2 Nights in a Cave

Adam in Cappadocia

Ballooning in Cappadocia

We have just returned from a wonderful trip to Cappadocia, a region of Turkey about 3 hours south of Ankara.  Though it was further south, it was no warmer, with about 4 inches of new snow, high daily temps around freezing, and night temps in the teens.  Despite these balmy conditions, it was truly a peak experience and a “must do” in Turkey.  To start with, Cappadocia has amazing natural rock formations, resulting from 3 volcanoes thousands of years ago.  Winds have made all kinds of interesting indentations in the rock, resulting in hundreds of fairy chimneys and other unusual sights.  Along with the winds, humans realized how soft the rock was, so they built homes in the formations.  In fact, there are amazing underground cities which go on for many stories and kilometers.  The early Christians built little churches in the rocks, and there are beautiful religious picture painted on the walls – some still remarkably colorful.  Cappadocia is a region, so it takes a car to go from area to area to see everything.  Alternatively, one can tour by air, which is just what we did yesterday at dawn – by hot air balloon!  Despite freezing temps, the balloon fire provided a lot of warmth (except for the feet), and we had amazing views of valleys and snow-covered formations. 

 

Our Cave

Hamam

Now the real pièce de résistance was living in a cave.  We stayed in Kale Konak, a cave hotel.  This hotel was probably someone’s ancient abode and is literally carved in the rock.  Our cave room had no windows, but 2 holes in the ceiling that were probably for ventilation in ancient times (but now provided a small bit of light during the day).  Our cave was warm and toasty, but even better was the hamam, or Turkish bath, located just below our cave.  In the old days, folks would go to the hamam for their weekly baths (and this may still be the case in some villages), where they would first sit in a very humid wet sauna type of room to work up a good sweat.  Then they would scrub (or be scrubbed) to remove all the dead skin, followed by soaping and cleaning.  We went to our hamam every day while in Cappadocia, and it is truly one of the most relaxing experiences ever.  Fred and Wilma never had it so good!

Spiritual Awakenings

When I walk past the mosques, hear the calls to prayer 5 times a day, and see women in headscarves, I am reminded that 99% of Turks are Muslim.  Other religions are not forbidden, but here in Ankara I’ve not seen a single church except for the little one that we’ve found.

Cef & Father Geoffrey

St Nicholas Church

Nonie, Cef, & David (British Ambassador)

It’s no accident that this church is named St. Nicholas, as St. Nicholas is from Turkey (and is the origin of our Santa Claus).  Now St. Nicholas is the only church I’ve ever attended that requires a passport prior to entry, but then again, this one is located in the British Embassy compound.  This past Sunday, 8 Iranians were baptized – an act that could have been a death sentence were they still in Iran.  Father Cefri (Geoffrey) (see pic at right with Cef) is the only priest and shepherds this small motleyed congregation of about 50 Brits, Aussies, Americans, Turks, Iranians, and even an Iraqi or two.  Father Geoffrey’s strongest suit is the hymns, which he sings loudly and lustily (and he needs to since the non-English speakers don’t sing at all!).  He is retiring on Christmas Day (after >50 years of service to the Anglican Church) to İzmir – a testament to the hold that this country has on expats who live here.  One of the fringe benefits of attending St. Nicholas is that we were invited to a Christmas Caroling party at the British Ambassador’s residence (see picture of our British friend Nonie, Cef, and the British Ambassador).  Though there are almost no visible reminders of Christmas in the streets and stores here in Ankara, this evening of carols got our Christmas spirits soaring.

Shabbat

Last Friday we were invited to dinner at the home (flat) of our American friends, Alice and Carnot Nelson, who are with Bilkent University.  Just before dinner, Carnot handed Cef a yamakkah to wear, and he and his grandson Josh did the shabbat prayers – complete with a sip of kosher wine.  Once again we were reminded of the tolerance of this country for all religions.

Konya

Today we were lucky enough to have gone to Konya, a town about 2 hours south of Ankara by high speed rail.  During this one week in December, Konya commemorates the death of its most famous inhabitant, the Turkish mystic Rumi who espoused a philosophy of love and tolerance.  He felt that the best way to achieve oneness with God was through the arts.  Rumi is well known for his poetry, but best known for the beautiful, haunting, and mesmerizing dance that his followers perform during this week.  The Mevlevi, or Whirling Dervishes (as we call them), is an experience I will never forget.  I wish I had a picture, but photos were not allowed (and I did not want to risk being thrown out of the show), so here's a picture of a plastic one instead.  Note the right palm turned up, the left turned down, and they always twirl counter clockwise.