We are in Ankara - the capital of Turkey. It is October, and it has been raining for the second day in a row.
We are very unlucky, - says Alexander Antonovich Kolesnikov, the first secretary of the Russian embassy in Turkey. He previously worked at the Russian embassy in Bishkek. A man of many talents and aspirations, he quickly surrounded himself with friends, among whom I found myself. Kolesnikov is originally from St. Petersburg, a career diplomat, a remarkable historian, and a Turkologist. He has written many books and is a corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences, a professor at St. Petersburg University. To some extent, he was the "cause" of our trip to Turkey.
However, Alexander Antonovich is not to blame for the fact that it has been raining for the second day. He did everything possible to make us feel at home and accommodated us in the apartment of the Russian trade representation in Ankara.
- You absolutely must see Cappadocia, this amazing land, - Kolesnikov urged me. - Where else in the world can you witness history spanning four thousand years! Monuments from the ancient Hittite era, the Persian period, Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Turkish, Seljuk, Ottoman... Cappadocia is a true illustrated book of history.
It was raining, and the trip to Cappadocia was postponed, while our stay in Ankara was extended. When there were breaks in the rain, we made excursions to museums, wandered through old Ankara, and learned about Atatürk's life. I must admit that I developed a deep respect for this extraordinary man.
The meteorologists continued to promise rain, there was nothing to wait for, and we decided to go to Cappadocia anyway.
The car sped down the wet highway, splashing puddles like a fan.
- We have a long way to go, about 300 kilometers, it will take about four hours. And to prepare you for meeting Cappadocia, I will tell you something about this amazing land, - Alexander Antonovich began his story.
- In 2000 BC, an ancient people - the Hittites settled here. Their powerful empire, centered in Cappadocia, lasted for eight centuries. The warlike Hittites conquered the entire Eastern Mediterranean and Northern Egypt. Their kingdom ceased to exist in the 12th century BC, destroyed by a powerful wave of migrating peoples. One part of the fallen empire gave rise to Phoenicia. In 547 BC, these lands were captured by the Persians, who ruled Cappadocia until 332 BC, governing the region through a system of satrapies. Alexander the Great, who defeated the Persian kingdom in Cappadocia, faced resistance. Subsequently, the satrapies formed an autonomous state called the Kingdom of Cappadocia. After the death of Alexander the Great, until 17 BC, that is, until it was incorporated into the Roman Empire, Cappadocia existed as an independent kingdom.
In these remote valleys, many hermits and ascetics lived. Their desire to exist in solitude and lead an ascetic life to be closer to God is well known. In the 4th century, the tuff cones of Cappadocia became a refuge for early Christians. Hermits established cells here and created communities. With the arrival of a large number of Christians persecuted by the Romans in the 5th and 7th centuries, the construction of rock churches, chapels, cells, and monasteries began.
The Christians hiding in one of the valleys with many rock formations called it Orëmi, which meant "let no one see." This name has survived to this day as Göreme. The Göreme Valley in Cappadocia had a special appeal for people who embarked on this life path. However, until the 11th century, they occasionally had to repel raids from the Sassanids and Arabs. Starting from the 17th century, Turkish settlements began to emerge here: Niğde, Nevşehir, Aksaray, Urgup, Derinkuyu, and others.
The process that formed this unique landscape began approximately eight million years ago during the eruptions of Cappadocia's volcanoes. As a result, countless layers of ash, debris, clay, and dark lava were deposited, raising the relief by more than 300 meters, forming a plateau. Millions of years transformed these deposits into relatively soft tuff and basalt. Streams and flows, crashing onto the plateau, crossed it in all directions, rushing toward the seas. Over thousands of years, the forces of compression and gravity compacted the volcanic rocks, turning them into tuff and basalt. Erosion, washing away the soft rocks, created fairy-tale valleys. Wind and water, joining this creative work, carved, drilled, swept, smoothed, and polished the volcanic tuff, giving the rocks the most bizarre shapes...
Kolesnikov fell silent; it was unclear whether he had finished his story or taken a timeout. The audience was also silent, digesting the information.
