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Cappadocia - Land of Dreams

Perhaps you’ve already come across the word “Cappadocia” in the Bible. However, the biblical location refers to a large province in the Roman Empire. A cartographer working during the reign of the Emperor Augustus wrote the following account:

“Cappadocia is bordered by the Taurus mountains in the south, Aksaray in the west, Malatya in the east and the Black Sea coast in the north.”

Nowadays the name is a tourist term which refers to a much smaller, but exceptional, area situated between Kayseri in the east, Aksaray in the west, Hacıbektaş in the north and Niğde in the south.

Although I have been travelling in Turkey for a decade, it wasn’t until the mid nineties that I first visited Cappadocia. A friend had to persuade me to have a look at this well known area, because at the time I was convinced it would be too tourist-orientated for my taste.

Perhaps this was all to the good because I had already visited the Black Sea coast with its mountains, so reminiscent of my homeland, before I became captivated by Cappadocia, and I had also already seen the Georgian valleys with their beautiful and seldom visited churches, Mount Ararat and the fantastic areas in the east.

My first few days in Cappadocia were enough to confirm a bias in its favour and, like most other visitors, I took the bus to Göreme, the region’s most famous location.

Göreme is justifiably popular. It lies at the heart of one of the most beautiful areas in the country and has an ideal infrastructure for those who want to see as much as possible in a limited space of time. The open air museum in Göreme, which has some of the most beautiful cave churches in the region, is only a short walk from the village. The village itself boasts a good range of accommodation and hiring transport or booking an excursion is easy.

English and German speakers won’t have any communication problems. This is a pity for me because it meant there were no opportunities for a free Turkish lesson, which I often got in other places by conversing with friendly, talkative people. However, it’s still worth making the effort to learn some Turkish because you miss out on a lot if you cannot communicate with local people and are reliant solely on the staff in the tourist information office.

As a native English speaker you are in a truly privileged position. Scarcely any other language can boast such an abundance of excellent resources to aid you in your efforts to learn Turkish. Two really good language resources are Learning Practical Turkish (also available as CD, recommended) and Lingua Memory Turkish.

If I had seen Göreme on my first visit to Turkey twenty-five years ago, my fascination for the area would have been unspoiled by mass tourism. However, you don’t need to go far to experience genuine Anatolian life at first hand. Çavuşin and Ortahisar, which are only a few kilometres away, are still untainted by commercialism and not on the regular tourist circuit.

Admittedly, they do not offer a large range of accommodation options for visitors compared to Göreme (which boasts accommodation mostly in traditional, old houses). But Uçhisar and Mustafapaşa, and the small towns of Avanos and Ürgüp also have traditional guest houses.

After a few visits I became so captivated by the amazing countryside and its people that I bought an old house in Ortahisar at the end of 1997. And I might add that I am not the first foreigner to embark on such a crazy project, nor have I regretted my decision yet. Although the house was initially in poor structural condition, it is now beautifully restored and has become a real home from home.

Although I was restoring a house in an historically protected section of the village, I didn’t encounter major problems. This was due to gifted craftsmen and helpful people who accompanied me on my visits to the authorities, drafted applications and helped in every way imaginable. In the process some of them became close friends.

Some areas of Cappadocia, frequented by hordes of tourists, have virtually become a mini Disneyland with broad asphalt roads for tour buses and day trippers, row upon row of stalls selling souvenirs, camels you can pose with for an exotic holiday snapshot, as well as the hotels with discos and swimming pools.

Thankfully that’s not all there is to the area and a short distance away peace and quiet is restored. Once more you are free to wander through fascinating valleys without encountering package tourists and it sometimes feels as if time is standing still.

Wildlife flourishes in the area and it’s just the right place if you enjoy listening to birdsong or want to see foxes or birds of prey, which can be seen for example in the Balkan Valley close to Ortahisar. The best way of exploring the area is on foot and you’ll never tire of discovering the unusual (even bizarre!) scenery.

Churches, dating back more than one thousand years, can be found in the cliffs and you might come upon the early homes of both people and livestock.

Former inhabitants in this area did not build cottages or houses. Instead they hewed their homes and churches out of the soft cliff rock and even deep into the soil. Since nature itself concealed the caves, Christians hid in them and over the centuries lived untroubled by persecution.

