10-2-13 CAPPADOCIA: We had breakfast at the COD in order to catch our plane to Kayseri in central Turkey for the next phase of our trip. After an hour flight we got the luggage and boarded the bus and left for Cappadocia. Kayseri is a moderate sized industrial city that has a past history as an outpost for J. Caesar, hence the name. We bused up and up to the mountains. This area was blanketed by volcanic ash and lava 10 or so million years ago and has been eroding away since then. The vegetation is sparse and the soil looks like beach sand. The striking feature of the landscape is the eroded conical columns of volcanic tuff. The columns often have a head, neck and body. The bodies, most of the column, are from the first and deepest layer of ash. The neck is much smaller vertically and more eroded indicating a less resistant mineral mix. The apex of the column, they’re called ‘fairy chimneys’, is more resistant material from a lava flow.
We did a hike in a park area called Red Valley, Kizil Cukur, through the eroded columns and walls. It rained intermittently, and we sheltered in tunnels and caves. The caves were often houses or barns, and there are doors and dovecotes and windows carved into the rock in many places, indicating extended habitation.
We did a second, shorter walk through similar formations, and then went to a caravansary from the 1200’s. It was a stop on the silk road for the caravans for an overnight stay that was safe from brigands. The fortified caravansaries were 25 miles apart, one day’s travel by camel caravan. The reason we went there was to attend a whirling dervish ceremony and a talk by one of the leaders. Then, finally, we were back at the hotel to crash after dinner.
The eroded volcanic landscape of Cappadocia-head, neck and body of the column.
Hillside with cave dwellings. More pix when the wifi is better.
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