About ten kilometers before Nevşehir, an advertisement flashed, inviting visitors to the underground city. Noticing my attention to the message, Alexander Antonovich explained that there are currently six officially known underground cities in Cappadocia. One of the most impressive, Kaymaklı, is located 18 kilometers from Nevşehir. Settling here, Christian communities tried to hide from enemies and built entire underground cities.
This eight-story city was built before the birth of Christ, in the early centuries of our era. Christians took refuge here during times of persecution. It had everything necessary for life: kitchens, bedrooms, grain storage, natural water sources, and even stables and livestock facilities. The ventilation system is so well thought out that the city remains cool and fresh year-round. A nine-kilometer tunnel connects Kaymaklı with another huge underground settlement - Derinkuyu, which, according to scholars, housed over 15,000 people.
- These cities are open to tourists, and there are always many people there, - says Alexander Antonovich, - so we will go to another, not the largest and still unknown city, located in the Göreme Valley on the private property of a simple resident of the old village.
We drove along the winding streets of the village to massive gates. Along the long fence were displayed fragments of stone millstones and columns, wooden wheels and fortifications, blocks of obsidian, ceramic pots, and stone household items. It was clear that all this was exhibits of the open-air museum from the underground city. While we examined them, Alexander Antonovich negotiated with the house owner about visiting the underground city.
Behind the gates was a spacious courtyard, elongated along the foot of a rocky ridge. A small house and a clay pavilion concealed the entrance to the underground city.
Armed with flashlights, we set off on our underground journey. Right behind the pavilion was a spacious hallway, decorated with ceramic vessels and wooden furniture. This was already a modern addition to the ancient interior, made by the owners.
A sloping, fairly narrow tunnel led us deeper into the earth. The height of the passage is 150-170 centimeters, but this does not last long; soon, we had to crawl altogether. A barely noticeable breeze brought the coolness of the underground spaces. Ahead was a spacious gallery, and we could walk upright again. A slight slope, and we entered a spacious hall, elongated in the direction of the cavity. On both sides, rooms with beds and shelves were carved out. Along the walls stood jugs and huge stone basins. At the point where a narrow passage leads to a spacious cavity, there is a structure made of a huge stone millstone and devices. This is a kind of stone lock, with which the millstones can tightly close the passage if necessary, making the entrance to the underground city inaccessible.
We explored several dozen rooms, wells, and even reached a central square with a church. We descended a steep stone staircase to the second floor with wells, arches, and closed cells.
Due to my lifelong passion for speleology, caves have always felt familiar to me. However, those were natural caves adorned with stalactites and stalagmites, not ceramic pots and frescoes. Nevertheless, it was very interesting. I had already seen something similar in Tibet, in the ancient city of Guge. I had also seen a city carved into marl deposits on the sheer walls of the plateau rising above the Karakum desert. But what I felt and saw in the underground city of Cappadocia is incomparable to anything.
If you imagine how this city was created and lived, you feel a profound awe, sensing how people touched these cold walls. How much joy and sorrow they carried with them. For someone, this place was home, the dearest place on Earth. Could they have imagined that centuries later, travelers from all over the world would consider it one of the greatest wonders of the world! No, they could not have foreseen such a thing, for the very name "Göreme" translates as "invisible," unseen by anyone except those who lived in it.
I had seen the landscapes of Cappadocia many times in photographs and paintings. I had seen them in films made by amateurs and professionals, expecting to see something familiar and understandable. However, this turned out to be a misconception. At the very first glance at Göreme, I was rendered speechless. The unusual beauty and exoticism overwhelmed me, depriving me of reason and the ability to assess. I had traveled half the world. I had seen the greatest, recognized masterpieces of nature. But what unfolded before my eyes here was something entirely different, otherworldly, a different planet, a different civilization.
Later, when we all became participants in the "Cappadocia" spectacle and got lost among the tuff streets of Göreme, I realized that the world of Cappadocia was created by two creators who lived in complete symbiosis and harmony: nature, which created the landscape fantasy, and man, who breathed spirituality and philosophy into this stone world. For centuries, they created and perfected their world, achieving the highest harmony.
I wrote beautifully, but this is the first perception, the first emotions, the first sensations. Of course, the world of Cappadocia is not an earthly paradise, and the fairy tale we see today was not created by God or a Higher Mind; it was born in agony and fear. People did not leave their native places out of a good life. Finding the saving rocks here, they, driven by faith, created this world through exhausting labor.
