It was another long bus ride, but now we are in the area of Cappadocia, staying in the small town of Mastafupasa. Our hotel is absolutely wonderful: it is made like a cave with niches for lights and storage, but also all modern amenities, including a spa tub. There is even a separate little office space for me to type while Lyle sleeps – which I should be doing because I have a hot air balloon ride tomorrow at 4 am.
But
first take a quick look at our room.
For
dinner tonight we had BBQ meats and sausage, with salad, potatoes, and other
veggie dishes to accompany. Dessert was
a light dish made from cornstarch phyllo dough boiled in milk and served with
nuts and berries. It sounds weird, but
it was really good.
Friday, May 1, 2026 Cave Churches, Turkish Lunch, Underground City
Cappadocia
is a region in Turkiye that lies between three dormant volcanos. The landscape is very much like that in
southern Utah, with chimneys and hoodoos that are carved out when the wind and
water erode away the volcanic tuff and leaves behind the much harder
basalt. It is quite an intriguing
look. The lilacs are blooming here and
that adds a certain charm to the photo.
The ancient people (and even the locals today) carved out caves for storage and to keep animals. As volcanic ash hardened and compacted it formed a stone called tuff. Although made from hardened ash, it is still quite soft and easy to work. Stones for houses were also carved from the tuff. The smaller holes in the rocks were natural and birds, especially pigeons, nested there. People collected the bird waste for fertilizer.
We
had quite a full day today. We were
scheduled to take an optional balloon ride, but the weather just didn’t
cooperate. It was a beautiful day, but
too windy to fly. After breakfast, Yaren
took us an orientation walk around Mustafupasa, the small town where we are
living for the next few days. Since
photos of the restaurants and grocery stores would be pretty boring, I opted
for these nicer scenes.
First on our tour today was the Goreme
open air museum, where we visited several churches carved into the rock, or
enlarged from natural cave formations.
This area was originally a Roman necropolis, or burial site. Later it became a monastery. The churches were used mainly as burial
chambers and small worship centers for the monks. Most were quite simple, but a few still
retained some bright frescoes.
Lunch was a fantastic affair. We ate at the home of a Fariye abla, who has
been entertaining Rick Steves tours for many years. She and her son and daughter prepared a
traditional Turkish meal for us, and we ate in her living room. Yaren translated for us.
Lunch consisted of bulgar wheat, beans,
home-made bread, and shepherd’s salad: a mixture of tomatoes, cucumbers, and onion.
She said though that when she got older, she burned all the looms because she was tired of making carpet and never wanted to do that again! But she loved having the tour groups to visit because she got to have visitors. All of her neighbors have moved away, and their houses have become hotels.
As we walked back to the bus, we got a
great view of Mt Ericyes, historically the most important of the three volcanic
mountains. Apparently, it is like Denali and only shows its face occasionally.
Often it is not visible due to the haze from the volcanic dust.
Last on our itinerary today was a visit
to the underground city, one of many in this area. This one extends down 9 levels, although only
the first 5 are open to visitors. The 3D
representation resembles an anthill.
The first levels were originally used as
stables and food storage by the local inhabitants. But during the early Christian era, they
cities were used as actually living spaces, complete with communal kitchens and
living areas, and separate family sleeping chambers. The spaces are quite small and the
passageways very narrow and squat. These
were places where the people could live during periods of occupation.
Fresh air came through a vent to the
surface, and water was available from underground springs. Linseed oil lamps burned with a very clean
fire, providing light. Cooking was done
only periodically, and only at night when the smoke would not be visible. Mostly dried foods were eaten.
In true Indiana Jones fashion, large stones could be rolled into
passageways to keep intruders out.
We are told that area children used to play hide and seek in these cities. They may still but I would not like to try and find my way around inside. It would be very easy to get lost.
We had dinner together at the Old Greek House restaurant just down the street from the hotel. It used to be where the Rick Steves group stayed, but they outgrew the space. Food was served family style, with the main dish a casserole of meat and vegetables, mainly eggplant. It was very good, but the baklava for dessert outshined everything for me!
Time for bed in our little cave.
Saturday, May 2, 2026 Farmers Market, Carpets, Fairy chimneys
Another busy day! But we did get to sleep a little later 😊
Our first stop today was the local
farmer’s market. It was overcast and a
little drizzly, but the vibrant fruits and veggies could brighten up even the
dreariest day.
I’ve never seen such beautiful produce. Yaren tells us that all the local people buy their produce here. This market is only on Saturday, but other towns have other market days, and the sellers move from town to town in the area.
We moved from the market to the carpet
school. The carpet weaving trade was
dying out and the government opened schools, paired with businesses, to make
and sell the carpets. It also Is a good
trade for those who don’t go on to university. The weavers are amazingly fast.
One of the most fascinating things we
saw was the spinning of silk from cocoons.
The cocoons are soaked in hot water, then worked with a stiff straw brush until the silk begins to catch on the brush. The spinner works the brush, drawing the silk from the cocoon, then when it is coming loose, attaches it to a wheel where it can be spun on a spool. This is the silk that will be woven into carpet. The silk strands are as thin as a spider’s web, but very strong. Remember that the obelisk was cut using a silk cord?
In the picture, you can’t even see the
silk thread being drawn up from the cocoons.
The threads can be twisted together to make larger diameters.
Silk carpets are the most expensive because the threads are so fine. Wool, and wool/cotton blends are also made here.
We had a nice lunch of pita and tea/coffee. We also tasted the raki, the local liqueur flavored with anise. Water is added to the clear raki before you drink it, making it cloudy. It packs a punch! I wanted to try it but since I don’t like licorice, it wasn’t for me. I did, however, really like the apple tea. We developed a real appreciation for pomegranate tea on our last trip to Turkiye, and now we will need to find some apple tea.
Although no one intended to purchase carpet, most did get something, including us. We decided that the den needed some color, so we got a large wood area rug in red and blue with a colorful trim. U just hope it isn't too much color!
Then it was time to move on to the Fairy Chimneys, in the Goreme National Park. The chimneys are natural formations created when the soft tuff is eroded by wind and water, leaving behind the harder basalt. As with the cave churches we visited earlier in Cappadocia, these places were used in the past as dwellings for religious monks. But there are no churches or decorations in these formations.
The landscape is much like Utah with its
own hoodoos. The area is a UNESCO World
Heritage Site.
The title shot for this area is also from Goreme.
There were several places where we could
scramble up into the openings and peer out the other side. I have to say, the view was pretty
spectacular.
But wait! There was more!
Because our day wasn’t over yet.
Back at our hotel, Yaren had arranged a little happy hour for us, with
fruits and nuts from the farmer’s market, and several local wines for us to
try. It was in a separate gathering area
decorated in traditional Turkish fashion.
We even had music and tried our hand (and feet) at Turkish dance.
Lyle and I had dinner back at the Old Greek House restaurant where we ate last night. His kebab pot looked pretty good, but I was still full from lunch and happy hour, so I just had some of the delicious cheese pie and (of course) more baklava.
On our way we passed a little courtyard
that just begged to be photographed. I’m
pretty sure that it is going to find its way into my next photo book.
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