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Day 8: Goreme and Zelve Valleys, Uchisar Citadel, Avanos Breakfast was in the same large dining room, and again it was all-you-can-eat buffet style. I tucked in again. I found myself sitting beside Chris for the first time. He had been sharing a room with Richard. When I chatted to Chris at breakfast, I was enthralled. Chris was fascinating. He was a solicitor and an amateur archaeologist. His enthusiasm was with archaeology. We chatted at length about what we had seen, what we were going to see, about books and journals. He told me ever so much information and I had a really good time. I was in awe of his erudition and his ability to entertain. This was a really busy day. We saw and did a lot of things. Two valleys, a carpet factory and a pottery factory, and then a folklore show at night. Goreme Valley We all piled on the bus for our first stop at the Goreme Valley. The Goreme and Zelve Valleys and the Uchisar Citadel are all a very short distance from Urgup. The Goreme Valley is the most famous of the Cappadocian valleys. It's become the Goreme open-air museum, and well-organised for tourism. Stop at the entrance, park, pay money, get the tickets, then inside and start walking. The valley is large, and there's a lot of walking to do to get to see everything. The valley contains a large number of caves. As well as the caves for housing, there are a large number of churches carved into the rock, many with amazing frescoes. The churches all have nicknames, like the Sandal Church, the Dark Church, the Snake Church. There's also other religious caves like the Nun's Convent and the Monk's Monastery. These caves have the remnants of some amazing religious frescoes that date from the 11th and 12th century. The frescoes are very worn and damaged, and many are deteriorating very rapidly. What we saw was very beautiful, but I doubt if they will survive much longer. Some of the caves were damaged from earthquakes and land shiftage, and this had cracked them and the frescoes. When we got there, it was a bit windy and rainy and there were a few other groups already there. At our first stop, we had to wait outside in the wind and rain until they had come out and we could go in. While we waited, we looked out over the valley. I didn't have anything waterproof to wear, so I got a bit damp. Elizabeth was well-prepared. She had a fold-up blue raincoat that kept her dry but flapped and crackled loudly. We went through many of the caves, starting with the Nun's Convent. The Dark Church had the most spectacular frescoes, and here's a professional shot of those frescoes. This photo shows one of the cliff faces that has quite a few large churches carved into it. Up those stairs is the Monk's Monastery. Two small rooms had been carved into the rock. One was for sleeping, one for eating. The eating area was amazing. Trenches had been cut into the floor, seating area shaped behind them, and that left a table area with trench seats. It could seat maybe 40 people. There were no frescoes in this cave. At ground level is a small art gallery, where there were a lot of paintings for sale. I was interested in a nice indecent painting, but Anne vetoed that. The photo shows Erika inciting me to take a photo of Elizabeth. Obviously, I did. Here's another photo of another set of cliffs. This had some large churches carved into it, some quite high up. We climbed up to the large cave right in the middle of the photo. That's the start of our intrepid band at the bottom left, led by Sebnem. We were straggled out by this time, after all the walking and climbing. In the first few centuries AD, the new Christians started spreading into Cappadocia. They originally moved into the big cities like Kayseri, and then started spreading into the villages. By the 4th century AD, Kayseri was a an important religious centre. Then the Christians discovered Goreme. Saint Basil the Great was the Bishop of Kayseri at the time, and he founded many of the rock churches and monasteries and moved many people into Goreme to lead a monastic life in the caves. As the communities grew, they used natural caves and hollows and expanded them and hollowed out dwellings, churches, chapels and meeting areas. Trees were scarce in this area, so wood was never much used for buildings. It was easier to scrape the soft volcanic rock out and build in the cliffs. The volcanic rock is soft until exposed to air, and then it hardens, and this made it ideal for forming the churches and living areas. The Goreme valley was secluded and isolated and this made it ideal for worship, but it was also great for keeping them hidden during times of war and invasion. Goreme stayed a major religious settlement until the 13th century. Sects and heresies came and went, the iconoclastic movement came and went. Cappadocia and Goreme flourished under the Byzantine Empire, until around the 7th century, the Persians invaded several times. The rock churches and cliff dwellings became places of refuge. In the 9th century AD, the Arabs withdrew and the region became peaceful again. In the late 11th century, the Byzantine Empire was beset by the Seljuk Turks and Cappadocia came under Seljuk rule. This was also a peaceful time for Goreme, and Christians were treated with tolerance. Eventually, the world moved on and the Christians moved out and the Goreme valley was abandoned until it became a tourist spot. As always, Turkey is a contrast. In the background there are cars and trucks, but the donkey and cart is still used. The Goreme Valley is now a very large tourist attraction, and most things are available for tourists. Even camel rides. Above the camel rides was a large line of shops selling textiles and crafts and lace. Anne had a good look through these and was a little late getting back to the bus. We left the Goreme Valley and drove to the Zelve Valley. Zelve Valley The Zelve Valley was similar to the Goreme Valley. It doesn't have as many churches as it was mailnly used as a monastic retreat. It was a religious community for many centuries, and the Christians had hollowed out many living areas in the cliffs and a few small churches and