Riding Camels and Carpet Weaving

We are now officially in the beautiful place of Cappadocia,

a location formed 25 million years ago with four volcanic mountains in the area. 

People would strategically carve homes in these rock formations (same type of rock as the underground city in a previous post), and for many years, people would pass the homes down through the generations. 

However, the government decided to intervene once again...

After 1973, the homes were only allowed to be used for tourism, and the residents were kicked out with no where to go. 

This was most definitely my favorite stop of our travel. I would actually have been okay with less time in Istanbul and more time here because its a beautiful scenic town. 

Our next stop was to the Goreme Open Air Museum (Goreme Acik Hava Muzesi). 

This is the place where the Christians in the 7th-11th century lived.

There are still remnants of paintings and frescoes; the Anti-Iconic period was during the 8th century and the frescoes were covered up. Some people still worshipped icons in secret. 

This region was under the rule of the hittites- The name Cappadocia comes from the son of the azurian king- The name is from the persian language which means "land of beautiful horses," but there were no horses, but mules...

There are a lot of black walls in certain areas from the smoke from the fires.

In the frescoes, you will only see the animals smiling, not the animals. People believed that smiling was only an animal trait because Jesus suffered for us. Suffering is more valuable. Also, the baby jesus never looks like a baby, but usually as an adult. 

 

                     

Then we saw camels, and YES, I had to ride them :)

Evil Eye Tree in Pigeon Valley.

This is the highest point of the fortress here. 

Pigeons were very important tools of communication (also for Fertilizer). 

Some pigeons even went up to 50,000 lira. 

Then we went to the Gallery Cappadocia, which showed us Turkish Carpet Demonstrations. 

Its a tradition that women pass down through generations.. but each year less and less women are weaving carpets. In past times, carpets were used as dowries because they are very expensive and excellent quality. 

The colors are made from plants, nuts, etc. and used with sheep wool. 

How can you tell the difference between vegetable and chemical dyes ?

If its vegetable dye quality, all you have to do is walk around the carpet and the colors will change. 

Also, listen carefully to the price (will be higher priced). 

The more knots, the higher quality the carpet.

The women knot about 7,000 knots a day. 

The next stop of the day was to see the Whirling Dervish Ceremony. 

The history: Founded in 1273. Music and dancing was used to get closer to god. It was then outlawed in 1925 with Ataturk's reforms. In 1954, they got their partial rights back to perform the ceremony for tourist purposes only instead of religious practice. BUT, they perform under strict registration under the government. Today, it's led under the 20th grand son of the founder. The founder was born around 1204 in Afghanistan; he was known as the "lord of the teachers." He said "you cannot reach truth by mind but by following your heart."

The ceremony itself: Performed in seven stages. The point is to abandon your personal ego. 

Derbish means "One on the path to God or truth."

They wear a long white dress that symbolizes the burial dress. Their hat is a symbol of a tombstone. Their cloak is a symbol of a tomb. 

"Look as you are or be as you look"

Ataturk forbid all religious sects, which is why this mystical sect was outlawed for a while. 

"You have to die before you die- leave your ego behind"

~Alexa