Did you ever visit a place and instantly feel as though you’ve just entered a new planet? Well, me neither, until recently when I visited Cappadocia. When we visited it was freezing, and for the most part it felt as though we were in Antarctica. Nevertheless, we had an incredibly unique experience when visiting Cappadocia.
Cappadocia is famous for its unique rock formation resembling that of waves. They were formed by erosion and a process that involved different rocks stacking on top of one another but sadly I’m not here to talk about how they were formed. What I want to talk about is the history. When the Romans started killing the Christians, they fled to Cappadocia and dug homes into these unique rock formations. The rocks provided good camouflage and the canyon proved too tight for the Roman horses to trespass. While exploring Cappadocia, we saw homes with two or even three stories and churches. We did an all-day hike which took us down into the canyon where we eventually ended up at some sort of cafe built into the rock face. We explored around the church and realized it had two floors, which we then explored. Along the hike we also saw many other homes in the distance but as time went by we had to make a devastating decision. Since Cappadocia was famous for its sunsets and this was our only chance of seeing it we dashed up the hill and managed to get a glimpse of the crimson red sunset fading off into the distance—the vivid colors were, unlike anything I had ever seen. Paired with the outlandish landscape on which I was standing it felt as though I was standing on another Planet.
Much to my surprise, some people in Cappadocia still resided in these rock homes. Even the place we were staying in was a blend between a cave home and your ordinary home. It was by far the most amazing home I had experienced on this trip by a long shot. Near our temporary home, we also ate some of the signature potted kebabs. Essentially, they would put meat and other goods inside a pot and seal it up with tinfoil or bread. Then, they would engulf the pot in flames and skillfully crack it open to reveal the delicious meal. I just have to point this out but in my opinion, Turkey’s food is probably the best in the world (although Japanese cuisine is number one). Anywhere you go the meat quality and quantity hits the sweet spot every time. Returning to the topic of pots, we also went to a local ceramic store. There, we got to see people make handmade pots for free, and we even got a tour of the entire facility. They specialized in a traditional Turkish design the Hittite sun jug which required great skill and only the ‘masters’ were able to make it. We ended up buying some eye ceramics because in this country they are believed to ward off evil.
All in all, seeing Cappadocia was a very unique experience, not just because of the interesting rock formations but as I mentioned, its history is also unique. It was captivating to learn that even though from the outside it looks untouched, if you know the truth then the whole place comes alive. It was no wonder that the Christians decided to hide out here.