Week Five: We Slept in a Cave!

On Monday, Ollie and I went grocery shopping and then stopped at a little cafe named Milota. It is a small place run by a brother and sister.

Love this kid! He is so helpful and fun to have around. As we sat and ate the sister who was serving us just stood by the table watching us eat. She asked multiple times how everything tasted.

We told her (I hate that I can't remember her name! It's so hard for me to remember names here because their names are so different from anything I'm used to) we were going to Cappadocia in the next few days. She sat right down and showed us all of the beautiful places we need to visit in Turkey, and then we had the most delightful conversation about her and her life. She was born and raised here in Istanbul but really wants to live abroad. She told me she just turned 40, and I said, "Oh, you are so young!" She was so happy I thought so and promised she would travel. Her English was limited, but she was just so excited to talk to us and so fun to talk to. When I asked if I could get a picture with her, she smiled really big, pulled her hat off, quickly finger-brushed her hair, and said YES. She was so cute!

On Tuesday, we went to the Asian side of Istanbul to visit our friends, the Krolls. We were so happy to get there after a crazy taxi ride and hear "look up" as soon as we got out. When we looked up, we saw these cuties waving to us!

The kids had a nice time just hanging out in their apartment, and so did we! It was nice just to sit and visit and feel so comfortable in their home. They have been U.S. and World Schooling for close to 3 years now so it is so fun to hear about their experiences and get really useful advice. We will miss them!

They took us to see the famous IstanBULL in the Kadikoy area.

We also got to see the famous umbrella streets! What a fun memory!

We shopped a bit (mostly in a huge art store) and then stopped and had a full Turkish meal together. YUM!

This is a statue near where we were that shows the first Turkish President, Atatürk, introducing the new Turkish alphabet based on Latin script on November 1, 1928. In order to increase literacy in the country and to modernize Turkey. The Latin script replaces the previously used Perso-Arabic script that had been used for over a thousand years. The Language Commission proposed a five-year transition period; Atatürk saw this as far too long and reduced it to three months.

Sterling Kroll walked us to the Istanbul sign and took our picture, and then we got on the Ferry to get home. A great day!

Early Thursday morning, we boarded a plane to go to the central region of Turkey. On our way to Cappadocia!

Goodbye to the BIG city for just a few days...

Hello, Avenos (just outside of Cappadocia)! This is our hotel.

This is the hotel cat. The kids named her Fluffy Demon. She was crazy!

We stayed in actual caves! The front part of our rooms was made with travertine, which is abundant in this region. But further into our rooms was hollowed out of rock.

As Norah said, "It was EPIC!"

Out to the courtyard

In Istanbul, it's all about the cats. In Avenos and Cappadocia it's dogs! These three followed us everywhere and were just so sweet!

We stopped for lunch at this wonderful restaurant. It was the first time since arriving in Turkey that we ate food a woman cooked. It has usually been all men, both as servers (except for the sister I told you about at the beginning) and cooks. When we were trying to decide if we should eat there, the owner (the woman in the orange scarf) said with a big smile in her limited English, "I am the champion cook around here." And judging by the food, I don't think she was exaggerating! It was delicious.

Avenos is well known throughout the country and abroad for the red clay products made by locals. Hundreds of the village men are skilled in making pots, plates, wine holders, and even ashtrays and chess sets. They are pottery masters, and their skills have mostly been handed down from generation to generation. The roots of their profession lie in the nearby Kizilirmak or Red River that flows through the town.

Fifth generation master at this shop! He is the twins' age but has been learning this trade since he was eight.

Everyone got to try and made something beautiful (with a lot of help from him)!

This is a special wine pitcher made in Avanos (winemaking is also a huge part of life here).

It can slide on the arm and easily pour out wine when needed!

It is a big deal when you can get good enough to make one of these pitchers. They joked that in their region, the men can't get married unless they prove they can make a really good pitcher, and the girls can't get married until they can make a beautiful rug. I wish I had taken a photo of this boy's grandpa, who was sitting watching us. It was really cool to see how the three generations were working there together, the younger ones being mentored by their elders.

Here are all of our creations!

Proudly showing his really quick example. Usually, this would take multiple days of drying and scoring, but he wanted to show us his skills.

The next morning, we woke up to a blanket of snow!

And also a beautiful Turkish breakfast spread and a warm fire. It was so cozy.

