September 29, 2016 The Keslik Monastery sits just on the outskirts of Taşkinpasa. The Monastery held about 250 people and had two cave churches. The first one is Archangelos church and the other one Saint Stefanos church. There are wonderful frescoes in the Archangelos church, but they are so badly covered with soot that you … Read more
September 30, 2016 Our day began in the Soğanlı Valley, (The Valley of Onions). This is about off the beaten path as you can get, not only due to the drive, but the remoteness of the valley itself. Around the sixth century the Christian inhabitants of this region created a vast network of tunnels into … Read more
September 29, 2016 The Ihlara Valley sits near Mount Hasan and Mount Melendiz, two of the three volcanoes of Cappadocia. The valley is a canyon about 300 feet deep, and was formed by the Melendiz River. Due the valley’s plentiful supply of water and hidden places, this was the first settlement of the first Christians escaping from … Read more
September 29, 2016 The Selimi Cathedral is not a highly visited area, mainly because the walk is extremely difficult. If you are going to do the walk to the top of this mountain I suggest very good shoes. It can be confusing, but important to understand that the entire mountain is called Selime Cathedral. There … Read more
September 29, 2016 Derinkuyu (Deep Well) is just one of many, many underground cities lying underneath Cappadocia. In fact they believe there are at least 36 underground cities in the area, only a few have been excavated. It is really difficult to describe how claustrophobic the spaces are, how one has to stoop over for … Read more
September 28, 2016 Cappadocia is a large region that includes many towns, named by the Persians it means beautiful horses. Today I am in Göreme. The time that the Göreme was first settled is unclear, but it could date back as the Hittite era, between 1800 and 1200 B.C. The location was central between … Read more
September 27, 2016 There are several important historical sites with Nemrut Daği. One of these is the Tomb of Karakus, located on Karadag Mountain. Antiochis was the second daughter of King Antiochus I Theos of Commagene and Queen Isias Philostorgos. Unfortunately very little is known about Antiochis. The identity of her husband is unknown however, she … Read more
September 27, 2016 The Kingdom of Commagene was an ancient Armenian kingdom of the Hellenistic period (between 323 and 31 BC). Commagene has been characterized as a “buffer state” between Armenia, Parthia (northeastern Iran), Syria, and Rome. Little is known of the region of Commagene prior to the beginning of the 2nd century BC. However, … Read more
September 26, 2016 Turkey is a vast country with lots and lots of open space between its cities. I am off to visit Mount Nemrut, but it is not easy, it includes long drives through the same scenery for hours. The day began at 9:00 in the morning with a long drive from Kayseri. A stop … Read more
September 25, 2016 Kayseri surprised me, I had read some article that gave me the impression it was a very small and backward city. That is absolutely not the case. Kayseri is one of the more conservative cities of Turkey, but it is far from small or backward. It is, in fact, a large and … Read more