They say you should save hyperbole for when you really need it. I say, travel writers should save their odes till they reach their paradise on earth. I have found mine. Only that it was not a picture postcard scenery with pretty hills, crystal blue lakes and lush green fields. On the contrary, the entire setting had a rather austere and harsh aura about it. Guidebooks alternatively describe it as “surreal”, a “lunar landscape” or a “fantasy land”. My first impression was, to put it very crudely, that of a crumpled up cloth, in shades of yellow, streaked in pink and white.
We have reached Cappadocia, “the land of beautiful horses”. It earlier referred to an extensive inland district of Asia Minor and now roughly corresponds to the area in and around Nevehir province in Anatolia, Central Turkey. The lyrical topography was created by volcanic eruptions about ten million years ago when the land mixed with lava, ash and mud, called tufa, was molded by the elements. With thousand of years of rugged winds and rains constantly eroding away the tufa, what remains are towers closely resembling gigantic circumcised phalluses, (referred to in more polite circles as “fairy chimneys”) that dominate the scenery. Cliff walls of the valleys are dotted with gaping holes which could be centuries old dwellings or chapels or even not-so-old pigeon lofts. Nobody knew who the original inhabitants of the place were or who first hollowed out the shelters in the soft rock. When a window suddenly opens from one of the occupied caves and a face peers out, you suddenly might get the feeling of having sauntered over to the homes of elves and gnomes.
I was even more thrilled as instead of checking into a pension, Turkish low budget hotels, I had booked into a cave hotel. But this was no ordinary cave hotel. For a change the backpacker in me, always looking for a cheap deal, took a back step and I decided to go all out and splurge. To be very honest this hotel, which I first saw in an email sent by a friend, was what pulled me to Turkey in the first place. As the car came to a stop in front of a rocky hill, I looked up at the dramatic and soaring structure, and I knew I had made the correct choice. The pictures on the mail could not do justice to this breathtaking view of the hotel- Yunak Evleri.
Carved into a mountain cliff in the ancient village of Urgup, the hotel includes eight cave houses all dating back to the 5th and the 6th century .A separate 19th century Greek mansion set on the base of the hill was bought by the owner, Yusuf Gorurgoz from a local Cappadocian family and now houses the reception, private dining hall,reading room and the lobby. An ex- Istanbul native, Gorurgoz realized that Cappadocia was fast changing from being a backpacker’s destination to becoming the ultimate city for troglodytes wishing to swim in the lap of luxury. Though the idea of buying crumbled hovels for a song and converting them to perfect idyllic retreat was not entirely new, Yunak Evleri, along with a couple of other hotels managed to set high standards for luxury living in this desolate terrain. The Greek mansion, renovated to keep the original style, was packed with antiques and some beautiful hand-crafted furnishings.
As the manager, Abdullah, a nattily dressed old gentleman, showed us around the place, I took in the smell and sights of the hotel -all reminiscent of a bygone era. Old plump peasant ladies doing laundry the old fashioned way, the smell of freshly baked bread, the quaint hand pump, the sepia tinted family photographs. I felt as if any moment someone would turn on the gramophone and the air would be filled with the lilting voice of Dooney Wilson crooning the famous Casablanca number “As time goes by”. The rotary dial phone seemed less like a show piece and fit in perfectly next to the transistor which I expected to crackle with news of the World War II.
In a stone house across, was the breakfast hall with an adjoining kitchen and a larder well stocked with local fare all produced within the village – succulent tomatoes, fresh orange juice, feta cheese and marmalades.
Yunak Evleri definitely prides itself as a private exclusive romantic retreat. To reach to your cave you had to navigate through a labyrinth of narrow passageways and curved stone stairways. This was because all the rooms were spread across the gigantic cliff and had their own private patios overlooking the Turkish mesa.
Until I stepped into my room here, the only way I could describe caves were dark, spooky and damp holes filled with bats. My cave, on the other hand, had dark hardwood floors, creamy whitewashed walls, old kilim carpets and handcrafts, writing desk, and a rocking chair all decorated in warm ottoman style. And not just a functional bathroom but a spacious marble one, fitted with a Jacuzzi. The carefully chosen lightning lent a romantic air to the cave.
The planter’s chair on my terrace gave me an uninterrupted stunning view and I resolved to stay here for the rest of my stay in Turkey. But then there was the so much more to explore.
Time seemed to have stood still in the sleepy small town of Urgup, where three left turns take you back to square one. As I walked down the streets I noticed that all shops, restaurants and houses were built of the same material and hence the town had the monochromatic yellowish tinge. Urgup managed to strike a balance between preserving its Anatolian traditions and cultivating an unobtrusive yet irresistible tourist infrastructure.
Not everyone in Cappadocia was lucky enough to get a cave with a view. I discovered that on my next day’s tour to Kaymakli. While the idea of pre historic people seeking shelter in caves is not entirely unique, what struck me was the sheer magnitude involved here. Within the entire region of Cappadocia over two hundred underground cities have been discovered and forty of these had atleast four levels or more. As a largely barren and desolate area, central Cappadocia was bypassed by many armies making it the ideal refuge for early Christians who built these underground cities to take shelter from the oppression of the Roman soldiers. These hideouts were again used after 6th century to escape from the Arab armies. The entry to every secret underground passageway was camouflaged by a circular keystone, which once closed could only be opened from inside.
As I crouched down the passageways, which now are well lit, I could not help but wonder at the tenacity of those people who have had to stay in these dark environs for months at stretch. The air shafts which allowed for ventilation were a sheer engineering feat. The underground city of Kaymakli could at one time accommodate upto 15000 people and was complete with kitchens, stables and even a grape press to make wine.
On the way to the Goreme, we stopped at Guray Comlekcilik, a family owned pottery in Avanos .Avanos has a history of pottery making that dates back to the Hittite times. I tried my hand at the Potters wheel, and if you happen to visit that place and spot a ceramic plate, shaped more like the map of Australia, you know who the artist is.
Goreme Open Air Museum is a monastic complex composed of churches, rectories and dwellings. This is where the early Christians preachers spread the message of Christ far away from religious persecutors. The frescoes in the church depict narrations from the Bible including the Last Supper, Adoration of the Magi and the Nativity Scene. As the frescoes continue to chip off the cave walls, it reveals a layer of earlier paintings underneath. While the later day paintings were colorful, the earlier ones used only red dye and were more simplistic. During the Iconoclastic period many of the frescoes and paintings were damaged while the eyes of the images were scratched out by the local Turkish population scared of the evil eye.
All over the panoramic view of Cappadocia, one can see, on closer inspection, niches carved into the soft tufa. Expecting another tale of blood and gore behind these mysterious carvings, I was a bit let down when I learnt that they were pigeon lofts, painted white to attract the birds, and built to collect pigeon droppings, an excellent source of fertilizer. On the way back we stopped at Uchisar, which must have had one of the greatest collections of pigeon lofts in the world and hence given the name Pigeon Valley. They were carved wherever space allowed including abandoned caves and the walls of collapsed churches.
In Cappadocia it is difficult to get a bad hike when you are surrounded by such spectacular scenery. I picked the Red Valley hike. It was like walking through an open air structure chiseled by Mother Nature. We saw the fairy’s chimneys at close quarters, walked over pink and yellow earth which changed colors as the day progressed. As the sun set down over the horizon and painted the sky hues of blue and orange, the colors getting reflected in the valley below, I knew I will be back to my Eden again.