Cappadocia is a land of otherworldly sculptures and figures, worthy of the pen of the best poets and artists, fairy-tale houses of gnomes, two-headed and three-headed towers...
The name Cappadocia was given to this land by the Persians: Katpatuka, which meant "the land of beautiful horses." Perhaps once there were beautiful horses here, but now those who do not travel by car move and transport goods on donkeys.
Personally, it seems to me that horses have nothing to do with it. It would be more accurate to assume that Cappadocia is from God because there is something deep and sacred in it.
Leaving the car in the parking lot, we walked to the edge of the valley, from where a fairy-tale panorama of Cappadocia opened up. It is hard to describe what the gaze encompasses: stone hills, carved with dwellings, tiny vineyards, and mosques... - a mixture of time and geography.
There was no rain, or rather, it was present - fine, like dust, and this greatly hindered photography. First of all, there was a lack of light; secondly, visibility due to the low weather was far from normal. As a result, Cappadocia appeared in a sad expectation.
Antonovich found a small wine restaurant where we sheltered from the dampness and inclement weather. A carafe of wonderful red wine from local grapes became the pinnacle of dreams. Right below us stretched the amazing land of Cappadocia in the sad colors of bad weather.
For a while, the sky opened up. Grabbing our cameras, we rushed outside. The photo session lasted only a few minutes; a wave of bad weather again covered Göreme. At the very edge on a flat area, a tree caught our attention. It was hard to determine its name, as it was wrapped in ribbons of fabric, scraps, threads, handkerchiefs, and ropes... And rolled-up notes - these are votives, promises made by devout Muslims for a pious purpose. In other words - offerings to external forces. Surrounded by Christian shrines, this tree did not look provocative; on the contrary, it emphasized the unity of religions.
Cappadocia is not just Göreme, Nevşehir, or Urgup.
Nearby, on the top of one of the hills, is the former girls' monastery of Meriye Manna. Overcoming a difficult path, we arrive at a small temple with fragments of ancient frescoes preserved on the vaults and walls. Among them is an image of the Virgin Mary with hands raised in prayer. Through gaping holes in the walls, a magnificent view opens up to the surrounding gorges, sun-bleached rocks, and neat patches of vineyards. An unusual silence for the inhabitants of the modern world. This secluded, hard-to-reach place sets the mood for contemplation. It is not hard to imagine how nearly a thousand years ago unknown ascetics prayed here.
Cappadocia is divided by many valleys, the names of which reflect the landscape features. For example, there are the Red and White Valleys, where the stone figures have shades corresponding to their names. There is also the Green Valley.
The Valley of Love is especially popular. Guides say it was named so because nightingales sing there. But if you recall another name - the Valley of Phalluses, then no explanations are needed. At first glance, it seems that such could not have been created by nature, but it is so. After all, nature is a great master! Columns with bells instead of hats are arranged in neat rows, groups, and circles, and it seems that you are walking through an incredible forest, with the most fantastic sensations arising.
There are countless forms in Cappadocia. With the development of tourism, a certain classification has already emerged. First of all, there are stone pillars - peribacaları, which translates from Turkish as "fairy chimneys." The stone mushrooms and pillars of amazing beauty and bizarre shapes, but mainly having a conical shape, are characteristic only of Cappadocia. Nothing similar has been noted anywhere else in the world.
There are also rocket-like cliffs that surround the heart of Cappadocia - Göreme.
The landscape, thanks to these stone formations, resembles rockets very much.
Göreme Rock Churches
Seventeen kilometers from Nevşehir begins the Valley of Earth Pyramids, covering an area of 32 sq. km, known in ancient times as Korama.
French explorer Paul Lucas, in August 1705, while on a mission from his king, discovered this amazing region on his way to the city of Kayseri. The traveler was greeted by valleys of unusual landscapes. Lucas was enchanted not only by the stone pyramids, where people arranged their homes, churches, and tombs, but also by the indescribable beauty of the valleys. Upon returning to France in 1712, he published an illustrated diary of his journey.
