From an idyllic Greek island to a moonscape in central Turkey

We returned from the island of Samos on a ferry trip that was as smooth as the one over was rough. You just can't plan these things - even Judith took a travel sickness tablet beforehand this time. Still, we were grateful that the trip back was a pleasant and uneventful one. The evening we returned there were three cruise ships in the harbour. Within 24 hours they were all gone. Yes folks, it's seven wonders of the ancient world in seven days!

We stayed in Kusadasi at the same hotel for two nights and got the washing done and generally just took it easy. The next day we took an hour's drive to Izmir airport (where the flight was delayed for an hour and a half), flew to kayseri experiencing one of the roughest take-offs and landings we have ever experienced, and then took a shuttle bus to a town called Goreme which took another hour. There's no doubt about it, jet-setting sure is glamorous and sophisticated!

We are now staying in a part of central Turkey called Cappodocia which is a world heritage site. Many millennia ago two volcanoes erupted and left a massive layer of volcanic ash over the area. This ash subsequently was eroded away, except where harder rock forms resisted erosion and preserved the volcanic rock supporting them. The result is a plethora of phallic shaped rocky towers and a rugged moonscape.

Now, fast-forward to the centuries after Christ's crucifixion and we find that the early Christians (particularly the anchorites) settled in this area partly because of the harshness of the landscape and the climate. The ascetic life was one of hardship, which the Anchorites thought would bring them closer to God. (!!?) The advent of Arab raiding parties in the 7th and 8th centuries drove the monks underground taking their communities with them. Here, they built large underground cities housing thousands of people.

With the arrival of the Turks into Asia Minor, the Christian communities gradually dwindled and local Inhabitants moved into the more accessible underground dwellings. This area only came to the attention of the world outside this immediate region when it was discovered by a French Jesuit priest in 1907. It has now become a prime tourist destination which is itself changing the landscape yet again.

On our first day here we settled into the town and visited the Open Air Museum. This museum contains the ruins of an ancient monastic community, and includes quite a few underground churches with varying degrees of preserved frescoes. Apparently there are still a number of churches and underground structures as yet undiscovererd.

Quite rightly, photography is forbidden inside the churches so we will be unable to provide any pictures in this blog. If you would like to see them, you will have to come here yourself - something we would recommend anyway.

This also served as an introduction to the local eroded landscape. Tomorrow we are going on an early morning balloon flight over the area and on Wednesday we are taking a day tour which will include one or two of the underground cities. Can't wait...