Cappadocia, the real Flintstones!

Cappadocia deserves a book, but I’m going to try and manage with a blog.
When the wheels of our plane touched down, I wanted to cry. It was gloomy as hell with a slight drizzle. I was dreaming of weird rock formations and blue skies. I guess we’ll have to manage with chunks of angry looking clouds.

We had plotted our destinations for the next two days, and after getting picked up from the airport, our first stop was Deverent Valley. It turned out to be more of a pit stop to fill ourselves up with all sorts of nuts and dried fruits. Apricot seeds easily mistaken for almonds was the highlight. Of course the camel shaped strange rocks were cool too.

Next we were off to the little town of Avanos, popular for its pottery. Given the landscape and geology, one would expect the entire valley of Cappadocia to be popular for pottery, apparently Avanos was particularly popular.

We walked into one of the many potteries – is that what you call them? Or pottery houses? – and the folks were kind enough to give us a demonstration of how to make pieces of art out of clay. We were also served Turkish tea, apple tea and wine from an interesting decanter; Turkish hospitality at its best!

 

Much to my delight and that of the 10 family members I was with, I was asked to have a go at moulding clay and of course I did! So under the watchful eye of a master potterer (is that what they are called?), I made a bowl and painted it!! Of course the moulding in some parts of the process was looking a little x rated, but a cute little bowl emerged at the end, so all good. I might have an alternative career here, if all fails.

  

There was a gallery full of beautiful painted pottery to buy, most of which were not allowed to be photographed. The price tag was quadruple that of the ones at the grand bazaar, so we gave it a miss, although we spent enough time walking around and admiring.

Our next stop is probably one of the most iconic in the valley – the fairy chimneys of Pasabag. This beautiful site has obviously inspired many fairy tales. It is not just weird rock formations; people actually lived there. There were reminiscence of a church, kitchen with a tandoor and bedrooms.

The living quarters got more elaborate on our next stop, Cavusin village. Imagine this – a whole village inside a rock!

Not entirely sure how people got in and out of this village on a daily basis. Maybe they didn’t. The highlight of course was the church which still had coloured frescoes on its walls. Although there was evidence of burning inside, someone clearly tried to destroy this religious structure and what was left was black tainted walls.

Our last stop for the day was the Goreme open air museum. This isn’t a museum as much as it is an enormous monastery with countless churches. This is where the history of Cappadocia became clear to us. Early Christians came here to meditate, pray and practice their religion in solitude. They couldn’t do it in the busy big cities and the caves in Cappadocia was a perfect refuge. That’s why there are countless churches in the valley. It’s a humongous complex, but one can rest and grab a cuppa at one of the quaint cafes inside.

 

A drizzle set in and it got too cold for our tropical bodies to bear, so we called it a day, especially because we had big plans at dawn the next day. It was only natural that our abode for the night was a cave hotel, we were in fact visiting the real Flintstones! Bedrock Cave Hotel was an old cave dwelling turned into a hotel. The rooms were beautiful, the floors were covered with earthy coloured carpets and the uneven rocky walls made the whole experience very primate. If u ever visit Cappadocia you must must must stay in a cave hotel.

The next morning our alarms went off before dawn but we didn’t mind struggling off the bed and layering up because we were taking flight to see Cappadocia from above. Hot air ballooning is one of the highlights of Cappadocia and it’s right on top of many best hot air ballooning locations around the world.

My mum is not too fond of my good friend adrenaline. Standing in a flying basket controlled by a balloon and hot air was exactly the kind of thrill seeking adventure she didn’t enjoy. So although we assured her it was completely safe and there was nothing to fear and she put on a brave face, I could see she’d much rather be enjoying the view from where her feet can touch the ground. A minute into our flight there was an almost inaudible sigh of relief just as she began to love the experience.

Around 200 balloons take flight everyday so it’s considered a daily festival, our pilot Emrah informed us. He expertly guided us right around the rose and red valleys, through clouds and above mountains. The view from the ground was perfect enough and imagine, from the sky it was spectacularly splendid!

  

The sunrise as it most often is was spectacular. Seeing other balloons drifting in front of us shadowing the rising sun was a picturesque sight.

At one point we felt whiteness surrounding us and we couldn’t see the ground anymore. We were inside a cloud! It was magical!

We flew for about an hour, this was easily the highlight of our trip. This coming from someone who had been on a hot air balloon twice before. So don’t fuss over the money you will have to spend, Every. Penny. Was. Worth. It.

