Cappadocia was magical but very hard to describe! Our first visit was to the underground city of Kaymakli, one of many in the region. It was dug from the volcanic tufa soil by 6th century Christians hiding from the marauding Arabs. It was 6 storeys deep, containing stables, kitchens, cemeteries, wells, wineries, a church, as well as living quarters. It was a rabbit warren of narrow, winding tunnels leading to different parts of the city. This was mainly for defence purposes: if discovered by the enemy, the tunnels provided ample opportunities for disorienting and ambushing the intruders. Even the air vents had large round stones that could be rolled across the openings yet still let air through. 
Then we visited Goreme, a Greek Orthodox monastery hewn from within the volcanic rocks in a valley. The landscape looked surreal, like some sort of Disney fantasy world. A number of churches were part of the monastery. Each had painted walls, some with 6th century stylized symbols that helped tell the gospel stories, others with 13th century frescoes of biblical saints and local saints (such as St Basil, St George, Emperor Constatine and his mother). We even found a chapel dedicated to Onesimus!
In the afternoon we visited Avenos, a small town famed for its pottery. The factory we visited showed us how they make their wares on electric and traditional ‘kick’ wheels. The time taken to intricately decorate each piece by hand was reflected in the prices – a 15x15cm tile would have set us back over $NZ1000! Sorry, no Christmas pressies from that shop.
Then we visited Goreme, a Greek Orthodox monastery hewn from within the volcanic rocks in a valley. The landscape looked surreal, like some sort of Disney fantasy world. A number of churches were part of the monastery. Each had painted walls, some with 6th century stylized symbols that helped tell the gospel stories, others with 13th century frescoes of biblical saints and local saints (such as St Basil, St George, Emperor Constatine and his mother). We even found a chapel dedicated to Onesimus!
In the afternoon we visited Avenos, a small town famed for its pottery. The factory we visited showed us how they make their wares on electric and traditional ‘kick’ wheels. The time taken to intricately decorate each piece by hand was reflected in the prices – a 15x15cm tile would have set us back over $NZ1000! Sorry, no Christmas pressies from that shop. 
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment