The Travels of 4 Couch Potatoes: Rocks and Rugs

There was no way that we could handle a second straight day in a large group tour. So, we planned to do our own version of the Red Tour at our own pace. By visiting the attractions out of order, we hoped that we would avoid some of the big crowds. After an exhausting two days of traveling, we slept in and had a late breakfast at our hotel. Afterwards, we hopped into the car and drove to the town of Çavuşin, located just north of Göreme. For centuries, Christian Greeks inhabited this village composed of houses cut into the sides of a large rock formation. However, in 1923 in an act of ethnic purging, Turkey expelled all of the Christian Greeks, and Greece sent their Muslim citizens packing. The new Muslim population in the area was not nearly enough to fully inhabit this abandoned village. Many of the houses were left to deteriorate with disuse. Finally, in the 1950’s the cave village was fully abandoned. A new town with modern buildings has since been erected just adjacent to the old one.

Although we could easily see the old village on our hot air balloon ride, we really didn't know exactly where it was on the ground. Google maps only gave us the general area. Instead of driving around aimlessly, we stopped at the first location that remotely resembled a set of caves.

The nearby tour buses and souvenir shop fooled us into thinking that this place was interesting.

We climbed up the steps to the structure and paid about 8 TL ($3) per adult to go inside. There were only a couple of rooms to visit inside this building. Some windows had good views of the surrounding area, but there really wasn't much else to see there.

One room did have some faded frescoes that proved that it was once a church.

The lower level had a stable where we could break for lunch.

It wasn't worth the small amount of money or time to visit it. Only later that night did we find out this was the 10th century Nicephorsus Phocas Church.

Realizing that this wasn't quite the Old Cave Village of Çavuşin, we drove farther into the city until the road practically ended. We parked and started walking up a set of stairs carved into the rock face. The climb really wasn't that high, but the heat from the unrelenting midday sun made the hike very uncomfortable. By the time we reached the top, we were all sticky from sweat.

At the top, we found a series of derelict cave houses...

...and a parking lot full of cars!

Apparently, we did not notice the small dirt road that led to a fully functioning cave hotel and cafe. Instead of walking in the heat, we could have just driven our air-conditioned car to the top!

We continued along the path, exploring many abandoned cave houses.

These derelict structures were filled with rubble, trash, and cat poop.

I'm looking at you dude!

Eventually, we reached a large 5^th century cave structure called the Church of St. John.

Unlike the Nicephorsus Phocas Church, this one charged no admission.

Some of that money could have
been used for improved maintenance.

The Kids do their best to keep the place from falling down.

Major work would be needed to restore these frescoes.

The walls are still covered with
elaborate carvings and designs.

Some of the walls and ceilings have been darkened from the soot of campfires.

At the top, there are good vantage points of the surrounding countryside. We took a break for some freshly-squeezed orange juice at a small café, and then made our way down a winding path down below. Along the way were a couple of fairy chimneys.

A "Fairy chimney" or hoodoo is a geological formation where a hard rock sits atop
much softer material. Over time, the lower rock erodes forming the odd structure.

Our next destination was the town of Avanos just a few minutes north of Çavuşin. The ground there is composed of red clay which stains the nearby river red. Hence it is known as the Kizilirmak (Red) River. Avanos has been known as far back as the time of the Hittite Empire for their red clay style of pottery. Although it is not the most famous pottery center in all of Turkey, it is still historically significant.

The Wife directed me to Sultans Ceramic on the west side of town.

Fortunately, Google Maps was accurate because we missed the shop's facade the first time around.

Despite the nondescript exterior, the interior was massive. The galleries were inside several rooms in a cave totaling around 4,000 square meters! One of the salesmen who spoke English greeted us and explained that his family-owned business was established back in 1762. He told us that all the boys in the family try their hand at throwing pottery as they grow up. Since he sucked at the craft, he went to the University instead and came back to work on the sales end.

We passed up all of the common pottery and trinkets in the first couple of rooms, and made our way to their nicer stock. They had pottery of different styles—traditional Hittite themes, modern designs, evil eye motifs, etc. In addition, they also had their own specific family designs which were the most beautiful pieces of all, in our opinions. Every pottery-making family in Avanos supposedly has their own unique way of painting pieces. Regardless, the one piece that everybody makes is the over-the-shoulder pouring Hittite wine jug.

The wine jug has a large hole in the center to slip your arm in...

...so that the jug can be carried on the shoulder and poured.

The Wife and I settled on a small version of the Hittite wine jug painted with traditional motifs and a bowl decorated in their family’s style. They weren't cheap, and The Wife and I bungled our attempt at haggling. However, we were very happy with our purchases. Afterwards, we asked our salesman if we could see a pottery demonstration. Usually, these cheesy artisan shows are mainly presented to big tour groups to whet their appetites to buy stuff, but we really wanted to see how they made the Hittite wine jugs.