chapels. At the entrance to the valley, we got close up views of many of the fairy towers, the strangely phallic eroded rock formations. There was a vineyard nearby. The soil here is very poor, and for many centuries the commonest fertiliser was pigeon poop. Inside the valley, we found many dove-cotes hollowed out and still inhabited by flocks of pigeons. The guano would collect at the bottom of the dove-cotes and was used to fertlise the fields. This photo shows a vineyard overlooked by a number of the fairy towers. There were quite a few Turks with ramshackle booths waiting for the tourists in the valley. Their merchandise wasn't impressive and they weren't very prepossessing, so they didn't get much business from us. They were a little aggressive and followed us around a bit. We didn't stay very long here, just had a quick look through, then back on the bus for the trip the Uchisar Citadel. Uchisar Citadel The Uchisar Citadel, the Kale, is quite close to both the Goreme and Zelve Valleys. It's a huge rock outcrop that has been hollowed out and is riddled with tunnels and windows. In front of the Citadel was a large car park, and opposite it was a small tourist shopping centre. We climbed up to the entrance of the citadel. There were a couple of small shops at the base and inside. Then we climbed up through the citadel, and emerged near the top. Then we climbed the rest of the way to the top on the outside. Once we got to the top, we had a glorious panoramic view of the countryside and the valleys. Here's Sebnem in front of the astounding view. Sue and Richard and Sebnem at the top of the Uchisar Citadel. Richard, Jenny, Margaret and Sebnem on top of Uchisar Citadel. Obviously taken with a better quality camera than mine. Bright, crisp, clear photographs instead of the muddy brown ones that my little camera took. Erika and Elizabeth at the top of the Uchisar Citadel. After getting our breath back, we climbed down again and walked across the car park to the tourist shops. There was one large one that sold old stuff and antiques. We went through that. Anne and Elizabeth surreptitiously bought another birthday present for Erika. It was a large ceramic eye on a key chain. Barbara bought a lovely old walking stick. Avanos - The Carpet Factory After Uchisar, we drove to Avanos, a small town near the valleys. We were booked into a tour of a carpet factory. This proved very interesting. The carpet factory was a large family business, and we were met by one of the oweners who showed us round. We started with the weaving section and we watched the women weaving the carpets. Anne took photos and spoke briefly to one of the young women. She wanted a copy of the photo that Anne had taken, so Anne got her address. Unfortunately, Anne's camera was being temperamental and we lost all the photos that she took that day. We weren't able to send the young woman a copy of the photo. After the weaving, we saw how they made the dies. He showed us the natural dies and what they were made from, and then some of the artificial dies. Then we saw the the boiling of the silk cocoons, and the separation and spinning of the silk. After all this preparation and softening up, we were led from the work areas to the sales areas. This was on the second floor and we went through room after room that was absolutely stuffed full of carpets. There were carpets on the walls, piled on the floors, stacked in giant heaps. Thousands and thousands of carpets of all sizes and types. We were ushered into one room, the owner introduced us to a large sales team, thanked us for coming and left us to the tender mercies of the carpet salesmen. We were served with apple tea, and then they started showing us the carpets. They would unroll the carpets and flip them in front of us. Hundreds of carpets of various designs. The silk ones were twirled in the air like flying carpets so we could see the silk sheen and how the light changed depending on where we were viewing them. The wool carpets were flicked out and laid on the floor and we were invited to get down on hands and knees and feel them. The carpets became feet thick on the floor. After the display, the well-oiled sales team broken into small groups and attacked us individually. Anne and I escaped and had a quick wander around. So many rooms, full of so many carpets. Judging by the retail value of the carpets, there were millions of dollars worth of carpets in this building. We saw a giant carpet that had been specially woven for an embassy, who reneged on the deal. It was for sale at over $125,000 US. They had to construct a giant loom specially to weave it. Anne and I wandered around and looked and looked, and eventually Anne settled on nice pink carpet. We haggled, but not too much because we don't like haggling, don't know how to do it and find the whole process rather sordid. We bought it and they checked the credit card on the spot and charged it. They provide several delivery services. We could have left the carpet with them and they would wrap it up and mail it to our home address. From what we heard, this is quite a safe practise and you do get your carpet, and you do get the actual carpet you paid for. We tend to be less trusting about our purchases and we took it with us. They folded it up, wrapped it in brown paper and tied it with string. We got a free black plastic carpet bag to carry it in. It folded up to a small overnight bag size and was quite convenient to carry round with us. I think we were the only ones who bought a carpet here, so they didn't do as well out of our tour as they hoped. None the less, I'm sure that the the organisers of our little tour of the carpet factory got spotters fees. Avanos - The Pottery Factory It was still mid afternoon and there was time for something extra. Sebnem asked if we wanted a tour of a pottery shop that was close at hand. This was a tour that was really just another selling opportunity. We agreed and we drove there. When we arrived, we walked round the back and were met by a young Turkish girl. She was our tour guide. She spoke great English, but the accent gave us a bit of a shock. She had a broad Australian accent. She had grown up in