Thursday, May 17

Travel to Cappadocia, a region of amazing, unearthly landscape.  Protruding from the rich farmland of this breadbasket region of Turkey shoot spires of soft, crumbly rock called "tufa".  Some of these rise over 100 feet high.

Erosion under exposure to water has produced these ridges, cones and unusual formations.  Exposure to air hardens the rock.  The combination made the area an ancient haven of caves, homes and chapels, all of which remain visible in the larger cones.  These rock churches kept the churches hidden.  They also made Cappadocia the center of early Christianity in Anatolia.  One thinks immedicately of the "Cappadocian Fathers": Gregory of Nyssa, Gregory Nazianzus and Basil the Great, champions all in the early councils of the Christian church.  Turkey has recently decided to try to preserve these old remnants of Christianity, and restoration of the old churches is underway.

First, we'll visit the underground city of Derimkaya, an unexpectedly intricate system of tunnels and rooms and multiple floors, where Christians hid their women, children and elderly for months on end during the first Arab invasions of the Cappadocian region.

Also in the region are the valleys and churches of Zindanonu, Kizilcukur, Gulludere, and Cavusin.  An hour's hike would bring one further to the Pasabahce Valley.

From there we can drive to Urgup and watch the sun set from the top of these hills.  In one traveler's words, "the light at sunrise and sunset do amazing things to the stone faces of Göreme and the surrounding countryside.  You start seeing contours and edges that are invisible in the heat of the day.  And the color of the low sun brings warmth to the rock."

In the evening, we will return to the legendary site of the belly-dancing Charles to enjoy a "Turkish Night" of food and traditional dance in an underground restaurant.

Overnight: Cappadocia/Ürgup