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| Hello Cappadocia!! |
Let's begin with my stories on Day 3 at Turkey. It's beginning the full day tour at Cappadocia, Turkey. I know this place's name is quite famous around the world, especially in the movie and drama. Did you know its have the word of Cappadocia in the map of Turkey? Can you find it?
Let's me explain a little bit about Cappadocia in general. The Old Persian name is Katpatuka, which possibly means "The Land/Country of Beautiful Horses." Cappadocia is a historical region in Central Anatolia, largely in the Nevsehir, Kavseri, Aksaray, and Nigge provinces in Turkey. There is having many places in these areas become the hot stop for tourist and traveler who are visit Turkey. In this trip, I was exploring more in Nevsehir provinces in Turkey.
The first place I was visited at the Cappadocia, Turkey is Uchisar Castle, view the dwellings carved into a huge rock. Uchisar is situated at the highest point in Cappadocia, on the Nevsehir-Goreme road, just 5 KM from Goreme. The top of the Uchisar Castle provides a magnificent panorama of the surrounding with Mount Ercives in the distance.
Many rooms hollowed out into the rock are connected to each other with stairs, tunnels, and passages. At the entrances, there are millstone doors, just like the ones in the underground settlements, used to control access to these places. Due to the erosion in places of this multi-leveled castle, it is unfortunately not possible to reach all the rooms.
Most of the rooms, located on the north side of the castle are in use as pigeon houses (dovecots) today. Farmers used their cave pigeon houses to collect the dropping of pigeons which is an excellent fertilizer for the orchards and vineyards.
There are also many other pigeon houses in Pigeon Valley (Guvercinlik Vadisi in Turkish) which connects Uchisar to Goreme. Most of these cave dwellings have been printed white to attract the birds and their valuable droppings.
Is it beautiful and unique? Actually, Uchisar Castle and Pigeon Valley is just close to each others. Just 5 minutes drive from Uchisar Castle to Pigeon Valley.
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| Turkish Lady is sewing the carpet just by hands. |
Before I was visited the Goreme Open-Air Museum, I was visited the most famous hand-made carpets by Turkish Lady in Turkey. Since its hand-made carpets so it depends on how big this carpets they were made because if it's big and it's will take maybe a few years to finish it. The design is also beautiful and unique.
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| This is Turkish Coffee and Apple Tea. |
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| Turkish Carpets. |
If you want to know about prices of hand-made carpets is quite expensive to me and they using currency USD. But it's hand-made carpets so it's worth it and long lasting to buy for you. Maybe it's also can use by the generation too.
After shopping Turkish Hand-Made Carpets, now time to visit the Goreme Open-Air Museum. The Goreme Open-Air Museum resembles a vast monastic complex composed of scores of refectory monasteries placed side-by-side, each with its own church. The entrance fee to the museum is 25 TL per person. It is so beautiful places.
It is only 15 minutes walk (1.5 KM, 1 mile) from Goreme Village Center. It contains the finest of the rock-cut churches, with beautiful frescoes (wall paintings) whose colors still retain all their original freshness. It also presents unique examples of rock-hewn architecture and fresco technique. The Goreme Open-Air Museum has been a member of UNESCO World Heritage List since 1984 and was one of the first two UNESCO sites in Turkey.
The area covered by this Open Air Museum forms a coherent geographical entity and represents historical unity. There are eleven refectories within the Museum, with rock-cut churches table and benches. Each is associated with a church. Most of the churches are Goreme Open Air Museum belong to the 10th, 11th, 12th centuries.
After we visit Goreme Open-Air Museum, we were heading to the restaurant for lunch.
It's set meal lunch – which is start with soup and bread; potato pancake; fish; and our desert, is Turkish Ice-cream. It's so delicious. This place looks so luxury, it's because the using the Turkish Pottery Plate.
It's set meal lunch – which is start with soup and bread; potato pancake; fish; and our desert, is Turkish Ice-cream. It's so delicious. This place looks so luxury, it's because the using the Turkish Pottery Plate.
Before heading to Kaymakli Underground City, we visit the Avanos Village to witness the art of pottery making. I like all the design of pottery. It's unique and beautiful with they own stories in each of it.
The pottery is most like the stories about Turkey. So its can make the souvenir from Turkey to ourselves.
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| Sorry, this photos turn like this. |
There are 36 underground cities in Cappadocia and the widest one is Kaymakli Underground City, while the deepest is the Derinkuyu Underground City. We've visited the Kaymakli Underground City.
Kaymakli Underground City is built on the hill known as the Citadel of Kaymakli and was opened to visitors in 1964. The people of Kaymakli (Enegup in Greek) village have constructed their houses around nearly one hundred tunnels of the underground city. The inhabitants of the region still use the most convenient places in the tunnels as cellars, storage areas and stables, which they access through their courtyards.
The Kaymakli Underground City has low, narrow and sloping passages. While the underground city consists of 8 floors below ground, only 4 of them are open to public today, in which the spaces are organized around ventilation shafts.
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| Tour Guide, Ms Gulhan and me. |
TIPS – Like it's named underground city so for who can't stand in narrow, small and sloping passages – I suggest better you not go there especially for whom allergic to dust and dirty. I have more advice here, please don't try to walk alone in this places if you the first to visit this place. It's because when you get lost in there, it's difficult to find the exit way so better you listen carefully what's your Tour Guide saying to you. This place is quite an adventure to me but I'm scared too if stand there alone because it has so many tunnels but doesn't know where it's ended too.
After visited the Kaymakli Underground City, we're going back hotel to rest and dinner just at the hotel, before we're going to Cave Restaurant for a captivating Belly Dancing and Folklore Show as our last activities on Day 3 at Cappadocia. Like the restaurant's name, Cave Restaurant and it's like in the cave to me. This show is about 3 hours and I was enjoying watching this show.
