Central Anatolia Travel Guide

Everyone must see Cappadocia if in Turkey. It is unlike anything I have yet to see on this Earth, an entirely surreal vista

Ürgüp   From the city of Ürgüp, twenty kilometers from Nevşehir and at an altitude of more than one thousand meters, you can see the great valleys of tufa cones and pyramids that give Cappadocia its special character. Vineyards, wheat fields, orchards and beehives surround Ürgüp. Thus Ürgüp is a good base to explore the whole region.   The city is small but thriving. The old houses built with tufa and local stone (some are still decorated) blend in well with the new houses, also built with tufa.   Until a few decades ago, the ten thousand inhabitants of Ürgüp were farmers and shepherds; even today shepherds with their flocks can be seen in the valleys, but with the advance of tourism many have become hoteliers and restaurateurs. The city is full of small shops and stores selling all kinds of articles from local delicacies to ceramics and small souvenirs of the eye of Allah.   The inhabitants who are cheery and prone to laughter claim that Ürgüp 's honey is the best in Turkey. During the first few days in June Ürgüp celebrates wine and the grape (the grapes are particularly sweet) by holding a festival that draws people from far and wide to taste wine made in the whole of Cappadocia. The red wine is hefty and the white rather delicate. Cappadocian grapes have been used to make wine since the Ottomans started the practice.   Uchisar   Uchisar, a village cut from the rock, must be unique. It is surreal, fantastic landscape of perforated pinnacles and calanques of white ash, with a castle looking down over troglodyte dwellings cut from tufa. From the castle there is a breathtaking view of the region that resem­bles an enormous white sponge, or a stone forest. Not many people live in Uchisar.   Walking through the little town, not yet ruined by mass tourism, you feel that time has stopped and that the daily rules and work rhythms are being dictated by an unchanging tradition. Men converse with one another, sitting at precarious tables over glasses of Raki, or cups of tea or coffee. You often come across horse or mule drawn carts on the roads, and the women all cover their heads.   Uchisar is also called "Pigeon Valley" from its old pigeon-lofts. These are extraordinary monuments resem­bling the facades of rock-cut churches. Some were exca­vated and decorated in bright colors so as to attract pigeons as their guano was prized as a fertilizer.   Göreme   Göreme and its famous valley are situated right in the center of Cappadocia. Here nature has been overtaken by fantasy; the landscape is made up of valleys large and small, rocky walls, tufa pyramids and cones riddled with holes and odd trees growing in clumps surviving against all odds.   When you see this spectacle, as well as feeling incredulous, you get the sensation that you are in another world, in a lunar landscape. Not by chance it is considered an open-air museum (Acik Hava Muzesi). For century’s troglodytes carving churches and monasteries out of the rock inhabited it. It is pleasant, but tiring to go up and down the stairs, into dark passageways and caverns, seeing sanctuaries and houses. Longer trips can be enjoyed on horse or mule-back, without spending large sums of money.   The first Christians came to Goreme to escape from Roman persecutions and numerous hermits and ascetics wishing to live in isolation and meditation joined them. They excavated cavities in the rock, burrowed into the mountainside and constructed houses, buildings, stables, mills, churches and monasteries that were invisi­ble from the outside, but inside their dwellings were functional and well laid out.   Their churches and monasteries were later adorned with frescoes, paintings and icons. In the Göreme valley alone there are more than a thousand churches and monaste­ries, the earliest dating from the seventh century. An ancient local tradition claims that the monks managed to create three hundred and sixty-five churches in a single year, at a rate of one a day.   Under the Byzantines, during the iconoclastic period, work on decorating the churches was suspended and the monks were persecuted. Their goods were confiscated and many monasteries were forced to close.   Only around 843 A.D., after the victory of the iconolaters (worshippers of images) were the monks able to return and vigorously set about building and decorating more churches and monasteries, and religious architecture once again flourished in the valley.   The Tokali Kilise, or the Church of the Buckle is the lar­gest and most important church in Göreme and indeed in Cappadocia and the lavishness of its decorations and frescoes has survived to this day. At one time this church housed a precious collection of gold and jewels, inclu­ding a large gold buckle (hence the name of the church), which later disappeared mysteriously. The frescoes in the church date from the tenth century and they are predo­minately blue in color. They narrate, in chronological order, episodes from the life of Christ, from the Annunciation to the Ascension into heaven. Other decorations record the life of Basil the Great, the Bishop-Patron Saint of Cappadocia. The structure of the church is different from the others, having a transverse nave and an atrium formed from the interior of an earlier church, called the Old Church that originally had a single aisle and a vaulted roof.   The Karanlik Kilise, or Dark Church is so called because of its lack of light, having only one small aperture opening on to the narthex that provides hardly any. This has meant that its frescoes have kept their brilliant colors and luminosity. Entrance to the church is via a staircase. It was built in the eleventh century on two storeys and was once part of a monastery; there is still a refectory with a table and benches for the monks and a dormitory excavated in the rock.   The central dome of the Karanlik Kilise is decorated with a splendid image of Christ and rests on columns whose lower parts are embellished. Blue is the predominant color of the frescoes that illustrate the Crucifixion and Christ's Last Supper. The Carikli Kilise, the Church of the Sandal, was so named because of footprints found in the entrance in front of the door. Legend has it that they were the footprints of Jesus Christ, who appeared there after the Resurrection. This church too is richly decorated with paintings showing episodes from the life of Christ: one fresco showing the betrayal of Judas above the arch on the left door is particularly beautiful. The unusual feature of the Carikli Kilise is that it was excavated from the same rock as Karanlik Kilise and the two churches have facing entrances.   Zelve   Not far from Avanos is the city of Zelve situated in the strangest valley with ravines, high rocks and tufa cones -one the most beautiful, perfect places in Cappadocia.   Zelve is a rock city concealed in the valley and it was lived in until thirty years ago. Vineyards and sunflowers surround it but above all it is a bird paradise where birds of all species flock together, hiding in apertures in the old houses where they make their nests. The inhabitants lived in dwellings excavated from the rock but continuous erosion in the area weakened the walls of their houses forcing them to abandon the town, and they moved to a new village called Yeni Zelve.   At Zelve and in the whole valley lived numerous communities of monks, hermits, and ascetics seeking isolation, but not many of their churches and sanctuaries constructed in the rocks have survived and they are mostly in poor condition. The importance and fascination of these churches lay in their wall paintings, the oldest in Cappadocia. These are important for their iconography, depicting with extreme simplicity and primitive-ness the symbols of Christianity, the religion that was taking root. The most common subjects were the Cross, the symbol of the passion, or a fish that stood in Greek letters for Jesus Christ, Son of God, and Saviour.   In the Balikli Kilise, also known as the Church of the Fish, there are numerous wall paintings depicting fishes and the ceiling is decorated with a great Cross with fishes at the side.   In the Uzümlu Kilise, or Church of the Grapes, there are wall paintings with vines and bunches of grapes as wine in Christianity is the symbol of the Eucharist.   There are several wall painting illustrating deer, the Cross and fish in the Geykli Kilise, the Church of the Deer.   As well as the churches at Zelve to see, there are ancient presses and stone mills that have survived over the centuries in spite of the geological faults in the area.   The Fairies’ Chimneys   Close to Zelve is the Valley of Pasabagi, or the Valley of the Monks, but for the Turks, the fairies' chimneys. The landscape here too is startling, with perfectly formed tufa cones ten meters high grouped together and others standing in isolation. Clusters of these pinnacles are covered by unmistakable black caps, rather like a monk's hood, which have protected them from rain and erosion. There are fruit trees all around, mostly apples and figs that have grown spontaneously and neat rows of vines laden with grapes. The local people who worked the land believed that wicked fairies and elves lived in these "chimneys", ready to cast evil spells.   Pasabagi is also known as the valley of the monks because monks and hermits came from all over to make their own dwellings, as they did elsewhere in Cappadocia, because its strange landscape encouraged solitude and meditation.   St. Simeon was one of the anchorites who chose this valley, according to tradition. He lived on a cone, an outcrop of tufa, praying, healing the sick and even advising the powerful. The so-called Chapel of St. Simeon can be visited in small groups. The paintings in the interior date from the tenth century but they are in poor condition and some have completely vanished. On the back wall of the church there are frescoes with scenes from the life of the saint; one fresco showing the saint with his mother is particularly expressive.

