History of Cappadocia
Cappadocia is a central Anatolian province of significant importance, bordering Armenia in the east, Commagene to the southeast, Mesopotamia, Cilicia and Syria to the south, Galatia, Phrygia and Lycaonia to the west and Pontus to the north.
After the fall of the Hittite empire around 1750 BC, Cappadocia was ruled by various invading tribal migrations, such as the Phyrgians and Cimmerians. The Persians came to power in the mid 6th century BC and ruled for over 200 years. It was the Persian word "Katpatuka or land of the well bred horses" that eventually came to identify the region. The enmity between the Macedonian king Alexander the Great and the Persian King Darius would eventually unravel the region, as Alexander spread Hellenistic control.
After the death of Alexander in 323 BC, administration of Cappadocia fell to the dynasty of Ariarathes. His family line would rule the kingdom until 93 BC, and were responsible for the establishment of positive relations with Rome. Cappadocians remained on favorable terms with independent status for the next two centuries. They sided with Rome against the Seleucids of Syria and later against Aristonicus of Pergamum who rebelled to regain Perganum from Rome after Attolos III.
The rise of Mithridates of Pontus against prevailing Roman domination, brought war to the entire Anatolia and surroundings. and the Cappadocians fought valiantly in defense of their own independence. The uprising was put to an end with Pompey's final victory that led to reestablishing Cappadocians new independence in 63 BC under a new dynastic King, started by Ariobarzanes.
In the civil wars within the Rome Empire, the Cappadocians played a dangerous game with the woring factions. With Pompey, they understandably supported him first against Caesar. After Caesar's victory at Pharsalus, they switched sides in support of Caesar and managed to ensure their own autonomy. Later, in the civil wars that erupted between Caesar's assassins, Antony and Octavian, they first supported Brutus and Cassius who held firm control of the eastern provinces. But after their defeat, they switched allegiance in favor of Antony, and finally with Antony's defeat they made allegiance with the victorus Octavius who became the emperor of the entire Rome world. Cappadocia maintained independence as a client state until 17 AD, when the Emperor Tiberius formally incorporated it into an official province of the Empire.
Under emperor Vespasian and extending well into the Byzantine years, Legio XII Fulminata was garrisoned at Melitene, which became an early bastion of Christianity. Legio XV Apollinaris was stationed at Satala along the border with Armenia and Legio XVI Flamia Firma guarded Samosata on the border with Mesopotamia and the Euphrates River. Also of military importance in the province was the presence of the eastern Black Sea naval base at Trapezus.
Byzantines in the region, and relative security prevailed for the next fifty years during the period of Konstantinos Porphyrogennetos (945 – 959) and Konstantinos Doukas (900 – 1070). The overthrow of the iconoclasts with the help of the Cappadocian monasteries, which defended their icons with fierce desperation, played its part in maintaining peace. From the second half of the ninth century until 1071, Byzantine Cappadocia enjoyed a golden age, and most of the churches and frescoes of the region are from this period.
From the 9th century onwards, Anatolia witnessed the arrival of nomadic Turkish tribes from Central Asia moving in all directions to vast areas of China to Europe. With this influx came the Seljuk Turks, pressing westwards from their empire in Iran. In 1057 the Turks attacked Malatya, and in 1059 Sivas, razing both cities. When they razed Kayseri in 1067 the Byzantine emperor Romanus the 4th made a last bid to save Cappadocia. In 1071 he arrived at the head of a huge army and marched eastwards to confront the Seljuk army about quarter of Romanus' army at Malazgirt under Alp Arslan's commond. The Byzantines were defeated with heavy losses, and Cappadocia overrun by the Turks, never to be regained.
During the 11th century the Seljuks chose Iznik as their first capital but later moved to Konya after the Crusaders captured Iznik and gave the city to the Byzantines. During the next centuries Anatolia became a battleground for Seljuks, Crusaders on their way to the Holy Lands, and Byzantine armies.
