The Road Back In Time to Turkey's Cappadocia

Story and photography by
Eric Anderson 

 

The eruption of a volcano usually leads to death and destruction of homes and villages. The 79 AD destruction of Pompeii is the most notable example of how a volcanic eruption can literally stop a thriving town dead in its tracks. But in an area of southern Turkey, the opposite is true; here, the ash and lava left by a prehistoric volcanic eruption have provided shelter and protection for people through the ages.

The eruption of a volcano usually leads to death and destruction of homes and villages. The 79 AD destruction of Pompeii is the most notable example of how a volcanic eruption can literally stop a thriving town dead in its tracks. But in an area of southern Turkey, the opposite is true; here, the ash and lava left by a prehistoric volcanic eruption have provided shelter and protection for people through the ages.

The highway that leads to Cappadocia is a road back in time. Along the way, modern clashes with ancient in startling juxtapositions: dusty donkey carts compete with gleaming Mercedes buses, traditionally dressed women dragging sacks of potatoes share the same road with farmers on tractors. Twelfth-century caravan stops (kervansarays) along the original silk-route line the way beside signs that indicate motels and camping facilities. While young boys with homemade fishing poles head for the water, repairmen climb telephone poles.

Here on the central plateau of Anatolia (the ancient Asia Minor) is the true meeting place of East and West. Two conflicting cultures repeatedly collided here, resulting in one of the greatest empires in world history. But the Ottoman Turks were not the first to mark this land. Two thousand years before them, the Hittites claimed this area as their own. In fact, Catal Haycik, a complex of mud houses touted as the world's oldest city, dates back to the seventh millennium BC.

Formations of the Ages

When the volcanoes in this area erupted, perhaps 30 million years ago, they showered more than 300 square miles of this vast plateau with a mantle of ash and lava many hundreds of feet deep in places. The mass cooled and split. Over the ages, wind and rain, snow and ice, and time itself eroded this crust of soft rock into weird and wonderful formations. Slender stone chimneys, odd cones up to 40 stories high, spiral into the sky and strange pyramids squat into soft sand.

Primitive people in search of shelter found that once the outer coat was broken, carving into this material was easy. And once exposed to the air, the rock hardened into a crust again, giving the cave a strong support.

The caves had many advantages. They were cool in the summer and fairly warm in winter. But most importantly, they offered protection from invaders. Throughout history, the Persian hordes, the armies of Alexander the Great, and finally, the Roman legions invaded the area. The last invaders, in their zealous protection of the official Roman religion, posed an increased threat to Christians in the area.

Seeking safety, Christians came from surrounding areas to the caves of Cappadocia in the Goreme Valley. They extended the caves to include churches and monasteries, converting the hardened lava into a great complex of subterranean cities.

The deeper they dug, the safer they would be. The city of Kaymakli (literally, "whipped cream") was an underground city eight levels deep. On each level, there were 15 houses each capable of accommodating 200 residents. The city was a maze of shafts and corridors, some false to confound any enemy army trying to enter. The tunnels in some places were so small one had to crouch to pass through, slowing the progress of any troops who managed to get that far. Apertures in the walls, ceilings and floors permitted the defenders of the residence to spear intruders with impunity. And, finally, huge millstone-like boulders, pushed along prearranged tracks, would seal off a passage in a second to entomb an invader for life.

In the fourth century the monasteries became popular retreats for religious people though the communities reached their peak in the 7th through 13th centuries. Inside the dimly lit caves, examples of Byzantine frescoes are well preserved and can be seen by those who knew to bring a flashlight.

City 28 Stories Deep

Six miles from Kaymakli is Derinkuyu and historians feel a tunnel likely connected the two underground cities. Like Kaymakli, Derinkuyu had stores of food and water, and was well prepared to wait out the siege of a hostile army. Ventilation shafts provided fresh air, even to the lowest levels. The city's name means "deep well," which is especially appropriate; its passages extend down for 28 stories. Archaeologists have only explored eight of these levels but estimate that a population as large as 50,000 once occupied this city.

The caves of Cappadocia were still inhabited by natives until 1958, when the Turkish government evacuated the cave village of Zelve because of the danger of earthquakes. The villagers were relocated five miles away in a town called New Zelve, but many find their modern residences poor substitutes for the cave homes their ancestors had lived in throughout recorded history.

In nearby Urgup, past and present meld together more amicably. Here the cliffs are riddled with cave houses, most still inhabited and many updated with modern amenities, such as electricity and indoor plumbing. Surprisingly modern stucco hotels and facilities exist close to the historical attractions blending harmoniously with their surroundings.

Many of the old village ways persist throughout this great Turkish plateau. The ancient techniques of pottery and weaving are still passed down from generation to generation. The handmade crafts are sometimes sold at village markets, such as the one at Avanos, which remain an integral part of the cultural and social framework of the area. Such colorful markets are full of interesting bargains for visitors yet, paradoxically, few tourists are seen. Turkey still remains, in many ways, uncharted territory.