Like Stone Age men

That is how people lived around 1800 years ago in Kappadokia. Monks but as well people of the region were digging whole apartments into the tuff, which was there because of some volcano nearby.

Morgens in bei Göreme
Early in the morning in Göreme

The caves, in which Christian monks have been living in, are absolutely impressive. In these simple rooms, which all together build a multifamily residence, many Christians found shelter. The “soft” rock made it possible to build rooms with not too much effort for many people. Even castle and churches have been built into the rock. Before the Christians, the people which were living there, already used to rock and built complete cities in the ground. As we were visiting the underground city of Kaymakli, where around 60'000 people found shelter, we saw that people lived there permanently. Water, waste water and ventilation systems, wine cellars, stables, big kitchens, mills and living rooms, all together on very small place. Absolutely impressive to visit a city like this and for tall people it is something you will feel in the back or on your head, as Johannes had to experience.

Ein Dorf in Stein gehauen
A village built in the rock
Die Wohnungen enthalten Waschbecken, Betten und Staumöglichkeiten für diverse Sachen - auch mehrraum Wohnungen haben wir entddeckt
The flats contained beds, sinks and place for storage
So sieht es dann von Aussen aus
That is how it looks from outside
Und manche Mönche haben sich schon damals Gedanken über die Aussicht gemacht
And some monks have even been thinking about the view, when they were building their flats
Lüftungsschacht der Untergrundstadt bei Kaymakli
Ventilation shaft in the underground city of Kaymakli
Die Untergundstädte waren eigentlich nur für kleine Menschen gebaut ...
The underground cities have only been built for short people…
aber mehrere Etagen was es alles sehr verworren - und einmal drin könnte man sich ohne Wegweisser leicht verirren
… but with 7 floors, it was a kind of labyrinth – without signs it would have been hard to find the way out

But not only the many caves and underground cities make this part of Anatolia interesting. The different way of erosion brings out shapes of the rock, which is a walk worth through the valleys. Another thing is the sunrise, if you are lucky, you get a chance to see many balloons flying through the valleys.

Vor dem Sonnenaufgang steigen sie schon auf
Balloons starting before sunrise
Und so sieht der Sonnenaufgang dann tatsächlich aus
And this is how the sunrise looked like
Wanderung durch das "Liebestal" ...
Walking through the “valley of love”…
... der Name ist spätestens jetzt klar - das Tal ist voll damit
… now it is obvious, where they name is coming from
Trozdem ist es beeindruckend
Impressive

Despite all the praise, seen is been seen. And the other thing is all the tourists around, to which businessmen use to sell everything. But also it is a very important income for the local people. Even with minus degrees, they try to sell “local” souvenirs and it is possible to book quad tours, walking tours, offroad tours and more. It was a bit too much for us so we left the region after 3 nights. We are still happy that we visited Göreme and it has been pretty nice being here out of season.

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