Turkey-The Bridge Between East and West (Day 4)

 Day 4: Transfer Neveshir (Cappadocia)

We began the day by prying ourselves out of our Yotel standard room, a process that would have been easier had we been packed in olive oil. At check-in, the extra €20 for an upgraded room had seemed unnecessary. By morning, it sounded like a reasonable investment in the ability to turn around without first consulting your spouse.

Once released from the sardine can, we caught an early flight from Istanbul to Nevşehir, where Oguzan, the guide who had arranged our Turkey trip, met us at the airport.

Nevşehir’s airport was a refreshing change from Istanbul and the other megaports. It was just a tad bigger than the airport in Lebanon—New Hampshire, that is, not the country. Here was an airport you could navigate without provisions, a compass, and a support team.

The Cappadocia region is much quieter and rural than Istanbul. it lies 350 miles east-southeast of Istanbul as the crow flies. Its economy, now, relies primarily on agriculture and tourism, but in ancient times it was an important rest stop for trade routes to Asia. Cappadocia’s human history includes Hittite, Persian, Roman, Byzantine, Seljuk, and Ottoman periods. It became a Roman province in  17 AD and later formed part of the Byzantine Empire. Under the Seljuks, trade routes across the region were served by  fortified inns where travelling merchants and their animals could rest. These were essentially highway hotels with better defenses and somewhere to park your camel.

We began our explore of Cappadocia with a visit to a beautiful example of Fairy Chimney houses in Uchisar. These rock pillars, similar to the hoodoos we find in the southwestern U.S., began with volcanic eruptions millions of years ago. Thick deposits of ash and other volcanic material settled across the region, forming layers of rock, including a relatively soft stone called tuff. Over time, flowing water, wind and weathering carved these layers into valleys, cones and towers. The distinctive mushroom shapes form where a harder cap of rock protects the softer material beneath it. As the surrounding rock wears away, a pillar remains, sometimes looking as though it is wearing an oversized stone hat. Volcanoes supplied the building materials; the weather handled the design.

The result reminded us of the Once-ler’s house in Dr. Seuss’s The Lorax. Then people went a step further and carved homes into these improbable formations. After our night at Yotel, the idea of enlarging a room by removing part of a mountain had considerable appeal.

On to Goreme, a UNESCO protected site.  Cappadocia also became an important centre of Christianity. Christian monastic communities are believed to have occupied chambers carved into the rock from around the fourth century. Over the following centuries, they created churches, chapels, and monasteries, some decorated with remarkably colourful biblical paintings. The churches around Göreme preserve outstanding examples of Byzantine religious art. 

In an attempt to see the entire region in one day, we then took a hike to some additional hoodoos that Oguzan particularly liked.  We had not planned on hiking, so our footwear had been selected with airport terminals in mind. The hillside had other requirements.

Nevertheless, we made it. Back at the bottom, Oguzan treated us to fresh walnuts—a lovely reward for our unexpected exertion. We were learning that in Cappadocia, even the snacks might involve an elevation gain.

As the sun was setting, we stopped to visit Albert Einstein.

At least, that was the initial impression. This was actually his doppelgänger, Galip Körükçü, an extraordinary master ceramicist. The resemblance was striking, although his particular genius involves clay.

 We were treated to a demonstration by one of his proteges on shaping a traditional Hittite wine flask

and then to a demonstration on how not to do it by yours truly.

                                                   

We were tempted to make a purchase, but after spending a small fortune in the Spice Market yesterday, we were still feeling the sting and left empty handed.  This was an impressive display of financial restraint, although our previous triumph in that department had been declining the €20 room upgrade. Our judgment was clearly not beyond question.

Finally, after a VERY long day of travel, sight-seeing, and hiking, and briefly setting back the art of pottery, we arrived at our cave hotel, the Eyes of Cappadocia.  Here, instead of being able to take a shower while in our bed, we were able to get in our 10,000 steps just going to the bathroom at night. Unfortunately, we only had time for a few hours of shut-eye.  We are leaving for ballooning at 4 am tomorrow morning   

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Turkey-The Bridge Between East and West (Day 3)

Day 3:  Istanbul in the Sun (Mostly)

Finally back!

We woke this morning to a gorgeous blue sky, at least by Istanbul standards. There was blue but some clouds persisted-we will take this as a win, though. Mustafa met us at 8;30 for a jam-packed day of sightseeing.  We hopped the tram which deposited us at the base of a 1500’ hill on top of which sat our first goal of the day, the Galata Tower.

Mustafa strongly urged us to forego the hike and , instead, experience The Tünel funicular. Opened on January 17, 1875, the Tünel is generally described as the world’s second-oldest underground urban railway, after London’s Underground. Its entire route is just 573 meters—about a third of a mile—between Karaköy and Beyoğlu, with a journey lasting approximately 90 seconds.

