March, 2025

OMG…when I came here in 2011, this was my favorite area of Turkey…and after 3 full days of exploring here…I’m certain it will remain my favorite. There’s so much to experience and learn…the landscapes, culture, food and friendly local people. But, man! Things have really changed in the past decade! Lot of tourists and a gigantic expansion of the town.

This area of the Ottoman Empire was home to the richest folks and dates back as early as BC, although most of the construction is from the 300sAD.

We stayed in the Sarnich Caves Hotel. Our hotel was carved from the softer rock called tuff.

Anyone who has ever visited or even seen pictures of the town of Cappadocia has seen the sky full of 100s of balloons every morning at sunrise. Breathtaking!!!….whether you’re on the ground or in a balloon. Unfortunately in the past 14 years, the price of a hot air balloon ride has increased from $200 to as much as $700. But whatever you have to pay…don’t miss it! You fly over several of the valleys and the town. You get to see the famous “fairy chimneys” up close and personal. Speaking of the town itself, it has expanded from 50 cave hotels to 500 in the last decade. But, the good news there are still NO franchise restaurants.

What created the fairy chimneys and outstanding rock formations? They are natural yet surreal-looking spires up to 130 feet (40 meters) tall that were carved out of soft volcanic rock by the elements over millions of years.
62 million years old this area was a sea…
9.5 million years ago earthquakes caused fires and the lava created the rocks
3.5 million years ago, rain and wind started carving away the bottom area of the rocks which is composed of softer sand but left the tops which are the harder rock.

Our 3 days of exploring included …

4 mile hike through the Rose Valley … inclusive of “mud sliding” for 5 of the 8 of us. Observing the thousands of Pigeon holes carved in the walls of the fairy chimneys because the major export was “Pigeon Poop” used as fertilizer worldwide. There are several volcanos in this area also but none active.

A visit to the Open Air Museum …consisting of 5 cave churches where people lived in throughout the 11-12th centuries. The churches all still display Paintings on the cave walls.
The eyes of the people were scratched out of most of the paintings … this was originally done by pigeons because they saw the paintings similar to what we now call scarecrows. And then later, the religious people scratched the eyes out and used that paint to mix with water and take as medicine because they believed it was holy water.

Mustafapaşa …Ancient Greek village
With amazing 1729 church

Sobesos
Ruins from a Roman village 5th-8th century

Soganli Valley
Lunch a very unique spot in an orchard of apple trees. Huge array of typical Turkish dishes to taste. All excellent!
A climb up to Yilanli Kilise, otherwise known as the Church of the Serpent with very well preserved murals of Jesus & St John.

Mazi City
Underground city with 8 levels
Recently discovered in 1995. The Christians could hide for 2-5 weeks from the Romans. When I was here in 2011, we visited an underground city that was 14 levels but you were required to crawl thru many tunnels…I was younger then, not so much of a crawler now days 😜

SHOPPING!!! Lots of it.
So many great items to take home…who can resist. I think between rugs and pottery, everyone has probably spent their entire trip budget by now😉. And, we have documented some “very personal” events that meet the standard saying…”what happens in Turkey, stays in Turkey”.

Facts we’ve learned here…

There are no homeless people in Turkey. The Turkish culture believes you are REQUIRED to help those who can’t help themselves. Much like the Latin culture of large families living together and taking care of each other.

Mix yogurt with water 50-50 and add salt- this lowers your blood pressure. On my last visit, I also learned they eat or drink walnut water daily instead of taking statin drugs.

When you marry , a guy goes to live in his father in law’s house.

Ancient Custom ….if you donate to church, you can be buried in the church or next to it …they believed they would go directly to heaven

Moving on today to Pamakkale for a short 2 night stay