Then, we ventured off to our first destination to see the "fairy chimney" formations. We learned that the rock formations emerged due to a geological process that began millions of years ago. Ancient volcanic eruptions blanketed the region in thick ash, which later solidified into a soft rock called ‘tuff.’ When the natural forces of wind and water (erosion) did their work, only the harder elements were left behind to form the ‘fairy chimneys’ that can be seen today, stretching as far as 130 feet into the sky!

The coolest part is that many of these structures have little cave homes carved out of the soft rock. Our guide took us to Gerome Open Air Museum to see some up close.

We rode camels to the entrance and got some fun pictures.

And totally fell in love with them. They are so funny and cute!

The guides kept telling us to put our hands up. I don't know why, I guess to show "no hands" it was funny.

Then we got to start exploring! During the Roman period, persecuted Christians fled to Cappadocia (more specifically, the town of Göreme) and soon came to the realization that tuff was a useful, malleable material. The inhabitants set about building a network of handmade caves, living quarters, churches, stables, and storehouses, all dug into the soft rock. Today, there are still obvious signs of past lives within the honeycombed network of hand-built rock: the stables with handles used to tether animals, walls with holes meant for air circulation, and blackened walls that were once the kitchens.

The churches inside the caves were incredible! One of the best examples is what they call the Dark Church. It was built in the 11th century, and its walls are covered with colorful and intricate scenes from the New Testament that are stunningly well-preserved. We couldn't believe our eyes!

Each fresco depicted a scene from Christ's life. Here, you can see his birth.

The Last Supper. We overheard a guide explaining to two Italian women that this is the original Last Supper painting before DaVinci's, which was done almost four hundred years later in 1495.

The Transfiguration

The Ressurection

Raising Lazarus from the dead.

We explored more and saw two other churches that had similar scenes that were unfortunately not as well preserved and learned that the artists' apprentices painted them.

A table with seats

A window

If you'd like to learn more about the Dark Church and its history here in Gerome, you can read so much more here.

Next, our guide took us to this lookout point, where we saw so many more cave homes.

And got some protection from the "evil eyes." The eyes are said to protect against evil, envy, and bad luck and to bring good luck and happiness to their owner. In Turkish culture, it is believed that its presence in the home or on clothing can bring good fortune and protection.

They had all kinds of fun photo props. :)

We saw these little pigeon holes everywhere and also...

Pigeons everywhere! Everyone had a great time feeding some, and Norah and Jeff even caught some. We learned that the little carvings are an indication that there is a pigeon home called a Dovecote nearby. Dovecotes are dark, closed rooms for pigeons to roost in at night time. Once a year, farmers would collect the pigeon droppings from the floor to use as fertilizer. Pigeon poop is extremely rich in nitrogen, a chemical needed for farming Cappadocia's volcanic soil, and thus the most valued natural fertilizer.

St. Basil even explains how 4th-century Cappadocians farmed pigeons. "When pigeon farmers have caught a pigeon, they tame it and make it feed with them. Then the farmer smears its wings with sweet oil, and releases it to join the other birds outside. The sweet scent of that oil makes the wild birds the possession of the owner of the tame bird, for all the rest are attracted by the fragrance and settle in the pigeon house." Cappadocians have farmed pigeons for millennia. But in recent times, petroleum-based fertilizers have replaced natural manure. The dovecotes have been abandoned, and pigeons fly wild in Cappadocia’s valleys.

It started snowing really hard, so we decided to go home and prepare for our evening...

We finally got to go to a Whirling Dervish Ceremony! We learned that whirling dervish ceremonies were started as a form of meditation by Jalaluddin Rumi, the famous Muslim mystic and poet, in the 13th century. Rumi, who was living in the capital of the Turkish Empire, told his followers, “There are many roads which lead to God. I have chosen the one of dance and music.” He would fast, meditate, and then dance to reach a state of unparalleled enlightenment. Inspired, other sects started to spread his dance, called the sema, throughout the Ottoman Empire. By the 15th century, the order had established rules for the ritual to maintain its traditions.

The ceremony was about an hour long and took us through a journey of watching the men submit to the will of God (Allah). The tall hats symbolize the tombstone of the ego. The right palm of the hand is raised to the heavens in order to receive the blessings of God. These blessings are then communicated back down to the earth through the left hand, which is pointed at the ground. The white robe (known as a tenure) represents the shroud of the ego. When the black cloak is removed, it symbolizes the spiritual rebirth of the dervish. It’s believed that by performing the ritual, the dervishes become a conduit for divine blessings, conveying the spiritual gifts of God to the rest of the people watching. As they spin faster and faster, repeatedly calling out to Allah, all personal identities and egos are abandoned, allowing them to attain spiritual perfection. We were not allowed to take pictures of the actual ceremony, but after it was over, they twirled for us and allowed pictures and video.

