Tuesday, October 10, 2006
Kapadokya (Cappadocia)
I know, I know, its been a little while since I've posted. Things are gettting busy here, the reading is really starting to pile up (I can probably tell you more than you'll ever need to know about Abdulhamid II). Yet somewhere between trips to the library I was able to go to Kapadokya this weekend, and without a doubt it deserves a little entry.
The province of Kapadokya lies just about four hours south of Ankara and about two thirds of the way to Konya. It is a region with perhaps one of the most unique geological histories on earth. This large glacial valley set between two volcanoes features some of the oddest geological formations I've ever seen. The taller of the volcanoes, Erciyes Dağı stands about 3900m and is only second to Mt. Ararat in stature. The region is cut with valleys and two major rivers, the Kızılmak and the Melendiz. Some time after the glacier melted, lo and behold, the volcanoes erupted covering this young region in volcanic ash and new volcanic rock. The region has also been inhabited by many ancient civilizations beginning with the Hitites around 1200 BC and followed by Christians up through the first millenia A.D. Both civiliazations utilizaed the formations in different fashions. Here is a rundown:
Underground cities: There are thirty some underground cave dwellings in Kapadokya. We visited the largest of these known as Kıymaklı. It was originally built by the Hitites and used as a fortress/dwelling and was later adopted by the Christians under the Roman, Byzantine, Selcuk, and Ottoman Empires as a hiding place during raids. The Kıymaklı City extends to a depth of 40m below the surface (something like 8 stories) and is something of an archeological puzzle. It is hard to distinguish what many of the rooms were used for, though a few have been pinned as churches and kitchens. We were able to climb through tiny shafts down to the bottom floor, and it was definitely worth it.
Rock Churches: Christians also built an extensive system of churches into the rock faces of several valleys in Kapadokya. All told 365 such churches exist in the region. We visited two such valleys, the Ihlara and Göreme. The churches are all quite small but many have elaborate paintings in them, either in the fresco style or painted straight onto the rock. The most extensive paintings are in the Göreme Open Air Museum. The paintings have been subject to an awful lot of graffiti and damage since the caves were abandoned several centuries ago, especially to the frescoes. One thing though that was interesting that some of the damage revealed was that some of the frescoes were done over top of other paintings that date from the Iconclastic period of christian Byzantium. These images bear no human forms, only byzantine crosses and patterns.
Monastaries and Fairy Chimneys: Perhaps the largest aspect of christian life in Kapadokya is monasticism. Brought to the region by St. Basil, monks built several rock cut monastaries which they used to educate the populace and lead a life of introspection. The monastaries are intricately cut into the larger rock forms and usually have built-in stairs or ladders that lead several stories into the air. The monks also utilized Kapadokya's most unique geographical formation, the Fairy Chimneys. These formations are large oblong psuedo-phalluses that extend into the air up to 10m. The monks would cut caves and stairs that led almost to the top of them and later use them as a retreat where they would spend forty days of isolation. Truly unique, these fairy chimneys are hard to describe in words, see the link for pictures below.
Uçhisar: The tallest formation in the region is known as Uçhisar. This formation was used by the Hitites and Christians as a fortress. It has extensive cave work and fortifications. It stands at the edge of a small plateu and extends probably around 50m into the air. Sitting more or less at the center of the valley it provides the best view of the valleys, towns and Erciyes Dağı.
Alright, I think I will be taking this weekend off from travelling, but I will probably have another post on random miscellany later this week. Here is the link for the pictures:
http://uchicago.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2020200&id=2903913&l=0a92c
The province of Kapadokya lies just about four hours south of Ankara and about two thirds of the way to Konya. It is a region with perhaps one of the most unique geological histories on earth. This large glacial valley set between two volcanoes features some of the oddest geological formations I've ever seen. The taller of the volcanoes, Erciyes Dağı stands about 3900m and is only second to Mt. Ararat in stature. The region is cut with valleys and two major rivers, the Kızılmak and the Melendiz. Some time after the glacier melted, lo and behold, the volcanoes erupted covering this young region in volcanic ash and new volcanic rock. The region has also been inhabited by many ancient civilizations beginning with the Hitites around 1200 BC and followed by Christians up through the first millenia A.D. Both civiliazations utilizaed the formations in different fashions. Here is a rundown:
Underground cities: There are thirty some underground cave dwellings in Kapadokya. We visited the largest of these known as Kıymaklı. It was originally built by the Hitites and used as a fortress/dwelling and was later adopted by the Christians under the Roman, Byzantine, Selcuk, and Ottoman Empires as a hiding place during raids. The Kıymaklı City extends to a depth of 40m below the surface (something like 8 stories) and is something of an archeological puzzle. It is hard to distinguish what many of the rooms were used for, though a few have been pinned as churches and kitchens. We were able to climb through tiny shafts down to the bottom floor, and it was definitely worth it.
Rock Churches: Christians also built an extensive system of churches into the rock faces of several valleys in Kapadokya. All told 365 such churches exist in the region. We visited two such valleys, the Ihlara and Göreme. The churches are all quite small but many have elaborate paintings in them, either in the fresco style or painted straight onto the rock. The most extensive paintings are in the Göreme Open Air Museum. The paintings have been subject to an awful lot of graffiti and damage since the caves were abandoned several centuries ago, especially to the frescoes. One thing though that was interesting that some of the damage revealed was that some of the frescoes were done over top of other paintings that date from the Iconclastic period of christian Byzantium. These images bear no human forms, only byzantine crosses and patterns.
Monastaries and Fairy Chimneys: Perhaps the largest aspect of christian life in Kapadokya is monasticism. Brought to the region by St. Basil, monks built several rock cut monastaries which they used to educate the populace and lead a life of introspection. The monastaries are intricately cut into the larger rock forms and usually have built-in stairs or ladders that lead several stories into the air. The monks also utilized Kapadokya's most unique geographical formation, the Fairy Chimneys. These formations are large oblong psuedo-phalluses that extend into the air up to 10m. The monks would cut caves and stairs that led almost to the top of them and later use them as a retreat where they would spend forty days of isolation. Truly unique, these fairy chimneys are hard to describe in words, see the link for pictures below.
Uçhisar: The tallest formation in the region is known as Uçhisar. This formation was used by the Hitites and Christians as a fortress. It has extensive cave work and fortifications. It stands at the edge of a small plateu and extends probably around 50m into the air. Sitting more or less at the center of the valley it provides the best view of the valleys, towns and Erciyes Dağı.
Alright, I think I will be taking this weekend off from travelling, but I will probably have another post on random miscellany later this week. Here is the link for the pictures:
http://uchicago.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2020200&id=2903913&l=0a92c