During the reigns of Keyhusrev and Aladdin Keykubad in the 13th century, the Seljuks enjoyed a golden-age during which they reached both the Mediterranean and Black Seas. They constructed magnificent caravanserais, medreses (schools), and mosques throughout the empire. By the mid-13th century the Mongols started attacking various parts of the empire, and eventually they invaded all of Anatolia. Kayseri was captured and looted by the Mongols, under whose domination the Seljuks remained until 1302. The Seljuk Empire was the first Turkish empire to be established on Anatolian soil. Although short lived, its rise and fall occurred in less than two centuries, Seljuks laid the foundations of Ottoman culture and art. The Seljuks brought with them the influences of the nomadic cultures of Central Asia and enriched and enhanced the history of central Anatolia.
The Byzantine churches are found within the triangular area bounded by Avanos, Nevsehir and Urgup. For keen explorers, Cappadocia is a land of discovery. Away from Goreme, Zelve and other major tourist locations, there are many places of interest, Hittite remains, cave churches that are rarely visited, deep ravines and astonishing pinnacles which capture the imagination of all visitors.
Aksaray is located on the Melendiz Cayi (Melendiz River) along the old trade route that connected Persia to the Aegean Sea. It was once the city of Garsaura that was later renamed Archelais but little of its ancient past survives. During the Seljuk era (1071-1300), Aksaray was transformed into an exemplary Muslim city where a hospital and schools were built. Another islamic centre is Konya where many well known Islamic scientists, philosophers and theologians of the age including Jelaluddin who escaped the Mongol invasion of Afghanistan, better known as Mevlana Jelaluddin Rumi, lived his remaining years of his life.
The reign of Sultan Alaeddin Keykubat I (1219 - 1236) brought prosperity to the empire. He renovated the long neglected road system and constructed a series of hans (inns). Hans were located about a days distance apart by camel and they provided travelers with food, lodging, entertainment and protection. Twenty four miles to the west of Aksaray, the Sultanhan Caravanserai was the last overnight stop before reaching Konya. It was built about 1229 and has been partially restored. The Agzikarahan Caravanserai nine miles to the east of Aksaray retains its original features and is one of the best preserved in the area. Aksaray was an enclave of culture, refinement and scholarship that attracted visitors from all over the known world including the great al-Andalus scholar and mystic, Ibn El-Arabi.
A few miles past Aksaray, a good road leads to the main Nevsehir-Nigde highway by way of the Ihlara Valley and Guzelyurt. Guzelyurt is one of the most tourist friendly communities in Cappadocia, villagers and children will stop to chat and give directions to the 'antique city' of the old Greek quarter where the mosque was once an old Byzantine church that honored St. Gregory Nazianzus. He was born and died nearby and is prominent as one of the 4th century Cappadocian Fathers who defended the Nicene Creed against Arianism which denied the Divinity of Jesus Christ.
Formerly known as Karballa then Gelvere, Guzelyurt means 'beautiful land.' It is built on the cliffs surrounding a narrow gorge that is but a small appendage of the more impressive Ihlara Gorge. There are over fifty rock cut churches inside Monastery Valley which lays beyond the old village, past semi-troglodytic houses that line a narrow, winding road. People still live in these old cave dwellings and visitors are apt to see women baking bread in 400 year old communal ovens or children making mud pies on the roofs of their cliff houses carved in the rocks below. Guzelyurt has been declared a conservation area requiring new buildings to be constructed of natural stone so as to maintain its distinct Cappadocian architecture. The boxy, stone buildings with flat roofs and large arched doorways are more similar to houses of Northern Syria and Upper Mesopotamia than to structures in other parts of Turkey. This is hardly surprising because the earliest mention of Cappadocians by Herodotus in the 5th century BC refers to them as 'Syrians.'
The Melendiz River finds its source in the numerous springs of the Melendiz Daglari and the adjacent Hasan Dagi to its west. These mountains comprise a series of currently inactive volcanoes that, over millions of years, deposited a thick layer (1500 feet) of volcanic lava, ash and mud. This material hardened to form a soft volcanic rock known as tufa which was overlaid with a thinner layer of hard basalt. With the passing of time, the Melendiz River has carved a steep sided gorge on its way toward the marshes of Toz Golu (Salt Lake) leaving behind expanses of flat, basalt topped plateaus that characterize this region. Further erosion of the basalt layer expresses itself in the surrealistic landscape of Cappadocia but in the Ihlara Valley (Peristrema), rock cones are only seen near Yaprakhisar and Selime.
