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Day 4
This will be the most memorable day. You will wake up in a cave hotel in Ürgüp. Metin will probably be more eager than you ever saw him, he will be telling his stories so fast that he will mix all his languages - turkish - english - farsi - italian - french - german and russian - and some arabic in between.
Most likely, he will tell the story about the shrine, on top of tjhe castle. On the night before final exam at school, the boys used to stand till they fell, in the door to the sarkofag: "If we fell forwards, we had passed the exam. If we fell backwards, we did not pass, and we would have to take the class over again.""Did anyone fall backwards?"
"Nope."
He always went to school in Ürgüp. There was no such thing in his village. It was not too far, six or may be seven kilometres. At times, he was allowd to take the horse. But most of the time he would have to go.
"The whole family - except for grandpa - movet to the town when I was 16."
"And he stayed in the cava? For how long?"
"Till he died - in 1992"
He can wait to go there. He can't wait to tell all his stories. But as we arrive, something happens to him. He stops talking, stops running. He falls into memories,
There is a ledge on a stone at the road. He used to sit there when he was a child. Thus he could see anyone passing. One day he saw a dead donkey, left where it was fallen.
"Grandpa said: Let's take it home. We dragged it all the way up the hill. He said: Let's dig a whole under the dying walnut tree. Next year, the walnut tree wass full of fruit again. He was a great man, grandpa....."
Artist?
If you are a painter or a poet or a photographer, you should stay in Metin's home village for at least one whole day. Best will be, if you can convince him and the rest of the group to stay there with you. It so so mysterious, so visual, so fascinating to be there, and to listen to all he has to tell: About medical plants, for instance, og wine - or legends.
You should stay there, to make art.
If not - he will take you to new areas. To new, remarquable shapes and forms. But you will see, that you are not alone to be struck by this spot on the earth: In fact Cappadocia is one of Turkeys biggest tourist attractions
This - for instance - is Paşabağ gendarme office
The problem is, however: They are always short of time. It is a long bus drive from the coast - where most of the tourists are - and they very seldom have contact with the locals, except for the souvenire shops.
You could not go to Cappadocia without seeing the pottery: The traditions here are dating thousands of years back - and the region is still famous for it. For those in the company who are interested, Metin will order tickets to a "Turkish night" at the famous Caravanserai Cave Restaurant, where we may enjoy folklore music, traditional dances, belly dance and "whirling dervishes".
Alternatively, we will have dinner in one of the numerous restaurants in Ürgüp.
The best thing, being a small group, is that we decide ourselves - or: The majority of the group decides, and the minority choses to join - or to go by themselves.
On a tea-house, for instance?
Ah - only one thing, by the way: Tea house is men only. This is the east. You may travel like a westerner, you may meet others of your kind, you may have a good time that way. But if you want to meet the region the way it is, you have to respect their habits:
In the night, men go to the tea-house to play backgammon or cards or football and drink tea or mineral water.
Women do their things. (I think, anyway. How should I know?) There are so many fascinating things to see - look at these impressions, made by a a korean photographer.
Day 5
One of the most fascinating experiences that is offered in cappadocia is an early morning hot air balloon flight.
It is expensive - (price varies, but Metin will do the bargain, you have to put aside about 100 Euro in your budget for the trip). But believe me: It is worth it. (Check TripAdvisor too)
Look: (I recommend full screen):
It has to be done early in the morning: The best will be when there is almost no wind, no rain, no morning fog. Not only for the view - also for the safety. And - of course the practical copnsequenses, for the pilot - however clever - cannot maneouvre against the wind. With a fresch breeze, the balloon is tens of kilometres aways before it can land, and the cars who are bringing you back may have serious troubles finding you.
But mornings are usually quiet. And that is the time as well, when light is at the best. 5 to 7 in the morning are the hours for painter, poets and photographers!
Day 5
We collect the group - those who went for the balloon and those who slept - for breakfast, and then we go to Orthisar It is one of the Cappadocian towns where you can see the long history. There is a 90 m. high natural castle and fortress in the middle of the town. And beneath the modern center, there are numerous cave houses, an old Byzanthine monastry and a former churc. And of course: Modern mosques.
There is a beatufiul view, when the sun is still rather low, and there is tea, wherever you are.
Everybody seems to know Metin. That's what makes travelling with him so special. "Onsce I was a hotel director here!" he says. He spent a lot of money, rehabilitating a huge cave, turning it into a hotel and a restaurant with a camping site.
"But then the war on the Balkans stopped all the tourists who used to come by car...."
"It was close by the prison..... - I suppose it is the oldes prison in the world...."
I cannot judge what is based on knowledge and what is merely phantasy when Metin tells his stories. But the experience on the mountain top with mankind's oldst prison, i would never have lost. He is like a child: Look, he says. This must have been the judges chairs. And this must have been for the chains...
I wonder if they had chaines in neolitic times - that was stone age, wasn't it? They could not possibly have chaines?
"And when the judges had spoken - they were taken here!" Says Metin, and showes a 300 meter long carced out tunnel, leading to who knows what. "I guess they must have been rather depressed!"
Stories follows stories - and this day is the day of history. Distant - and close. If not discovered already - it will be seen in Gøreme Open Air Museum that Cappadocia is not only the East: It is one origin of the West as well.
This was the land of the first Christians. This was the land of St. Paul. Those caves and castles has been hiding places and strongholds when the people here had to fight or to flee from the Macedonians, the Persians, the Romans, the Crusaders, the Mongolians, the Ottomans....
Cappadocia was an area where Christianity and Islam lived side by side - up to 1923, when the big exchange of populations took place: Greek people of Cappadocia moved to todays Greece - and in came turkish people from Greece and Macedonia.
Som,e of the old churches were turned into mosques. But many of them where left. And today they are revived. Like the church in Cemil Koy:
One day, a greek priest called, asking for permission to come to visit the church. "It was not used for anything - it was just standing, collecting years. Now and then some youngsters used it to play in," says the café host in the village.
"The Mayor said he was welcome. But when he came, he was not alone: There was a bus, full of orthodox priests. They cleaned the church, and held a service. may be they will come back, the Mayor said. May be it will be a tourist attraction. Since then, it has been guarded. I have the responsibility for the keys. If anyone wants to come here to pray, they are welcome. Come to the café! "
We have to see carpet knitting and weaving. We have to visit a turkish bath - we are going to the 750 years old Hammam in Avanos: Let's try it. You could not go to Cappadocia without trying the Hammam....
I can assure you: Day 5 will be pretty busy. But we should economize with the time: We should finish it with a walk in the "love valley" before dark.
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