Cappadocia: Land of the Fairy Chimneys

A Magical Turkish Adventure

Cappadocia is a magical place, like the setting for a fairy tale or even a metropolis for hobbits. For millennia ancient seas, wind, and rain have carved giant rocks into spires that rise up from the earth. Some are capped by large plates or cones giving them the appearance of chimneys.

The people who first settled in the area couldn’t believe they were formed by nature but by mystical creatures so they dubbed them Fairy Chimneys. The Cappadocia landscape is covered with them, in shades of white, gold, rose pink, and grey-black.

This unique valley drew various civilizations; Persians, Byzantines, Hittites, Phrygians, Turks, Greeks, Armenians, and the Ottomans. They quickly realized that the sandstone and limestone were easily carved, so they bored inside the mountains, into the giant rocks that dotted the area, and burrowed underground creating cave cities.

The cities would go down several stories (maybe as much as 16 stories — they’re still excavating) while above ground some of their homes resembled castles. They turned other caves into beautiful Byzantine churches and Cathedrals, many still containing the colorful paintings on the walls and ceilings.

When I was planning my world travels and figuring out where to visit while in Turkey, a friend told me all about Cappadocia (or Kapadokya) saying it was mandatory to visit. She even told me which cave hotel to stay in (Kelebek) and even the exact room (room 11) so I took her advice, booked early, and will be forever grateful.

I flew into the city of Nevsehir just as the sun was setting, a bright orange ball of fire that sank into the horizon, illuminating some of the conical rock formations.

When I arrived at the hotel, it didn’t disappoint... it’s undeniably Turkish and undeniably Cappadocian. Some of the rooms are caves but you don’t get claustrophobic, my room was not large but the ceiling was about 7 feet high, marked with the grooves and indentations of the tools used to carve into the rock. It had a few cubby holes to use as shelves, a wrought iron bed and dressing table, and one tiny window without a view. I was also lucky enough to get a room with a small bathroom with a shower.

The view of the valley below is spectacular, surrounded by rose and gold-colored mountains and valleys dotted with conical fairy chimneys.

I had planned a 48-hour visit to the area, so of course, my first day was jam-packed, beginning with a 4 am wake-up call for the requisite hot air balloon ride through the valleys.

Since I’m still trying to get over my fear of heights I had to search the internet and compare ratings to find one I could trust. It cost a little more than the others but offered the royal treatment, including a 1.5-hour flight, and claimed smaller groups of up to a dozen passengers.

We first stopped for breakfast at their headquarters where I was able to get some reassurance from the pilots who were floating some small helium-filled balloons to test the winds. When the decision was made about the ideal launch location, our group of 12 boarded the van to drive to the launch site, passing dozens of balloons in various stages of inflation. Some were already up in the air, even before the sun barely had a chance to light up the scenery in the valley.

We watched as the crew inflated the balloon, blasting flames inside to heat the air and help give us our lift. Our pilot was David, an Aussie and a 25-year veteran of ballooning at the time, 5 years in Cappadocia, and when he was satisfied, we lifted off.

Any lingering fear I might have about heights vanished as we started to rise into the air, I felt totally secure in the basket and put my fate in David’s hands. As we soared across the plateaus and dipped down into the valleys the view was out of this world, the sky was dotted with balloons of every color.

The pilot pointed out all the highlights and answered all of our questions and the view from hundreds of meters above the earth gave me a whole new perspective on Cappadocia.

When we touched down about 90 minutes later I felt completely satisfied with the journey and it was amazing to watch the pilot’s handling of the balloon, landing us spot-on the flatbed, so the crew wouldn’t have to hoist the basket. We all enjoyed Mimosas with Champagne to toast our morning flight.

Next on my itinerary was a private tour, at the ground (and underground level). We stopped at a Panorama vista spot where I had a perfect view of the whole valley as my guide ran through the history of Cappadocia and the different civilizations that settled there.

Next, we visited the Kaymakli Underground City, a series of connecting caves that went down four levels. It’s not for those who suffer from claustrophobia or asthma… it is often a very tight squeeze, and I had to hunch over to get through the passageways.

We were told it’s not because the people were tiny but instead it was to slow down their enemies during an attack (it would be almost impossible to carry long spears or weapons through the 3-foot high tunnels).

I saw where they cooked underground, ate, slept, and kept their animals, but the question everyone kept asking is ‘where are the toilets’. It seems they used clay pots which they collected and used as fertilizer to grow their crops above ground when it was safe to return to the surface.

The next stop was the Uchisar Castle, a small mountain that had been carved out as a royal residence. Unfortunately, you can’t go inside the caves but you can climb along the outside of the mountain to the top. Actually, it looks more imposing than it was, not a difficult climb at all but the view is spectacular from up there.

We also visited to the Goreme Open Air Museum, the site of several cave churches. These had amazing Byzantine frescoes on the walls and ceilings that were the most beautiful I had seen so far. Unfortunately, no cameras were allowed to protect the sensitive paintings, and while some tourists took a chance and clicked off a few pictures, my guide was on them in an instant, chastising them and then reporting them to the guard outside.

One of the last churches we visited (photos were allowed) cost an extra 8TL (about 50 cents US) on top of the admission price we had already paid. I decided to pay it anyway and we went inside and were so glad we did. It was by far the best paintings and best-preserved paintings of the entire site…simply magnificent.

I also managed to squeeze in a visit to the Ihlara Valley, a beautiful natural park-like setting. The hike was very relaxing as we walked along a path alongside what was once a river but is now not much more than a big stream.

This was a perfect end to my 48 hours in Cappadocia, a magical experience.

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