Throughout the years, this verdant valley has remained relatively untouched by the tides of invaders that have swept the land. Sheltered by a natural barrier, the massive Hasan Dagi to the south, the valley is located away from the major travel routes that are still evidenced by the main roads from Aksaray to Kayseri and Kirsehir to Nigde. It has therefore served as a physical and an intellectual oasis for the people who have lived here. Hittites found refuge from the Phrygian invaders while early Christian monks sought its isolation in a remote corner of the kingdom during the 2nd century Roman persecutions and were later sheltered from the Arab invasions in the 7th and 8th centuries.
The valley became an important center of monasticism that lasted from the 4th to the 14th centuries. There are an estimated 150 churches and several monasteries in the canyon between the villages of Ihlara and Selime. A walk through the tranquil 14 km gorge is a delight. The dappled light under poplars and wild olive trees as well as the constant murmur of the water provide relief from an unrelenting sun and the monotony of endless wheat fields that make up the Cappadocian landscape. Near villages, the river continues to be the focus of village life: women wash their laundry amid chatter and laughter, children splash nearby and shepherds bring their animals for a drink.
The main churches are marked although a few have been closed to the public. The most popular churches are those in the canyon area between the villages of Belisirma and Ihlara. However, Yaprakhisar and Selime are more interesting architecturally with stone houses that extend into the rock caves. The village of Selime is named after the sultan whose conical tomb stands on the river's bank and numerous facades are carved into the cliffs at Yaprakhisar. For the adventurous, the entire length of the Ihlara Valley is a wonderful place for exploration. The children know the hidden entryways and they offer some of the most incredible 'tours' to be found in Cappadocia as they share their extraordinary playground, scampering up tracks through the rocks to a labyrinth of caves and tunnels that open to unexpected hideaways.
Only nine miles from Ihlara, the village of Helvadere sits among the foothills of Hasan Dagi. Its peaks are both over 10,000 feet high and its northern face is threaded with ribbons of snow where ravines have etched the mighty volcano. The mountain beckons for it abounds in secrets and legends. It has witnessed the comings and goings of Central Anatolia since the dawn of civilization. Roman ruins, Byzantine churches and Seljuk graves lay scattered along its northern slopes and mountain villagers tell tales of intriguing snake legends. In his book, Caves of God: Cappadocia and Its Churches, Spiro Kostof interprets the symbolism of the paintings in the Yilani Kilise (Snake Church) located across the bridge from the Tourist Pavilion in the Ihlara gorge. For one painting, he suggests that a woman is being punished for not nursing her children because 2 snakes are attached to her nipples. It seems likely that the real meaning may be hidden within the snake legends of these mountain people. While we long to uncover the secrets of Hasan Dagi, there is only enough time for a half an hour hike behind Helvadere to visit the ruins of Viransehir (Destroyed City). There was a large monastic complex here and remnants of a Byzantine fortress and two churches can be seen.
A drive through the region to the north of the Aksaray-Nevsehir road is to visit the true heart of Turkey. Numerous farming communities are located along the streams and rivers that empty into the stalwart Kizilirmak, Turkey's longest river that is over 800 miles in length. Farming in Turkey is generally highly mechanized, but here, reapers still wield the scythe and plants are sometimes hand-watered with scoops dipped into nearby irrigation canals. When the sun reaches its zenith, workers gather under shade trees for their midday meal and a well earned rest in a scene reminiscent of Bruegel's 16th century painting, "The Harvesters." This centuries old way of life continues, seemingly indifferent to the encroachment of mass tourism.
There are cavetowns and rock formations scattered within this area. Tatlarinkoy boasts an extensive semi-troglodytic complex but only a few caves are available to the public. The small Byzantine church has not been vandalized and its original colors remain rich and vibrant. A typical cave dwelling with several rooms can be explored and it is complete with 'telephone' (a special chute for talking to those on another level), toilet, kitchen, shelves and a large, solid, wheel-shaped rock that serves as a rolling door. Above the doorway is a compartment from which to attack an intruder who may have broken through the barrier. The main features of this cave dwelling are duplicated throughout Cappadocia. In Tatlarinkoy, cave entrances speckle the surrounding cliffs carved by the Acisu River. Some caves are used by farmers for food storage and animal shelters but many seem to have been completely abandoned.