Ankara is a contemporary city that still has the characteristics of the East in its mentality and its daily life. The fact that Ankara is not a touristic city, the main obstacle for the visitor who doen't speak turkish is the difficulty to communicate with the locals because almost nobody speaks english even in a basic level. So while you're planning your trip to the capital of Turkey don't forget to take a pocket vocabulary with the basic words to communicate.Otherwise pick the youngest person to ask something in english when you need to ask for dierections there. The people are very ho spitable and are eager to help you find your way even accompany you till there!  When you want a place that conbines relaxation and entertainment then you have to stop in Ulus(the area is approachable with metro).    The area has a beatiful park which surrounds a huge fountain where very often a water show is happening every now and then with lights,music and alternative fountain designs.You can enjoy your coffee or a tasty piece of kunefe(traditional turkish sweet with angel's hair, cream cheese and syrop really delicious!) There is an entertainment luna park near by where you can spend your time wandering around or stepping on in some of the plenty attractions(the ticket is 5 lira each) Well after ths European type of tourism you can continue your walk by visiting the old town (Ulus means old town in turkish).The area has picturesque old buildings and plenty of shops with delicacies to bring back home like baklava, lokum dry nuts etc. If you have to visit a mosque then the Kocatepe camii is the place to be. Is one the biggest in Turkey really impressive especially at night and awesome decorated inside. Don't forget to take off your shoes and act modestly when you want to go inside.   The heart of Ankara's night life is Kizilay. A pedestrian road(which you can go by metro as well) where you can find anything you like concerning restaurants( fast food or fancier type of food), pastry shops where you can taste delicious ice creams amd turkish sweets. You can escord your beer with a waterpipe in any kind of flavour (even cappuccino!). The area has a big variety of pubs and bars as well as some cafes where you can enjoy your favourite video game in a plasma Tv!  For a satisfying tour of the city the estimated period is in about three days.  Really must see is a visit in the Anatolian civilisations museum(the ticket costs 15 lira quite expensive for a reconstructed museum but still worthvisiting). There you can find mainly inscipted slabs and figurines statuettes from  Hittite period and findngs from excavations in historical sites in Turkey. The building used to be an old covered market and very interesting is its beatifull garden with exhibits like huge pithoi and sculptures from Romanand ancient Greek times. If you have time you can also visit the Citadel where you can have a beatifull view of the whole city.   I hope you'll enjoy your vist!