Staying Classy in Istanbul: Cappadocia Feb. 24-27

Over the last weekend in February, I journeyed with many other exchange students to Cappadocia. Our trip was organized by the International Students Society here on campus, and I have to commend them for organizing an excellent trip at the ridiculously cheap price of 250 lira (about $156) per person.

Cappadocia is a region in central Turkey about ten hours from Istanbul. Until recently, it was largely unknown to the outside world, but that has begun to change in the last decade and I would highly recommend it to anybody trying to visit parts of Turkey outside of Istanbul.

The trip there was definitely the worst part. We left in a bus at 9:30 pm on Thursday, to maximize our visiting time. The bus driver apparently was unfamiliar with the route and added an extra 2 hours to our ten hour ordeal. Also, he seemed to think that he was driving a moving sauna, because he kept the heat up on full blast throughout the entire trip and he refused to turn off the heat or keep the AC on for more than 2 minutes, despite the fact we complained about the heat only about ten times to him in both Turkish and English.

Once the oven of a bus had finally reached our hotel, the fun began. We were repeatedly told that we would be staying in a “5 star hotel,” but we weren’t entirely sure what that equaled in Turkey. Our doubts increased as we drove through the town where the hotel was located, it was literally a ghost town with almost no signs of life whatsoever. Then, rising above the trash and abandoned building came the Dadak Termal (yes that’s how it’s spelled) Hotel. It was around 11 am when we arrived, so we all went to the all you can eat buffet for breakfast. The food, both breakfast and dinner, was very good, although certainly very Turkish, if you know what I mean. The rooms were very nice and spacious, with bathrooms equipped with towels, shampoo, conditioner, hair dryers, and bathrobes (I will admit to my gayness right here, I brought my own shampoo, conditioner, and hair dryer because you never know what accommodations a hotel bathroom will have). The hotel also had spas, Turkish baths, a pool, and saunas. The only downside to the hotel was that it was located about an hour from any of the sights that we were going to see.

Anyways, onto the sights. Cappadocia is famous for its natural rock formations known as “fairy chimneys.” These are rocks made out of ancient volcanic activity that has been shaped over many, many years, into oddly shaped rock formations that resemble something Salvador Dali would build. Many of these rocks were used as homes by early Christians in the 2^nd and 3^rd Centuries; either as hermitages or as refuges from persecuting Romans. The rock itself is very soft, making it an ideal place to carve out a home, if you don’t mind some Spartan settings.

Some of the best examples of these rock settlements are at the Göreme Open Air Museum, where there are dozens of homes, community buildings and churches with incredibly preserved frescoes dating back to the 10^th Century. Since photos aren’t allowed inside the churches, I highly encourage anyone curious to simply google “churches at Goreme Turkey” and get an idea of just how beautiful some of these things are.

We also visited one of the Underground Cities in Cappadocia. Since the rock in the area is so soft, and the region was one of the most fought over in the ancient world, residents dug elaborate underground hideouts where they could stay for up to a week when danger was near. These hideouts were not simply holes in the ground or man-made caves, but elaborate tunnel systems complete with rooms such as stables, wineries, kitchens, and chapels. So far, about forty of these Underground Cities have been discovered. I must warn anybody of above average height, however, that these cities were definitely not constructed with people like us in mind!

Other sites we saw were a winery (Turkish wine is still in its infancy, let’s just leave it at that), an incredible pottery exhibition, and more rock formations than you could count. If you are a history buff, art lover, hiker, or someone who just enjoys the beauty of nature, please consider visiting Cappadocia!