Underground Cities
Although referred to as "cities," the underground communities of Cappadocia probably served as temporary shelters rather than as permanent hidden cities. The incessant darkness is hardly conducive to life and some of the passageways are little more than crawling spaces that would have been intolerable in long-term situations. No one is certain as to the number of underground communities that exist or even by whom they were built.
The two largest communities that have been unearthed are located at Kaymakli and Derinkuyu, 20 and 30 kms. south of Nevsehir on the Nevsehir-Nigde road. It is thought that the Hittites may have excavated the first few levels in the rock when they came under attack from the Phrygians around 1200 BC. However, some archaeologists believe that the oldest caves, those hewn with stone rather than metal tools, are substantially older. These chambers were later expanded into an extensive troglodytic complex by Christians escaping the Arab invasions of the 7th and 8th centuries.
Discreet entrances give way to elaborate subterranean systems with air shafts, waste shafts, wells, chimneys and connecting passageways. The upper levels were used for living quarters while the lower levels were used for storage, wine making, flour grinding and worship in simple chapels. Everywhere, walls have been blackened from the use of torches. There is a connecting tunnel between Kaymakli and Derinkuyu that allowed three people to walk through at the same time but it is not available to the public as parts of the tunnel have collapsed.
Only 10 kms. to the east of Kaymakli is another cavetown at Mazikoy that may be connected with Derinkuyu but this remains to be proven. This community was built within the walls of a cliff. Unlike Kaymakli and Derinkuyu, there are no stairs or grades that pass from one level to the next. Instead, the different levels are well defined with connecting tunnels through which people climbed up or let themselves down by means of footholds carved into the walls of the shafts. Mazikoy is often bypassed because it is a smaller community, its location is away from the main road and a certain agility is required to fully appreciate its features.
Rock Cut Churches and Monasteries
Many settlements in Cappadocia were established primarily as monastic communities. As Bishop of Caesarea Mazaca in the 4th century, St. Basil the Great wrote the rules for monastic life that are still followed by monks and nuns of the Greek Orthodox Church. He advocated community life, prayer and physical labor rather than the solitary asceticism that was popular at the time and it was under his guidance that the first churches were built in Goreme Valley. Here, a number of small communities with their own churches formed the large monastic complex that is now the Open Air Museum. Hundreds of churches are reported to have been built in this valley but no churches from St. Basil's time remain. In Goreme, the Tokali Kilise or the "Buckle Church" is easily the loveliest of the churches with graceful arches and beautiful frescoes.
The most impressive monastery in Cappadocia is the Eskigumus Monastery to the east of Nigde off the Kayseri-Nigde road. It is the most southerly of the Cappadocian monasteries and lies close to the route taken by the invading Arabs who traversed the Tarsus Mountains from the south to plunder Kayseri in the 7th century. This route follows the Tarsus River through a precipitous defile called the Gulek Bogazi. It was known in the ancient world as the Cicilian Gates and was used by Alexander the Great in his eastward campaign against the Persians. The nondescript entrance to the Eskigumus Monastery was designed to shield the monastery complex from invaders passing by. It was so successful that the monastery was not discovered until 1963, having escaped the vandalism to which many of the Cappadocian churches and monasteries were subjected. The large inner courtyard boasts high walls surrounded by monastic rooms and storage chambers. The main church is spacious and airy and its well-preserved frescoes are considered to be the best example of Byzantine art in all of Cappadocia.
Pigeon Houses
Near Uchisar is a valley that has become quite popular with hikers. It is known by many names (Valley of the Pigeon Lofts, Dovecote Valley, Pigeon Valley) but they all refer to the thousands of pigeon houses that have been carved into the soft tufa since ancient times. Although they can be found throughout Cappadocia, they are especially plentiful in this valley which must have one of the greatest collections of pigeon lofts in the world. They were carved wherever space allowed including abandoned caves and the walls of collapsed churches. They lack the architectural interest of the doocots of Scotland or the elaborate Persian pigeon towers but their sheer numbers are astonishing. In Cappadocia, pigeons have long been a source of food and fertilizer. The advent of chemical fertilizers has reduced the use of pigeon fertilizer. However, some farmers still maintain their lofts because they insist that the reputation of Cappadocian fruits as the sweetest and most succulent in Turkey is entirely due to the pigeons' droppings.