Many Cappadocian churches are decorated with frescos, others are adorned with simple decorations and symbols. In many cases the ochre colours reflect the tones of the landscape itself and appear surprisingly fresh. This is probably due to the constant temperature in the caves which is not susceptible to the major external temperature fluctuations.

These stone homes are cool in the summer and have an agreeable temperature in the winter. Many of them were inhabited until relatively recently.

If you are fortunate enough to be in the right place at the right time you might still see farmers using horses to plough tiny, but productive, fields or transporting goods on a donkey. You might also chance upon women baking bread in the traditional way, or see people engaged in other activities using methods and skills, which the western world has all but forgotten.

In Cappadocia there are only a few “official” hiking trails for tourists. This has advantages and disadvantages e.g. given the many farm tracks, lack of sign posts, and street markings, it is easy to get lost.

The region’s traditional sources of income are agriculture, carpet and rug making, and pottery in Avanos.

In the eighties tourism started to become more significant and today it is an important source of revenue. Many vineyards and orchards are still being planted on volcanic soil, which provides excellent yields, but now most are for private use.

Spring and autumn are ideal seasons to visit the area. Blossom on some types of fruit tree appears at the beginning of March and in May and June, to the astonishment of visitors, wild flowers spring up in the otherwise barren landscape.

In October and November the autumn colours enhance the beauty of the magical landscape.

July and August are not the best months to plan a trip because of the extremely high daytime temperatures. However, since Cappadocia is situated at a relatively high level of elevation (1000 – 1300 m) the temperature drops in the evening and you are at least guaranteed a good night’s sleep.

Personally, I don’t find the dry heat here as oppressive as the humid south coast area.

In winter it can be cold and occasionally snows. Once when I was visiting Cappadocia in February I had to shovel snow and saw children having great fun playing with their home-made gear; lack of proper sledges or skis didn’t spoil their enjoyment at all!

It’s not every year that you see the beauty of Cappadocia under a blanket of snow. The average annual amount of precipitation is only 360 mm and the chance of good weather is high all year round.

As you see, each season has its own charms to entice the visitor.

There is a new airport in Tuzköyü not far from Nevsehir. However, at the moment there are only two flights a week to and from Istanbul with THY. Personally, I’m not keen on an airport being situated so close to an area of such natural beauty and unique character.

There are two flights daily between Kayseri and Istanbul (a distance of approximately 90 km).

The capital, Ankara, is about 4 or 5 hours away by bus.

Overnight buses operate directly between Istanbul and Cappadocia.

Long-distance buses within Turkey are generally modern and comfortable. Tea and coffee are served during the journey and there are stops at service stations every 2 or 3 hours. Bus travel and domestic flights are very reasonably priced by western European standards.

Train travel is generally cheaper, but slower and less comfortable. The nearest large stations are in Kayseri and Niğde.

It is best to travel to Turkey by plane, although you may choose to make the journey by train or bus.

However, if you opt for either of the latter modes of transport you shouldn’t be in too much of a hurry to reach your destination. If time permits, there is an interesting alternative route from Italy to Turkey by ferry.

There is also a train, which will also transport your car, from Villach in Austria to Edirne.

I generally travel with Onur or Alpha Air. The Turkish charter companies offer good deals if you wish to stay longer than a fortnight and flights can be booked through Turkish travel agencies.

Bus travel in Turkey is pleasant, especially since smoking was prohibited. Most people obey this rule except some of the drivers, who feel a cigarette is their due for doing a demanding job.

This is quite interesting in a country where most men are heavy smokers. Be warned then, the seat next to the driver is not always the best one to choose!

Nevtur, Göreme, Kapadokiya and Kent are bus companies, which offer a direct service to Cappadocia.

Kent buses offer their passengers a particularly high standard of hostess service during the journey and I would recommend this company if you are going to Göreme.

Otherwise you should use the other companies, because they have a connecting service in Nevsehir for Uçhisar, Ortahisar and Ürgüp.

Exactly where you are dropped off in Ortahisar seems to depend on the driver’s goodwill. He may drive you into the centre of town or deposit you unceremoniously on the outskirts on the road to Ürgüp.