Lucas describes the unusual structures he saw in the shape of pyramids. Initially, he assumed that these were tombs of a lost civilization; however, as he detailed his observations in his travel notes, he was astonished by the scale of the carved multi-story rock settlements. Lucas's travel notes sparked interest in this region.
In 1714, Lucas returned to Cappadocia, where he re-examined the area.
Almost one hundred and twenty years later, in 1833, English architect Charles Texier headed to Göreme. The result of his research was a detailed report titled "Research in Asia Minor." However, Cappadocia owes its fame to the French monk Guillaume de Jeffanion, who visited Göreme in 1907. Jeffanion conducted thorough research on the churches, monasteries, and drawings that later gained worldwide fame.
The most significant and valuable of Cappadocia's rock churches were put under protection and now form an open-air museum near Göreme. In 1984, it was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List as a monument of immense cultural and historical significance. The museum is located one kilometer from the village and is very popular with travelers.
The open-air museum is a complex of numerous churches carved into the rocks, located close to each other. The churches were "built" between the 10th and 12th centuries AD. Each of them has its historical name, internal architecture, and walls adorned with frescoes on the themes of the life of Christ and other Christian saints. Among the most significant are the Church of the Buckle (Tokalı), the Church of Apples (Elmalı), the Snake Church (Elanlı), the Church of Sandals, and the Church of Saint Barbara. The name of each is indicated near its entrance.
The most remarkable in the museum is the Dark Church (Karanlık). It got its name due to the very small windows in its walls, which hardly illuminate the room. This isolation from sunlight contributed to the extraordinarily good preservation of the frescoes on the walls of this church, which are its pride. Illuminated by electric lamps, the frescoes shine with pure and clear colors, telling us about the immense artistic mastery of the creators who lived in Cappadocia about a thousand years ago.
Even a person far from art is literally captivated by these paintings. They are impossible to look away from, and you do not want to leave them. It seems that they testify to a truth that modern man lacks.
Questions arise: who created this, how, and why did monks come here from almost all corners of the then Orthodox Oikumene? There are more mysteries and questions than answers.
The inhabitants began to carve out dwellings and utility rooms in the local tuff hills long before the Christianization of Cappadocia. However, they began to carve out temples and establish large monasteries within the mountains around the 5th century AD.
The capital of the province of Cappadocia in the Byzantine era was Caesarea - the birthplace of the great church teachers Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian, and Gregory of Nyssa, Basil's brother. The first women's monastery in the history of Christianity was founded in the vicinity of this ancient city by the mother of Basil the Great - Saint Emilia in the mid-4th century. Saint Marina, her daughter, founded another monastery. But these facts do not explain the strange love of a vast number of people for solitude.
In Cappadocia, in an area stretching 120 kilometers from north to south and almost seventy from west to east, there are an incalculable number of cave churches, small and not so small cells, and monastic rooms... - there are tens of thousands! There are almost five hundred temples with frescoes. And this is despite the fact that no one has truly studied or searched for them yet.
The most developed are the valleys filled with natural tuff cones, convenient for carving and arranging housing.
There is an opinion that the cones of Cappadocia are formed from soft, easily workable rock. I want to assure you that this is far from the case. To carve a small indentation, I had to expend considerable effort and time, and the very fact that the cones have stood for millions of years confirms my thoughts. I think that to carve out a cavity, say, two by two meters, one would need to wield a pickaxe for more than a month.
Cells were sometimes carved at significant heights on natural pillars, and steps led to them, which were not easy to climb. A rope with a basket tied to it was sometimes the only link between the monk and the outside world.
The very center of present-day Cappadocia, Göreme, is a high stone cliff, dotted with numerous rooms. Churches, cells, dining rooms, kitchens, storerooms... It is easy to imagine the vibrant monastic life on this mountain in the past.
...We left Cappadocia at dusk. There was no rain anymore; in the darkening sky, a faint pink stripe of sunset peeked through. The ancient stone castles against the dark backdrop of evening shadows looked like amusing white cones with large dark stones on top. Somewhere inside such houses, lights burned, and all the walls began to glow mysteriously. In the distant past, when the local population was still unaware of the Christian settlements in these places, people believed that fairies lived in such houses, which is why these stone dwellings are still called "fairy chimneys."