Cappadocia

Cappadocia: the land of ancient churches, hand made pottery, and authentic carpets. We had such a great and full day yesterday.

We started out by gazing upon the beautiful valleys and urban rock dwellings of cappadocia. At one of the sites we stopped to take pictures of the valleys that seems to go on forever, there were comments being made left and right on how beautiful cappadocia was... and that it was.

Then we traveled through the rolling countryside to visit some of the earliest churches in the open air museum that dated back to the 5th century. It was amazing to see most of the mosaics were still in tact and the beautiful scenes they conveyed of Christianity. There were multiple churches built in one area, each individually carved into the rocks, representing strength and history.

Next we visited a ceramic cave where the same family has been in business for over 200 years. Now that is a long operating family business.. and  in the same cave to top it all off.  We watched the pottery being made, and then how the family artists intricately painted each detail on the plates, bowls, pots, etc.

We then headed to one of the multiple underground cities in cappadocia. For those who get claustrophobic, this would not be the place for you. There were 4 floors that we could visit and it seems as though they went on forever. Dilek, our tour guide said that these underground cities each housed thousands of people. The ventilation system and rooms are still in tact enough to live there...pretty impressive.

Over all, it was a group consensus that our day in cappadocia has been our favorite thus far... history, good food, air conditioning, and beautiful scenery. It was a day well lived and well learned.

Today we are headed to Izmir, then Ephesus, then back to our home in Istanbul.