More than once I’ve had to cover the final 2 km on foot (which would not be a problem without luggage).

For many of us who travel in Turkey, such extremes of behaviour are not easy to reconcile. Unscrupulous taxi drivers are another case in point. Their sole aim is to charge unsuspecting visitors 5 to 10 times the normal fare and sometimes I expect they get it and have no qualms of conscience. They often compound their trickery by claiming there is no bus service, so that the traveller is forced to use their services.

Of course, there are many honest drivers, but a minority seem to have specialised in conning unsuspecting tourists.

At the other end of the behavioural spectrum, I have to say that people in Turkey are among the most friendly and unselfish that I have encountered in Europe. The chances of coming across helpful people are higher in smaller places as opposed to Bodrum, Marmaris or Antalya and be assured the positive experiences more than outweigh the negative.

But I digress…

If you are interested in travel commentaries and amusing observations click here. Peter Kennett’s home page is also worth a look. It shows that as well as the immediate vicinity of Ürgüp and Göreme, there are some other beautiful regions such as Ihlara Gorge, close to Aksaray. You will also find useful links and interesting information about Cappadocia itself.

Incidentally, if you’ve read this far and like the photos, here is a tip. For the most part different photos illustrate the English and Turkish versions of the text, but even if you can’t understand the language, don’t forget to take a look at the pictures.

The pace of life for most people in Cappadocia (and this is also true of people living in other rural areas in Turkey) is leisurely and a lot of effort is invested in relationships with extended family, neighbours and friends, but people also make time for visitors.

I am constantly impressed by their simple, modest lifestyle and hospitality. In its own way, the area is one of the world’s most exceptional places and on my travels in this dream land I am filled with awe and gratitude to God, the maker of heaven and earth. Along with King David I have to echo the sentiments of the following Psalms:

Praise the Lord, O my soul;

all my inmost being, praise his holy name.

Praise the Lord, O my soul,

and forget not all his benefits –

who forgives all you sins

and heals all your diseases,

who redeems your life from the pit

and crowns you with love and compassion.

(Psalm 103:1-4)

For you made me glad by your deeds, O Lord;

I sing for joy at the work of your hands.

How great are your works, O Lord,

how profound your thoughts!

The senseless man does not know,

fools do not understand.

(Psalm 92:4-6)

If you have any suggestions, additional information or questions, I would welcome your emails.

If you are willing, I’d be happy to add your report or comments to the guest book, which can be found under “comments“.

These might take a little time to process, because I may be in my “second homeland” when your message arrives. In my home from home I don’t have email access, but that shouldn’t surprise you. Cappadocia really is another world and the PC and notebook are quickly forgotten.

However, for nine months of the year I am at home in Austria working at the railway station in Dornbirn. The town is situated between Lake Constance and the mountains, which is also an extremely beautiful location.

I enjoy my job and have great colleagues so I can enjoy life in Austria as well as that in Cappadocia. If my colleagues weren’t so understanding of my passion for Turkey, I certainly wouldn’t be able to indulge my dream to the same extent.

My thanks go to many unnamed people as well as the following friends: Tom, who sacrificed many hours to get the web site up and running, Deniz and his wife Rukiye, who turned the original German text into Turkish, and Linda who translated the same German version into English.

Incidentally, Linda is a qualified translator of German into her native English and (please bear with me as I indulge in some unashamed advertising on behalf of a friend) is open to considering larger translation projects. You will find her website here.

Without these people, this home page would not have happened!

P.S. Anyone who can read the website text in all three languages will notice differences in the versions. The reason often lies in the nature of the information itself e.g. there is no need to provide hints on learning Turkish to Turkish speakers! And it is also understandable that recommendations to English and German speakers on learning Turkish will differ.

In addition, changes I made to the German text at later stages of the site’s development are also a source of the variations (because I do not ask my friends to provide a new translation for every minor change or elaboration).

As a result, the German text is the most up to date and comprehensive version. For once, native German speakers are at an advantage on an Internet site! Unfortunately, the Turkish text has been somewhat neglected for some time.

My email address is: hubert.canal@utanet.at

German Turkish English Land of Dreams A holiday with a difference comments maps links FAQ