Göreme is located in Nevsehir province in Central Anatolia. It is well known for its:
-amazing rock formations -hollowed out settlements and churches from the Middle Ages -underground cities -hot air balloon rides, which started in 1984 (read about its history at Urgup Balloons)
I read from Wikipedia that inhabitants there built stone rooms in front of old dugout caves to live in. The caves were then used for storage and for accommodating horses. As more tourists visit the town, the owners sold their homes to be converted into unique hotels. We stayed at Kaldeson Cave Suites which is in one of such hotel.
-around the 800's, monks formed small monasteries there to pursue the contemplative life. -the area was considered "sacred" because previous saints were buried there. -the surreal, desert-like topography created a mystical and spiritual environment which is a common feature in Byzantine monasteries. -the churches and living spaces were easy to construct from tuff. -lay Christians came as pilgrims to visit the monks, receive prayer, or behold a holy relic. -as a result more people build memorial chapel or monastery there.
After Yavuz paid for the entrance fee, we could just walk in and view the interiors of all the rock-cut churches, chapels and monasteries there, except for the Dark Church. An additional fee will have to be paid if we would like to view the interior of this monastic church dating to the mid-11th-century.
As you can see from the crowd, it is one of the top attractions in the region.
But before we could start exploring, we have to learn about its history from Yavuz.
Though the churches were carved into the tuff during the Middle Ages, there were still remains to be seen in many of them. From the signboard behind Yavuz, we could see some of the frescoes depicting scenes from the Holy Scriptures that decorated the walls of the churches there.
They were the earliest examples of Christian religious art.
I found a plan in a report, "Carved Rock Monastery at Goreme", which indicated where some of the churches are located at Göreme Open Air Museum. If you check out the report, you can also learn how master carver, AhmetZengin, carved out the tuff with pickaxes, wedges and sledges.
I read from Destination Cappadocia that within the museum, there are at least 18 churches and chapels with 11 refectories, where rock-cut tables and benches can be seen. Refectories are large rooms in the monasteries where meals are eaten. If you click on the links you can see photos and read write up about the churches and chapels there. I also include links to GPS coordinates for Goreme Open-Air Museum and some of the churches that I managed to find on Waymarking because I like the photos shared there:
1. Nun`s (Kizlar) Convent (6-7 storey rock mass to the left of its entrance)
Buckle (Tokali) Church (GPS coordiantes) is a complex of four churches and a hermitage. It is located outside the museum, but with the ticket Yavuz bought for us, we could visit this church but we were not aware about it. It could be possible that we missed hearing about it. The other two notable churches in Goreme mentioned are:
El Nazar Church was carved into an isolated fairy chimney. It is located at the mouth of Zemi Valley, between the city of Göreme and the Göreme Open Air Museum. A facade covers the fairy chimney to prevent further erosion.
St. John (Sakli) Church is one of Cappadocia’s oldest, largest, and most prestigious cave churches.
The is the Nun`s (Kizlar) Convent.
Yavuz sharing history about St Basil Church before we moved out to explore the rest of the churches and chapels in the museum.
When we were there, an exhibition was running. The "Parlami, Terra" exhibition was held from 10 September to 10 November 2022 in celebration of the centenary of Pier Paolo Pasolini, the filmmaker of Medea.
We saw a poster displayed about it
I did a research and discovered that a film, "Medea" was shot in the area around Goreme, Uchisar, Urgup and Cavusin in June 1969. The role of Medea was played by Maria Callas, a famous opera singer. You can actually watch this Italian movie with English subtitles on YouTube. This movie was possibly the reason why tourism industry started flourishing in Goreme.
From the article about the exhibition I read that materials from the University of Tuscia’s Cappadocia Project Archive were also exhibited. So, I did a search for "University of Tuscia’s Cappadocia Project Archive" and discovered this map on Landscape First which is interesting.
The dome shaped bell symbols on the map marked where underground or rock-cut sites were discovered in Cappadocia since 2016. You will also find many photos of the sites they did a research on at Valley of Roses and Red Valley.
On the way to the Dark Church.
This is a good video of the surrounding landscape taken by one of our traveling mates.
We did not take many photos of the interiors of the hollowed out churches. There were holes on their floors and the surfaces were uneven. We were not adventurous enough to explore them further as the interiors were also dark. I like this video shared by Ivan Tang on Youtube, as it provided a clear view of the exterior and interior of the churches he visited, which included the Dark Church.
Have you heard of Graham Hancock? He is the author of "Fingerprints Of The Gods". I found out about him while watching his documentary, "Ancient Apocalypse" on Netflix. He said that there is a lost ancient civilization dating back to the last Ice Age. He believes that ancient people were more advanced than archaeologists reported them to be as they were able to build megalithic structures. This is a video about his visit to Uchisar Castle and the Goreme Open Air Museum.
Though Cappadocia means "Land of Beautiful Horses, we did not see people riding horses in the region. However, we managed to take a photo of a horse ranch when we visited Salıncak Cafe in Nevsehir.
Along the roads that we past through on our journey to Cappadocia, we could see rolls and rolls of watermelons lying on the fields unharvested. We found out that they were left to dry out as they were grown only for their seeds. This video was shared by a traveller who walked from Goreme to Cavusin. It provided a very clear view of the rock formation that Cappadocia is famous for. If you check it out:
-at the beginning and at 3.05 minutes into this video, you can see a horse ranch.
-at 1.15 minutes into this video, you can have a clearer view of the evil eye amulets hanging on a tree.
-at 5.13 minutes into this video, you can see watermelons lying on the fields.
-at 7.35 minutes into this video, you can see piegons flying into their dugout coops.
In my next posting, I will share about our hot-air balloon ride. You will be able to see close up views of the astonishing rock formations in Göreme.
Cappadocia means the "Land of Beautiful Horses". It was the only location on our itinerary where we stayed for two nights. We had nine places to visit on 17 October which was the following day of our arrival. However, after our visit to the Salt Lake, our Turkish Guide, Yavuz, suggested that we visit the following places a day ahead, before we check in at Kalsedon Cave Suitesin: -Esentepe Hill -Goreme Open Air Museum -The Tatlarin Underground City I read that the Tatlarin underground city we visited, at the end of the day, was first discovered by the village people in 1975. It is located on a hill called "Kale" (Castle) near the province of Nevsehir in Cappadocia . The site was cleaned and opened to tourism in 1991. I want to write about it first because there are lots of history about the underground cities of Cappadocia. This is a view of part of its exterior. Here is a closer view from the inside. It was the terrace of the dugout shelter...
Uchisar is situated at the highest point in Cappadocia. If you stand at the top of the Uchisar Castle you can have a magnificent view of the area. There are numerous underground passageways and rooms within as it served as residential areas for around 1,000 people during the Byzantine times. It is no longer inhabited today. This is how Uchisar Castle looks like from a distance. And that is all we did. Watched it from a distance. I found this photo shared on Archive in 2019 which showed how it looks at night. Esentepe Village is located between Uchisar and Goreme. From Esentepe Hill, we could see Uchisar Castle and Goreme which is the entry point to Pigeon Valley. Here is a tip for guides. Don't just use us to promote your travel agency when we take group photos. Take the trouble to name the place where we are taking the photo at. Include the date of our arrival there if possible. We will be more willing to hold placards from your company if th...
%20.jpg)
Comments
Post a Comment