we were introduced to Euphrates Tours who responded to our abnormally demanding brief with a well-balanced programme, together with great ground arrangements. We found that the Euphrates' guide — Remzi (pronounced 'Ramsey') — is highly respected throughout the area for his extraordinary in-depth knowledge on the history of the region. Not only is he a great communicator who can convey this knowledge with a stimulating freshness, but he also has a wicked sense of humour.
Self-drive is a good option as the roads are not busy. The signs are clear and standards good, except on the smallest by-roads. Just watch out for slow moving traffic — tortoises are at large and take ages to cross the roads, although it's heartening to see that most are given a helping hand by drivers.
'Are we meant to be this low?'
By Paul Davies
Mar 23 2008 21:30
A few decades ago the government decided this Flintstone lifestyle was not the image Turkey should portray. So residents were encouraged to vacate. After providing shelter forgenerations, the troglodyte homes were quickly traded in for tower blocks. Thankfully their abandonment has a happy ending for visitors. Deserted cave homes have been turned into cosy hotels with wi-fi, Jacuzzi baths and alarm clocks.
On our dawn voyage, I clutch the side of the basket as we descend into the narrow valley. We seem to be heading for a direct collision with a fairy chimney. If an ancient Hittite were inside that one, he'd be able to poke us with a spear. "Are we meant to be this low?" I whimper. But Ulusoy artfully controls our altitude so that we skim over the valley's edge. The sun bursts through the clouds, casting golden light over hills and towns and projecting our balloon's fleeting shadow on to the sunburnt autumn earth. That evening I ask Suleyman Cakir, director of Cappadocia Tours, the company that has organised my itinerary, about Ottomans and fairies. "Fairies are beauty, light and good energy," he says as we dine in his cousin's hotel, Gamirasu, while musicians play long-necked lutes. "People believe in them still. They believe they bring snowflakes down from the sky."
(Go to Cappadocia between January and March and you stand a good chance of enjoying a hot air balloon ride over a snow-covered landscape.)
My tour guide Remzi Kaya delights in claiming "world firsts" for Turkey for anything from skyscrapers to elevators. Cappadocia's Uchisar Castle was the world's first skyscraper, he says.
This tower of rock was eviscerated and turned into a towering termite mound of humans many centuries ago. The blunt butte stands proud above the village but is now uninhabited. For three lira (about £1.20) you can climb to the top where there are views across the plateau of eroded, barren-looking valleys and peaks and troughs of mustard rock. When I visited, early one morning, the only view was the castle attendant proudly raising the Turkish flag, flapping in a thick mist.
Whatever the weather, the "underground cities" are dry. Completely hidden below ground, warrens of rooms, storage areas, chapels, mortuaries and wine presses were excavated by the Hittites, as deep as eight storeys down.
Göreme open-air museum is another must-see. St Basil the Great, Archbishop of Caesarea, began this ambitious project in the 4th century AD. In one valley, a monastery, convent and dozens of chapels are carved out of the folds of volcanic rock.
I first visited Cappadocia in the early 1980s. Then, you could freely wander around Göreme Valley. Now visitors pay an entrance fee and the authorities have seen fit to install metal turnstiles at the valley entrance. Talking turnstiles. "Please pass," they utter robotically as you insert your ticket. In my teens I felt reverential awe visiting this place where nature and mankind have created a contemplative landscape. Now I wanted to scream.
Perhaps each generation likes to leave its mark? Inside the chapels, the walls are decorated with a palimpsest of simple geometric iconoclastic frescoes and figurative ones.
Over the years, pilgrims have scraped away at the saints and apostles, gathering flakes of pigment for holy charms, hoping that some of the beauty and magic of this place will rub off on them.