I know you won't believe it; but breakfast had HBEs, cheeses, cucumbers, tomatoes and all those other wonderful treats! Today there is the added attraction of long flaky pastries. Sezin and Mustafah come collect us for another wonderful day of adventuring among the incredibly old cave churches and valleys. Today's valley is quite different because the rock is basalt. a true volcanic rock and very difficult to carve. That didn't stop the early Christians who were looking for places to teach and to practice their religion.
We visit the "Kilise Camii" or Church Mosque, so named because it has been both at various times. As we are approaching it, there are two little boys providing an escort. Finally one of the works up the nerve to present me with a bright red poppy. I am so touched! I thank him so much! His little friend has a tiny yellow flower and I eventually get that one, too!
The inside of the structure shows the original Christian floorplan; but the frescoes have all been plastered over because Islam forbids the showing of human or animal forms in its religious art. The original nave didn't face east, so a new one had to be constructed for the Imam. Other than that, it has all the features we've come to expect from a mosque. The main prayer floor is covered with prayer rugs, the pulpit is there as well as the stairs up to Allah's house. The Iman only goes up to the top step, never any higher. This mosque is still being used as a house of worship and the old Christian storage area has been converted into the Iman's office.
On the way over, we saw the second tallest volcano in the area, Mount Hasan. The clouds are starting to lift and we can see the second peak along side it, briefly!
We are on our way, now to a glorious nature hike along the Ilhara Valley. The Melendiz runs along the bottom of this steep gorge, the deepest in Asia Minor! We climb down more than three hundred steps and visit one more cave church before getting to the river itself. The frescoes in this cave church are different from others we've seen in that they are not as professional and show the Byzantine fluence in the people's clothing. One corner even has a collection of god's eyes!
Hiking along the river we come to another church with only the oldest red decorations. The early Christians came to the valley for protection when the invaders were threatening them in their primary locations. Further along we see more of the holes that the population has carved for the pigeons. They provide homes and the pigeons provide guano to be turned into fertilizer.
The canyon reminds me a lot of Zion in Utah, except that we don't have poppies growing in profusion!
We follow the river's path for about four kilometers and wind up at a restaurant that has platforms right over the river. We sit Turkish style and have another delicious meal. The raw dishes are presented as a visual aid to our selection, which is quite helpful. The drinks include some new selections, blood orange and pomegranate, sour cherry and apricot nectar. We are pretty surprised when they come in cans; but they are really tasty!
The traditional chopped salad has a twist, too, in that it comes with a can of olive oil and a bottle of pomegranate sauce! Kind of equivalent to oil and vinegar - but much better! There is a whole flock of sparrows expecting crumbs and even to of the ever-present brown dogs on the opposite bank. One is obviously the advanced guard, complete with wagging tail and pleading eyes. His buddy is hiding in the trees behind him, wait for an invitation.
Mustafah and Sezin are having their lunch, too, since Mustafah has brought the van down to get us. As soon as we are all full - and before we can fall asleep! - we are off to see the largest cave church, the Selime Cathedral. It is a bit of a climb to even get started and Nick decides to sit this one out on a bench in the shade. At one point Sezin has to give me a hand on the last "step" (think indentation in the rock!) She's a strong lady! The guys, as usual, must explore every cave and tunnel and go as high as possible. Ginger even passes on one of those upward climbs and boy am I relieved! If she doesn't go then I don't have to either!
When we are sufficiently impressed and awed we climb back down and head off to see a demonstration of carpet making. Nick and Ginger have been quizzing Sezin about the best places to go carpet shopping, so here we are at Cappadocia Carpet. First there is a demonstation of vegetable dyes, then making silk from caccoons. Then we learn the difference between single-knot and double-knot carpets and are ushered into a showroom where the owner and his two sons show us silk carpets, wool on wool, wool on cotton, cotton on cotton and even pashmina (the chest hair of a goat). The carpets keep being unrolled covering the floor and one another and we are invited first to partake of Turkish hospitality with tea or Turkish coffee or raki. Then we are told to feel each of the rugs so as to learn the differences.
We also learn to tell the difference between vegetable dyes and manufactured ones. There are natural variations in the color derived from vegetable dyes and I think they are much more interesting.
It turns out that Nick and Ginger are still interested in getting a carpet, even after they discuss price! Then begins the arduous job of selecting the perfect one. Will it be mostly red? blue? tribal? or even a kilin, which is woven rather than knotted? Although everyone's opinion is sought, we all agree that the decision has to be Ginger and Nick's. There is also the question of which room the carpet will go into.
Poor Sezin and Mustafah! By the time the decision is made it is quite a bit past our scheduled ending time for the day. And to make it worse, we are going to the Turkish Night at Oranos Sarikaya. Mustafah will come back to pick us up, stay with us and bring us back home afterwards. What a long day for him!! It is our last day with Sezin and we take her email address so we can send photos, and tell her what a marvelous job she has done and how much fun we've had!
The show is fantastic! It is fun before we are even seated. Walking in is like entering a small colosseum and along the way Mustafah takes us into the kitchen to see the lamb coming out of the oven! Not everyone gets such special treatment!
We take our seats in the first two rows of our section. There are five sections each facing toward the center of the space. The rows are all tiered so that everyone can see all the action and as we sit down there is a band comprised of native instruments playing. An attendant explains the rules which are pretty simple. You can eat as much as you want of all the appetizers on your table (there must be eight, at least) and the tower of bread, too. You can have anything you want to drink including red or white wine, beer, raki, vodka and sour cherry juice, vodka and orange juice or assorted soft drinks and water. You will be served numerous courses all for your enjoyment and two pieces of bakklava for dessert!
And during this orgy of eating, a wonderful folk dance troupe will entertain with audience participation as well as traditional folk dances. There will even be a belly dancer.
Ben is selected to be our section's representative in the belly dancing class! Nick is taught to throw a knife using his teeth and lips! Ginger and I are invited to join the masses dancing with the troupe. Through the evening there is a little guy about a year or two old who is clearly in charge! He toddles everywhere followed by mom with a Flip camera! There is also an older guy, perhaps seven who is celebrating his birthday! What in the world will they do next year??? All in all a fantastic time was had by all!
We smiled and giggled all the way home and poor Mustafah will be back at 8:00 in the morning to take us to the airport. Boo! I don't want to go!
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