The guy was a master. In less than five minutes, he made and assembled all the pieces for the Hittite wine jug. He explained that in reality the process would require some longer drying steps, but we got the general idea how it was made. He explained that the wall thickness of the jug needed to be perfectly symmetrical throughout. If it weren't, then the jar would break when filled with liquid.

The potter spun the wheel with a foot-powered pottery wheel.

He sliced the piece in half to show perfectly-symmetrical shapes.

After we left Sultan Ceramics, we looked for a place to eat. Going by TripAdvisor recommendations, we ended up at a restaurant called Benzade Konak, located north of a busy square.

The small cafe seemed like it was built inside somebody's house.

There were only six tables inside, and another two outside.

Because we couldn't fully understand the menu, the friendly English-speaking
lady who ran the place brought us into the kitchen to show us what was available.

Iҫli köfte (bulgur balls stuffed with meat)

Karniyarik (eggplant stuffed with meat)

Dolma manti (meat-filled pasta)

Mumbar dolmasi (stuffed lamb intestines)

The food was good and inexpensive. The mumbar dolmasi reminded us of a less spicy version of the Cajun boudin sausages. Overall, dining at Benzade Konak Cafe was like eating a home-cooked meal.

Afterwards, we heading back to Göreme and stopped off at Paşabağ. This attraction is composed of several interesting rock formations and fairy chimneys. Since the admission is free, it was packed full of tourist and local families. Although Paşabağ is spread out over a good distance, we preferred to view things from afar and didn't walk very much. Despite stopping for some Turkish ice cream (from a vendor who spoke passable Korean), we were wilting from the heat of the afternoon sun.

It's just a matter of time before
this fairy chimney topples over...

...and crushes the souvenir shops below.

The camel used to think that his was big.

Fairy chimneys are surprisingly light.

Next, we had planned to visit Uçhisar castle, located in a nearby town. It’s a tall rock formation that was used as a fortress by the Byzantine and Ottoman Empires. We drove to within sight of the attraction, before deciding that we weren't really interested in climbing up another big giant rock.

We did stop at a scenic overlook to take some pictures of the valley below.

Instead, we turned back around and headed to the Göreme Open Air Museum.

Parking was limited around the museum. Many tourists walked the 1 mile distance from town.

This UNESCO heritage site was a monastic center during the 10-12^th centuries. This area represented some of the finest Christian cave churches in all of Cappadocia.

The Nunnery has connecting tunnels which
could be blocked off in times of danger.

There are about ten churches crammed into the Göreme Open Air Museum.

The first few buildings on the right side of the park were pretty basic and uninspiring. The decorations were so crude that a 5 year old could have painted them.

Holes were carved in some churches to serve as tombs. With
the exception of one chapel, the skeletons have all been removed.

Compared to some of the other churches, the decor
in the St. Barbara Church are pretty simplistic.

However, the frescoes became more intricate and colorful as we progressed through the park. It was the last few caves which have made the open air museum so popular. Unfortunately, no photography of any kind is allowed inside the nicer churches. Too many idiots in the past probably couldn't figure out how to turn off the destructive flash feature on their cameras.

The Snake Church is named after this fresco of St. George slaying the dragon (depicted as a serpent).

For an extra 10 Lira per person, we visited the Dark Church (Karanlik Kilise), considered the best of them all. The frescoes inside were beautiful with vibrant colors and details. Ironically, the paintings are so well preserved because the building was used to house pigeons until the 1950's. All of the bird poop prevented the ravages of time from destroying these illustrations. A dozen yeas of scraping off the guano has yielded the most vivid examples of Byzantine Cappadocian art. Despite the photography ban, I was really tempted to take some pictures of these gorgeous frescoes. It would have been easy since the guard inside was sound asleep. But The Wife stopped me by reminding me about the horrors of Turkish prisons.

Over the last two days, we had seen enough cave houses and Byzantine era churches to last us a lifetime. We were done sightseeing. We stopped by Sultan Carpet, a highly reviewed store in Göreme. Over some more apple tea and iced coffee, Ali, the owner, and his staff showed us several more beautiful carpets.

One of the coolest rugs that we were shown was made in a Turkish prison. Ali explained that sometimes prisoners will learn to weave rugs during their incarceration. When they are finally finished, the carpets are then used to furnish government buildings. Therefore, they are pretty rare to find in private carpet shops. Ali explained that it can sometimes be difficult to move these carpets as people may not want to own something possibly made by a felon. Ali reassured us that the prisoner was probably some guy who got caught stealing. Although the price was pretty hefty, The Wife and I really thought it would be a cool item to have. Unfortunately, the color scheme was just not to our liking.

Judging by the large size, intricate detail, and high knot count, this rug
took years to weave. I'm pretty sure that prisoner 951 killed somebody.

