May 28, 2013 day trip from Peri Tower Hotel in Avanos to Nigde and the Eskl Gumus Monastery and Saint Vasilios Church

Today we are going to see a historic cave monastery in Nigde. The tour guide neglected to tell us at the start that the bus ride would be a little over two hours. We drove through a level green farmland until we reached our destination. Very few towns on the way and mostly farms and a few houses or factories.

When we got close to the monastery we noticed all the houses looked like the ones we saw in the villages in Greece. I guess the houses were built by the Greeks who  were forced out of Cappadocia during the population exchange in 1920.
I could swear I was in a Greek village- funny thing is no one was out in the village and shops when we drove by.

At the entrance the cave complex did not look too special but once we got inside we saw how large and interesting it was. In the center entrance there were lots of oblong holes and the guide explained that these were old graves which makes sense since the old church was here.

The entrance to the monastery as well as the old underground cities in the area were not too visible in order not attract foreign invaders. Sometimes large stones were rolled in front to totally disguise the entrances.

In order to visit the church we had to climb metal stairs and go in a tunnel to reach the old church. I am attaching some youtube links of the monastery  for reference.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAcKS2iiHdI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqstkEMzL2c

It was worth the trip to visit this historic and interesting site especially to see the fresco icons.

On the way back we stopped in Konalki (Misti in Greek) to try and visit St. Basil's Church which was abandoned but was reopened for the Patriarch to officiate at a liturgy in 2008. It was supposed to be restored but nothing happened.  The plan was for the guide to find a local person with the key to open it up but there was nothing around nor no local people to ask. I was able to stand on a stone and see inside and take some photos. It was bare partially graffitied and the floor was torn up as if someone was looking for gold and silver that the Priests may have buried.

Attached is an article about its restoration  http://www.todayszaman.com/national_historical-church-to-be-restored-in-nigde_297702.html.
Last year when I searched the church name I was able to find a youtube video of the service and interior but could not find it again to list in this diary. If someone reading this has the link please let me know as I would like to add to my entry for today.

After our visit here we drove back towards Goreme to go to a Caravansari style restaurant for lunch. The restaurant was very nicely decorated and the service very good and a delicious lunch. Unfortunately we didn't take a photo of the name of the restaurant.

After lunch we were driven to the old city of Derinkuyu to go to the underground city. The guide explained that due to low tunnels anyone who could not duckwalk 60 feet or over 6 ft. tall would have a hard time going through the underground city. We chose to pass and instead visited the shops and walked around while the brave ones in our group went on the tour.

The man above was peeling and then slicing potatoes which he put on skewers and then fried. It was like eating potato chips on a stick. Very tasty.! The vendors were all very friendly and hospitable. Being we were travelling before the summer we had very few lines and crowds.


The last stop was for shopping and the main attraction was a really nice jewelry store. Across the street was a viewpoint of pigeon valley and boy were there a lot of pigeons!
Here there were a few shops and a cafe and street vendors.

After our visit here we went back to the Peri Tower to rest a little before we went to dinner at the hotel restaurant. Again the choices were vast and everything was delicious.
Tomorrow we fly to Izmir/Smyrna.
We had a long bus ride today but it was worth it to see the ancient cave monastery, the country side, the old abandoned church and then to the underground city.

May 27, 2013 Cappadocia - Zelve open air museum and Goreme open air museum

Today we visit the two open air museums which feature the fairy towers and the ancient Churches (now museums) built inside the towers.
We stopped at a tourist shop and restaurant to buy bottled water, souvenirs, take photos and see the fairy towers from the restaurant patio.
The view of the valley is like looking at a moonscape.

We then got back on the bus for our first museum visit which was the

ZELVE OPEN AIR MUSEUM  http://www.goreme.com/zelve-open-air-museum.php.

We started out as a group hiking on the guided path which led us up and down gentle hills and staircases past these towers. Some of the rooms were open so we could go in and inspect them and others roped off. We spend about 1 1.2 hrs hiking around the loop enjoying the scenery and beauty of the area. Afterwards our group gathered and hopped on the bus for the ride to the Goreme open air museum. 

http://www.goreme.com/goreme-open-air-museum.php features a lot of small churches inside the tuft complexes and some of them are named after the image on the doorway such as the Church of the Apple and the Snake.

The highlight is to visit the Dark Church (extra admission) which is accessed by climbing a metal staircase to get to the entrance and then going in a tunnel to see the room which is the Church.

What is amazing to me are the old fresco icons which are well preserved but the fact that all the icons seem the same whether you see them in an old church in Turkey or Greece or Cyprus.

After our visit here we walked down a ways to the Church of the Buckle which was well preserved and had a lot of beautiful fresco icons.

Lunch was at the Altinocak restaurant in in Avanos. It was in a large cave carved into the tuft material. We sat at a large circular table and watched the waiters prepare our lunch which consisted of a soup, salad, meat dish cooked in a dough sealed tureen and fruit.

It was very tasty and filling.

After visiting the museums we were taken to a Turkish carpet weaving cooperative where workers weave traditional Turkish silk and wool carpets. The cooperative is supported by the Turkish government who pays for all the taxes and shipping of the carpets to Europe and the US when they are purchased by tourists.

We were treated to tea, water and raki as we watched the salespeople unroll carpet after carpet in a synchronized manner and then taken to smaller rooms to make our purchases.

At the end of the day we were driven back to the Peri Tower hotel to have a delicious buffet dinner.

Tomorrow is a drive to an old monastery carved in the stone/tuft and then a stop at an old church before returning to the hotel.