Emrah was a master pilot and a bit of a show off. When it was time for landing he told us he was going to land directly on the truck that was waiting to transport the basket back. And he did. He expertly maneuvered the balloon to stop right where he wanted it to – the back of a truck. He was also quick to point out how some of the other pilots landed on ground and some who tried to land on their trailers but needed a tremendous effort from the ground staff to do so. Kudos Emrah, we were very impressed!

The best part about landing, the champagne breakfast.

A splendid breakfast and yet another gorgeous view of Goreme and its outskirts was awaiting us back at the hotel. Tummies full and eyes well feasted we set off to explore more of this mysterious valley.

Our first stop was the Goreme panorama. It only takes 5 mins, unless you drool over the view like we did, but it’s completely worth a stop. It’s most popular to view the sunset, but autumn brings with it grey clouds so we stopped by during the day.

A gazillion photographs later we set off to Ortahisar rock castle, a colossal rock turned castle. We were advised not to climb it for safety reasons, a group of foreigners had fallen some time ago, but lots of people braved it and we could see tiny humans all the way on top. We only admired it from the bottom.

Talking about admiring from the bottom, our next stop required admiring the underground – Kaymakali underground city. We picked this over Derinkuyu because the entrance and exit was different so you didn’t have to retrace your steps. The guy at our hotel advised us to take a guide and preferably “uncle mustafa”, the oldest guide there (73 years old we found out later) who also happened to be bald. Once we got there, the boys set out to find uncle mustafa. Now every guide at Kaymakali is named mustafa, but uncle mustafa is special. Unfortunately the uncle wasn’t around so the boys contracted a toupeed mustafa instead. We all gathered at the entrance, collected our tickets and made our way inside. Pro’s mum suddenly turned to a respectable looking old gentleman in a suite and a cap and demanded he took his cap off! The old gent surprised and confused obeyed. He happened to be bald and yes, here was uncle mustafa! She demanded that he accompanied us as our guide, but of course he couldn’t because we had contracted someone else. But no one says no to her, so toupeed mustafa huffed off and uncle mustafa gave us the tour. He really was the best.

You need a guide in Kaymakali, otherwise it’s just a maze of rooms and corridors. Uncle mustafa was so knowledgeable and had a knack for storytelling, so the whole place came alive. How the early settlers hid inside the city during war times, how they closed the doors and guarded themselves, how they cooked, how they let the kitchen smoke out without anyone above ground noticing, how they made wine! Such fascinating stories. The most impressive part was the ventilation system! These guys were proper engineers back in the day!

  
Apparently the city has 8 underground levels, only 4 are open to the public. 3500 people lived here! I would have gotten a little (a lot) claustrophobic, but I guess desperate times call for desperate measures. Plus this place was cool in the summer and warm in the winter.

We then went to Uchisar to have a long lunch and taste Cappadocia’s famed wine. Uchisar is a quaint little village filled with cave houses, wineries and cute little shops. We picked a restaurant named Sira with a gorgeous view of the valley and just sat there for hours. This is the good thing about being with family, the conversation flows just like the wine and no one wants to move.

We had to drag ourselves off our chairs as there was more to see. The Pigeon Valley was our first post lunch stop. As the name suggests this beautiful was full of pigeons!

Apparently pigeons were used as an essential form of communication and their droppings were used as fertilizer. So the early settlers started breeding pigeons. Each house carved into the valley had a pigeon hole! (Now I know where that phrase came from).

Some houses even had beautiful houses made just for pigeons.

The Uchisar Rock castle, one of the most iconic landmarks of Cappadocia stood in the background of the pigeon valley. Rock castles are fascinating! These people were smart enough not to build from scratch but use nature’s own structures to create utility for themselves.

We drove back to Goreme and looked for things to do to kill time before taking our flight to Izmir. Oh what oh what oh what can we do…oh what oh yes oh ATV! Perfect sunset activity. We hired ATVs and drove off road to the rose valley.

With the Uchisar castle in the background and the red rocks of rose valley on other side, this was a perfect ending to a perfect weekend spent in Cappadocia that can only be described as breath-taking.

So here are my top tips for Cappadocia, if you ever consider visiting

1. Two days is perfectly enough to explore the region. It would be ideal to spend two nights because you can wake up to see the hot air balloons in the sky one morning and take a flight the next
2. Don’t miss hot air ballooning for obvious reasons. If the pictures in my blog doesn’t convince you, take a leap of faith.
3. Go wine tasting. Cappadocia has the perfect climate to produce wine, and it shows! The French may not agree, but its true. Try the wines made out of the local grapes which is a little bit more special than the Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon you can find anywhere.
4. HIKE! this is something I missed because our group was too big and not fit enough for it. But the beauty of Cappadocia is in its surroundings. One can truly appreciate it only if you just explore..on foot.
5. Stay in a cave and feel like the Flintstones!