After, they served us tea (of course) and let us look around. This was a room right off from where the ceremony was performed. We are so glad we got to do this in Cappadocia because we were told that it is hard to find a real ceremony instead of just a show in Istanbul.

The next day, we paid for the show at the hotel (example of how little the Turkish Lyra is worth - our friend said that a few years before, the same show would have been a couple of hundred Lyra - we paid over 6,000 TL).

We loved this guy! He was always there at the front desk to greet us in his limited English and gave us this wonderful gift as we left, as well as two keychains with the names of our rooms on them. The kindness and generosity of these people always catch us by surprise.

Then, we made our way to the underground city of Direnkuyu.

Of all the over 30 underground towns in Cappadocia, Derinkuyu is the deepest, continuing beneath the ground for eight levels. The city was discovered in 1963 by accident when a resident was doing renovations to his home. When he knocked down one of the walls, he found a strange room, and upon further digging, he found an intricate tunnel system with cave rooms.

A stone that was rolled in front of the entrance to a tunnel to keep enemies out.

A ventilation hole. There were also holes used to communicate if danger was coming. Each floor had holes for air, communication, and waste removal. There were also wells for water.

A cross carved into the wall

Source

The underground city of Derinkuyu dates back thousands of years. While some speculate that the Cappadocian Hittites dug this impressive town around the 15th century BCE, others believe that it is Phrygians’ work in the 7th century BCE.

Despite the disagreement, there is a general consensus that the underground metropolis served to hide its inhabitants from their enemies. This purpose was especially crucial during the Byzantine period when Christians were fleeing from their Roman persecutors.

When the Christians got to Cappadocia and discovered the city, they expanded and modified its existing structures by adding churches, schools, wineries, and other chambers that suited their needs. It is estimated that Derinkuyu could sustain up to 20,000 inhabitants and their animals!

A baptismal font

Underground church carved out in the shape of a cross. There was an underground missionary school as well as a place for confession and a wine press area.

To say this was incredible would be a complete understatement! Wow! Our minds were blown!

Just outside, this cute lady was selling her handmade dolls. The twins fell in love and bought some. She was a delight!

Our last stop was Devrent Valley, also known as Imagination Valley, where you can see animals and figures in the rocks.

Our guide explained that this one is a man and woman dancing. Can you see them?

And a camel here on the left. There were many more. Such a fun spot!

Then our guide took us an hour away to the airport. His name is Bulent, and he was the dearest man! He was our guide the whole time we were there. He took us to his favorite restaurants and special lookout spots, waited for hours for us to explore, brought us treats he made for us at home, and was just so kind and wonderful! We will always remember Bulent!

Sunday, we went for the last time to our beloved church branch in Istanbul. I snuck some pictures at the beginning of church. This is Jeff and Davidson about to bless the sacrament. Davidson is such a cool guy! He's from Nigeria and is so funny and faithful.

And this is Kate. She is from the Philippines but has been here for three years. Behind her is Brother Smith, he is a music professor in Texas, doing a sabbatical here for a year.

Our Branch presidency. President Rodrigues is in the middle. We have learned so much from his wisdom and faith.

The twins and Favor. She is teaching them how to pronounce words in French.

Raphael (from Brazil) on the far left and Kate are engaged and have been waiting for over a year to get married in the closest temple (Germany), but due to visa restrictions, they haven't been able to (she even volunteered in Germany hoping that would help). They've finally decided to do a civil ceremony here in Turkey and then travel to be sealed later. They are just amazing. Steel Kroll snuck into the picture while his dad Sterling took it! :)

More amazing people. Susan (standing next to me) is the wife of the Turkish branch president. They met at BYU and have been living in Turkey for the last 15 years.

And these three peas in a pod! WE LOVE FAVOR!

That was a hard goodbye. I've talked about Favor before; she is from Ivory Coast and is studying to become a nurse and eventually a doctor. She is just sunshine. We hope she will come and visit us in the US someday.

And our last stop on the way home was to see our friend Ravadon. He was in his usual spot. This time, we had a book that is so special to us to share with him - the Turkish Book of Mormon. When he opened it, he saw a picture of Jesus and exclaimed, "Isa!" which is the Turkish name for Jesus. He hugged each of us, and we said our goodbyes.

A few days left here, and then we head to Athens, Greece. Turkey, you have been so good to us. We are forever changed by your people, culture, and history! Thank you.