Our early morning start gave us a jump on all the late Sunday morning sleepers  in Istanbul (according to Mustafa, Turks do not get up on Sunday before noon ). 

The Galata Tower was built in 1348 by the Genoese; it was part of the defenses of their trading colony across the Golden Horn from Byzantine Constantinople. Originally called the Tower of Christ, it reflects the important role Italian merchants played in the city’s medieval commercial life. Later, under the Ottomans, the tower served as a prison and a fire lookout. Its upper deck now offers great views across Istanbul. The options for getting up the 220 foot tower were climb a 220 foot spiral staircase, or take a 200 foot elevator and 20 feet of stairs.  After the elevator ride and 18 feet of stairs, Molly decided to wait for us at street level. After an  appropriate amount of viewing time, we started down the 20 feet of stairs, but no Molly. Assuming she had ridden the elevator down, we too, headed to the ground only to find Molly just finishing the 220^th foot of circular staircase (which she hates!).

Synagogue in the heart of Cairo

Roman Aqueduct Remains

From the Galata Tower, we walked down the hill to take a bus to yet another hill which we climbed via cable car (Eyüp–Pierre Loti cable car). 

At the base of the cable car is a mosque and its adjoining mausoleum traditionally identified as the burial place of Abu Ayyub al-Ansari, known in Turkey as Eyüp Sultan. He was a companion of the Prophet Muhammad and hosted him in his home after Muhammad’s arrival in Medina. Decades later, he died during a seventh-century military campaign against Constantinople.  The mountainside adjacent is a choice spot for interment for the powerful and wealthy.  Eyüp Cemetery, grew around the shrine of Eyüp Sultan. The graves extend uphill toward Pierre Loti, and we decided to walk back down the path through the cemetery (for Molly).

Stopped at a bakery for cookies  on the way

An interesting detail on many of the tombstones is the headgear carved into older gravestones. Ottoman men’s tombstones could carry stone turbans or other head coverings indicating their rank or position in society. Even in death, clothing communicated identity. 

Next stop (via bus) was the Balat neighborhood. Balat was for centuries one of Istanbul’s principal Jewish neighborhoods. Its Jewish history reaches back before the Ottoman conquest of 1453. Byzantine Jewish communities, known as Romaniotes, were later joined by Sephardic Jews expelled from Spain in 1492, followed by arrivals from Portugal. Sultan Bayezid II welcomed these refugees into Ottoman territory, where they established communities and contributed to trade and cultural life. 

One of Balat’s most significant surviving landmarks is Ahrida Synagogue, named after Ohrid, the Balkan town from which its founders came. The synagogue existed before 1453, although fires and rebuilding have substantially changed its structure. Its distinctive Torah-reading platform resembles the bow of a ship. One tradition associates the shape with Noah’s Ark; another connects it with the ships that brought Sephardic refugees to Ottoman lands. 

Around the beginning of the twentieth century, Balat had approximately 10,000 Jewish residents. The community later diminished as families moved to other Istanbul neighborhoods or emigrated, particularly to Israel. Its surviving synagogues preserve the history of what was once a much larger residential community. 

We still had two more stops on “the Amazing Race”, the Spice Market and a boat ride on the Bosphorus.  Istanbul’s Spice Bazaar, known in Turkish as Mısır Çarşısı—the Egyptian Bazaar, was built between 1660 and 1664. It formed part of the New Mosque complex, with income from its shops supporting the mosque’s upkeep (which we helped to support in spades). Its Egyptian name reflects both the taxes from Ottoman Egypt that financed its construction and the spices and other goods brought from there.

We then, had to literally run to the ferry dock to catch the 3 o’clock boat.  We were the last to board.  The boat took us up the Bosphorus first along the European side, and then back along the Asian (wealthier) side. Roughly 19 miles long, it connects the Black Sea with the Sea of Marmara then through the Dardanelles, the Aegean, and finally, the Mediterranean.  It has always been a strategic area because of this.

Currents in the Bosphorus are treacherous due to its water normally flowing in opposite directions at different depths. Less salty Black Sea water flows southward near the surface, while saltier, denser water from the Sea of Marmara flows northward underneath. 

A short walk brought us back to the vicinity of our hotel, where we said goodbye to Mustafa and grabbed a quick dinner of Turkish pizza (not our fav) before catching a ride back to the airport. The trip back on Sunday evening took about 30 minutes (rather than the 90+ on the way in). At the airport we were surprised to have to go through security to get inside the door, I guess they take security seriously here.  Our hotel was just inside the door, very convenient for our early morning flight to Neveshir (Cappadocia) tomorrow. The room, aka closet was so small that the bedback raised electronically to allow the bed to move back when not in use to permit safe passage to the bathroom.  Sailboat staterooms are capacious by comparison. But it served its purpose, and we will get to experience it again on our trip back through Istanbul to Cairo in a few days.