Today dawned bright over the Goreme Open-Air Museum, a large cliffside in which hundreds of rooms were carved. This area is famous for its many carved churches. Most smaller than about 10 square feet, these churches are named after an object in the paintings in each room. We visited the Apple Church, called so either because of a fresco of Jesus holding a bowl of apples or because of a supposed orchard that once grew right outside the entrance. We also saw the Snake Church, a rather large room with frescos of St. George killing a dragon. One of the most interesting churches was filled with "comic strips" across the ceiling depicting the entire story of Jesus.
From the museum we drove to an area with many interestingly-shaped rock fixtures. These fixtures were carved like the houses, although perhaps a bit less grandly. The most interesting part about these rooms was the rocks themselves. These fixtures are called Fairy Chimneys by the locals and are large and pointed with a flat top. The rock on the bottom is a soft rock that deteriorates faster than the rock on top of it, leaving the structure looking like it has a hat.
Let's not forget the camel that we rode! We got a bit tricked into buying the ride. As Audrey was encouraged to sit on the animal for "just a picture," he stood up with her on his back and began walking away! It was only after the camel came back to his perch that the leader demanded 20 lira…but nonetheless an amazing experience!
We then continued to a pottery store where we witnessed a master creating a sugar bowl. If that itself wasn't treat enough, we were able to view many completed masterpieces. Some of these dishes and bowls (and whatever else you can imagine that can be made out of clay) were painted with glow-in-the-dark paint! Of course those were crazy expensive but we were able to purchase some handmade less-than-masterpieces. Some of these creative works were created in the Hittite design and all of the pieces were made from red and white clay found in the nearby river. Let's hope that this family business is able to flourish as it continues with its 7th generation of owners.
The last event on our tour for the day was the Underground City. Like the other carvings, this area was created by hand in the 1st century. The difference was that the Underground City was well, underground. We traveled about five floors down, approximately 60 feet under the surface. Some sections of the city went down 16 floors! We could stand straight in most of the rooms but many of the passages were only about 3 or 4 feet tall and rather narrow. There were many branches off of the passages and rooms where we traveled, but they were pitch black and I can only imagine how dangerous they must have been. It still would have been amazing to explore the entire area though! But we would have gotten very lost. To think that Christians carved these mazes and hid there for up to 60 days at a time to avoid persecution!
After dinner, we went for a walk around the town and ended up in a little pastry shop where we tried Turkish coffee, éclair, and baklava. A great end to our day!
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