Several of the smaller restaurants in Göreme are closed on Sundays, so we stopped for dinner at a larger one catering towards the tourist crowds. Both the food and service at the Anatolia Kitchen were pretty good. Most of the restaurants in the touristy areas of Cappadocia offer testi kebaps on their menu. These dishes are composed of meats and vegetables stewed inside a clay pot. The waiters would bring the pot to the table side and the top would need to be broken off to reveal the food inside. Our waiter offered a ceremonial “sword” for The Boy to break the pot. It’s a kitschy presentation, but fun nonetheless.

Salep (a hot milk drink made with orchid root flour)

Lavaş (puffy flat bread)

Paçanga böreği (deep fried filo stuffed with a spicy sausage)

Karışık pide (Turkish pizza with mixed toppings)

These clay pots are a common sight throughout Turkey.

"That's a knife!"

Kuzu testi kebab (lamb stew baked in a clay pot)

Bostan kebab (roasted eggplant, beef, vegetables, and cheese)

*****

May 25, 2015

Originally, we had left our plans open today in case we needed extra time for sightseeing, hiking, or horseback riding in the picturesque valleys of Cappadocia. However, we were all “caved-out” and the idea of spending more hours under the hot sun was not enticing. Instead we decided to sleep in and tie up some loose ends with carpet shopping.

After checking out of our hotel, we revisited Tribal Collections to look at the carpet that we had eyed previously. The shop’s owner, Ruth Lockwood, was present when we arrived. We chatted with her briefly while we decided upon which Hereke we liked. Originally from New Zealand, she has been operating her store here in Cappadocia for the past 25 years. It was interesting to hear how her carpet business has thrived in an aggressive male-dominated industry. It was evident how passionate she is about beautiful, finely-made carpets. She was able to explain to us a lot of the details about the rugs which we were viewing. Unlike her salesmen who were very reticent, she definitely was the face and voice of the business.

Afterwards, we drove back to Sultan Carpets to purchase the two carpets to be shipped back home. The owner, Ali, was really proud of his #1 ranking on TripAdvisor and he works very hard on customer service to maintain it. As soon as we walked in, his staff brought us some iced coffee and apple tea. He joked around not just with The Wife and I, but also The Kids who were off to the side playing a video game on my handheld device. Additionally, he also remembered the names of our two kids from the night before and even gave them some free cushion covers as a parting gift.

The last stop for our shopping bonanza was Rose Carpets. We were still interested in the thoroughly-worn prayer-style runner that we had seen two days previously. Once again, the owner’s niece had to call him to come open the store. Once inside it was in some disarray. There were several carpets strewn haphazardly on the floor. Empty, unwashed glasses of apple tea still remained on the table. It was evident that the place hadn't been cleaned up since the last customer was there.

Unlike the other, more polished carpet stores that we had visited, Rose Carpets really seems like an afterthought. Instead of having assistants to prepare drinks, unfurl carpets, and roll them back up, it seems that this store is a one-man job. The owner explained to us that his sons are either away studying at school or managing his nearby hotel. He confided that he was actually trying to hide from his wife so that he could take a nap when we arrived. Apparently, she was expecting him to work in their garden.

But this nuance can sometimes work in a buyer's favor. The owner was not pushy at all about selling his wares. We never felt uncomfortable that he was trying to give us the hard sale. Additionally, his prices were lower than the other fixed-price businesses. On top of that, we were still able to haggle over the final price. To save on the shipping fees, we decided to take the rug along with us since it wasn’t very large. However, I soon found that wool is deceptively heavy. The owner also provided us with the documents and a sheet explaining the meaning of some of the designs on the carpet.

In the end, we ended up purchasing carpets from three stores with three different styles of selling them. However, our decision didn’t come down to whether we hit it off with the salesmen or how much apple tea they served us. The carpets were beautiful enough to sell themselves, provided the prices were right.

Once we were finished emptying out our bank accounts, we drove for an hour to Kayseri.

Several tall rocks in Cappadocia flew the
white star and crescent of the Turkish flag.

The solitary Mount Erciyes looms over the city of Kayseri.

Unlike Göreme, Kayseri is larger, bustling, and not very pretty. Since we were flying out of Cappadocia the following morning, we wanted to stay at a hotel only 10 minutes away from the airport. We checked in at the Ibis Hotel located adjacent to its more expensive sister property—the Novatel Hotel. Neither place looked very busy. We had to book adjacent rooms, and the amenities were good for the price.

Our hotel had a picturesque view of Mount Erciyes, construction, and a busy highway.

The bathroom was about a third of the
size of the one in the Eren Bey Hotel.

We had trouble finding the office for Circular Car Hire. I ended up calling them, and they came to our hotel to pick up the rental car. Overall, I was happy with the experience with this rental car company. I had read so many horror stories about renting a car in Turkey, but everything worked out fine.

There were no eateries nearby, so we ate at our hotel’s bar/restaurant. The food was not bad for hotel fare.