On our second day in Cappadocia we had amazing weather to
enjoy. We all rested well after sleeping in our dark cave! We had several items
on the list so we headed out after a great Turkish Breakfast. It was kind of
fun to be there because another family visiting Turkey too had a little guy the
same age as Lucky Dragon. They two of them would dance together to the fun music
playing in the dining room. It was fun to watch. This little guy is quite
social (and loves to dance to music—any music).
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| Dancing the morning away |
Our journeys took us down some narrow roads that wind from
village to village in the valleys of no trees. You would have thought that we
were a parade by the way that the locals would stop and stare as we drove
through. We made it to Ihlara Valley. It is a large deep valley that was cut
into the rock after years of erosion from the river. This place too, had
several ancient churches to explore. We hiked down the 800 stairs to the valley
floor and hiked from cave to cave for a few hours. Lucky boy loved being
outside, watching the water, feeling the snow, and chasing the random animals
in the area.
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| Look at all of those stairs...it was hard going down. Going back up was killer! |
My favorite of all of the Churches was one called “Snake
Church” they are intricately painted walls of different Christian scenes. We
had fun being out in nature. I am not sure that the geese were so happy to have
us there, but hey they like the bread we fed them. Tau’aho was all about it
until they became a bit aggressive and were trying to take his chips out of his
hand!
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| One of the many shepherds we saw and his sheep |
We drove from Ihlara to Darinkuyu, another small city in the
area. This is one of the many villages that exist on top of a historical
underground city. We went in and I was alright for the first few levels.
However, about then the tunnels became more narrow and there were tour groups
standing in the only open spaces. Lady Hiva went deeper down to explore and I was
wise enough to stay in the “living room” that had a large vent to the outside.
However, the next section we had to crawl on our knees and I had Lucky Dragon
in front of me and the backpack was scraping the roof of the cave. I started to
panic—C.L.A.U.S.T.R.O.P.H.O.B.I.A! Seriously! Lady Hiva tells me that it is all
in my head. Yes, I guess all fears are just a mental aspect. However, it is one
I cannot control.
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| Underground city, level one |
After we came out we went shopping and Lady Hiva bought some traditional rag dolls from an elderly woman named, Sakiye. She was so kind and friendly to us. She stayed and talked to us for several minutes. She was so happy that Lady Hiva bought two of her dolls and was interested in learning her name. She asked for a paper and a pen and wrote it down for us and was so proud she even added her address. Kindness goes a long way.
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| Large dining table in the cave dining room |