Australia, but when her parents retired back to Turkey, she had to go too. Her brother was here as well and we met him too. We met a few other young Turks who had similar experiences. Most worked as tour guides and said they were saving their money so they could go back to Australia. So we went on our tour of the pottery factory. We saw them shaping the pots and plates, and saw huge stacks of white items ready for firing. We saw them being painted, and we spent a bit of time watching the painters. They were very skilfull. Then we went up to the shop area for a demo of the pottery wheel. We watched a potter make a really beautiful and precise coffee pot on the wheel. He was very skilled and made it look ever so easy. Then it was time for a volunteer to try it. While on the bus on way here, Sebnem had already mentioned that they like to have a volunteer come up and try the potters wheel. At the time, I was elated at the purchase of the carpet, so when the pottery thing was mentioned and no-one else volunteered, I put my hand up. Oh dear. Everyone else sat down and had apple tea while I went up and made a fool of myself at the potters wheel. They had these baggy dirty harem pants which went over my jeans. Then they sat me in the corner. The potter did the turning of the wheel, as I was having enough trouble with my hands to have to worry about feet too. As soon as I touched my first lump of clay, it shot off the wheel and landed in a soggy mess on floor. I got a bit irritated with that, so when I started mys econd attempt, I concentrated and made something vaguely vase-shaped. I was quite pleased with myself, particularly with not making as much of a fool of myself as I could have. In the first photo, right in front of me on the ground, you can see the beautiful little coffee pot the potter made. That's him on the left in the middle photo. I was concentrating very hard to produce that ugly little thing on the wheel. After the ugly vase shaped thing was formed, that was the end of my bit. I got some polite applause, and lots of funny remarks from our pottery guide and the potter. Then I was able to have some apple chai with the others, just before we were allowed to wander through the sales areas of the pottery factory and look at all the expensive stuff for sale. We came in for lots of hard sell from the sales staff that were lying in wait for us. The ex-Aussie girl said it was part of the job and she didn't press us all that much to buy things. The others prssed us very hard. We saw replicas of famous plates at about $1,000 US. This was way too much for me and Anne, so we declined and justy kept looking at everything.They had a vast amount of very beautiful pottery, and lots of tiles, but it was very over-priced and we couldn't afford it. It was also too fragile to try and take home. Anne said that the plates were too expsnive and anyway, she didn't find one she liked. Esther almost bought a replica plate for about $2,000 US. We did our best to talk her out of it, and got lots of glares from the sales people. They latched onto Esther like leeches. After we left, they phoned her at the hotel and kept wanting to bring plates to her at the hotel. Some of us bought small things, but I don't think anyone bought anything really expensive. We managed to extricate ourselves and drove back to the hotel. Folklore Show We were booked in to a folklore show tonight. We had opted for the cheap version, without dinner, so we ate at the hotel and got primed for the evening's entertainment. The bus drove us to this large nightclub that was partly carved into the rock. We had seats down the back. Nibblies were brought to the table, plus bottles of raki. Chris tucked into the raki with a vengeance. I tried it but settled for beer. iT was really busy, and when we tried to order a jug of water, we couldn't get the attention of a waiter. Sebnem had to go outside and get it for us. When the show started, we watched a lot of folk dances. These must be the same in every country. Quaint, colourful, impractical costumes and people doing dances that seem embarrassing, slow and foolish. Did our ancestors really dance these horrible things? One that took my fancy was a slow number where they moved forward a skip at a time, slapped the heel of their shoes, and repeated. This symbolised a journey by camel. Sure. Then came the Sufis. I was interested in the Sufis from what I had already read about them. I remember reading about them when I was a child, when they were called Whirling Dervishes. We had their dance described to us. They would stand with arms outstretched, one hand turned up to face heaven, and one turned down to face the earth, and they would twirl in place. Their robes would swirl out and they would twirl for hours without falling over, getting dizzy or fainting. I was a bit dubious that these were real Sufis, as Sufi season was apparently over. As they looked to be the same dancers from the other fold dances, I could only assume that they weren't the real Sufis and we weren't seeing a real religious twirl. At interval time, they played lots of Eurodisco and the dance floor was filled with the audience all doing disco. Maybe it's just me, but it seemed a bit incongruous to be in a large room that was carved into the hillside, in Cappadocia full of history, and the tourists were doing disco. Oh well, maybe I'm just getting old. One song was very popular, and I quite liked it. It took me a year or more to find out what the song was (Maria) and who did it (Ricky Martin). He's quite popular now. After interval, the folk dancing continued. There were many tourists who kept crowding crowding down near the dance area taking photos and videos, especially when the women were dancing. We could see conflicts happening where people who were sitting at ground level had their view blocked by these pushers-in. One woman in front of us, really got stuck into this other woman. That provided some good entertainment. When it was time to go, we had several half bottles of raki left, so we poured them all together and Anne carried the bottle out. We used it later for our little raki parties. Back to the hotel for a good night's rest.