Strike A Pose

The landscape of Kapadokya compels you to photograph. While capturing the landscape was one common photo, the others were the result of exploration. The region is particularly conducive to exploring - due to the region's geology, thousands of troglodyte dwellings and rock-hewn churches remain, all of which are wondrously carved out the earth and situated within striking valleys. We spent three of the six days we had in Kapadokya hiking. And we are wiped out. The walks were not so much long as they were scrambling up and down the valleys, and, most exciting, exploring the remains of the dwellings and churches.

On our first hike, we navigated our way through many tunnels as we made our way down the valley. On our way out of "Red Valley" we spotted a cave that looked particularly promising - four stories high. We climbed three floors and actually made it to the top. We sat, perched on top, surveying the scene. We didn't spend too much time there, as we had to head back down to take shelter for an afternoon thunderstorm. The cave protected us well, and in no time we were hiking our way out. At the end of the hike we enjoyed a glass of local white wine at a cafe situated at the mouth of the valleys. It was a pleasant stop especially since another thunderstorm rolled quickly by.


The climax of our second hike was stumbling upon a church perched above in the top of a fairy chimney. Using the ladder carved into the rock, we made our way up to find a dilapidated church which still had amazing frescoes remaining. There were also two former graves.











We spent a long, long day touring the southern part of the region. We hiked two valleys - Ihlara and the monastery valley at Güzelyurt. En route between the two, we visited a mammoth monastery complex at Selime. This was certainly the highlight of the day. How folks were able to create these cities is beyond incredible. This monastery complex had a huge church with a second story gallery inside it.