Quarantine Cappadocia through the eyes of Ukrainian tourists. Part 5
Start here: Part 1 , Части 2 , Part 3 , Part 4 .
The technical part with maps, links and summary of all series is located here .
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And now I propose to pause the present and briefly dive into the ancient hours. We will study the history of regional Christianity on the example of a single church.
As we already know from the history of Goreme, the first migrations of Christians to these lands took place during the persecution of them in the Roman Empire. The second wave is associated with the era of iconoclasm, when iconographers and icon-worshipers sought refuge in Cappadocia. In addition, the opportunity to arrange ascetic cells attracted to this region those willing to monasticism and solitude.
We have Haç li Kilise .
The exact date of construction of the Church with the Cross is not known, it is approximately 6-7 centuries with additions in the 10th.
What happened to Christians next? The defeat of Byzantium in the war with the Seljuks marked the beginning of Islamic domination in the region and the gradual emigration of Christians from here. The last believers left Anatolia in 1923 as part of a population exchange agreement between Greece and Turkey.
And since in Islam images of all living beings are forbidden, Muslims, entering abandoned churches, first scratched the faces of saints from frescoes. Somewhere on the ceilings the images survived, because it was harder to reach there.
The names of the local churches are also not authentic.
Christians did not leave any records, and Muslims named the temples after what caught their eye. This church got its name from the ceiling decorated with crosses.
We continue to walk through the Rose Valley and admire the color of the rocks, which gave the whole name to the valley.
Nature is so talented in fantasy and Photoshop that a person can only look around with admiration.
Thanks to horses, a navigator is not needed here. The main reference point is the traces of horseshoes on the ground.
Rain, rain. Yeah yeah. It's good that I applied sunscreen in the morning))
We go almost to where we started our journey. That is, we passed the loop, going through the Pink Valley-2, and coming out through one of the branches of the Pink Valley-1. The length of this road is about 3 km.
Then the choice from the series "where to go? " is repeated. I choose the path to the neighboring town Ç avusin (Chavushin).
The road to Chavushin is wide and calm
The only thing to watch out for are fading ATVs, because judging by their number, somewhere here they have the main "nest")))
The entrance to the city is through the old cemetery
Chavushin is considered one of the oldest settlements in Cappadocia. The earliest mention of him dates back to 56 years.
First impression - the city suddenly died out. Shops are closed. There are no people. Only a few tourists, like those ghosts, sometimes appear in the field of view.
The picturesque ruins right in front of us are the remnants of the old city. An earthquake in the middle of the 20th century damaged houses and forced people to move lower into the valley.
Although some "living" buildings upstairs still got lost
Directly following the signs to Vaftizci Yahya Kilisesi (Church of John the Baptist).
This temple is considered to be the oldest in the region and dates back to the 5th century.
Byzantine emperors loved to visit it in their time.
The trail winds up.
Views of the city and the valley.
Here you can see the surviving part and the ruins of old Chavushin.
Then the stitch becomes a little steep
At the stage of the half-ruined wooden town, I finally stop, because to jump over the hole there you have to be that "alpine goat", and I have this firmware in my body, unfortunately, is missing (
)Well, as it turned out, I didn't make it to the church in two steps. Because according to the reviews of those who jumped, the entrance to the temple is located just behind this wooden town
Going back, peeping into other people's abandoned and surviving homes
I see a wonderful hallucination from the past. The terrace of the cafe is open. Tourist bus. People, finally, people! Chirping in Polish, Italian, French, sitting on the summer playground. No masks! Ooooh, I want this hallucination! ))
I approach. I take the table.
I make an order.
I pull out my legs that have been run over during the day. God, how good I am! A police car approaches. Oh, and we are now rushing back to reality.
Emotional dialogue of the police with the owner of the cafe. Tourists quietly scatter in the direction of their bus. I sit, pretending to be part of the interior. The police leave. The owner of the cafe approaches me. I expect to ask to leave now. No, I am being taken to an inner cave, which is not visible from the street. I have never eaten underground. New experience))
Peynirli Pide - Turkish style cheese pizza (delicious! )
Kü nefe - dessert from kadayif dough in syrup, served very hot. From my taste it is too sweet, even strong Turkish coffee without sugar did not save the situation.
Run from the underground and walk on
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Ç avusin Kilisesi . Another famous church is Chavushin, dating from 964-965. It was built in honor of the Byzantine emperor Nicephorus Phocas.
The temple has a tunnel vault, well-preserved colored frescoes and includes 8-10 rooms on three floors. But, unfortunately, today it is closed to visitors.
Another local wonder is called P eri bacalari , also called Fairy chimneys or Fairy chimneys . The last version of the name comes from our ancestors, who found it difficult to justify the emergence of mysterious relief forms. Therefore, they believed that it was the fairies who chose Cappadocia as their place of residence, preferring villages in magical rocks with funny "roofs".
Geologically, "Dimari fairies" are a base of tuff (soft rock), which is decorated with basalt or andesite (heavy and strong stone). Previously, basalt and andesite completely covered the tuff base, but due to uneven erosion processes of soft and hard components, such fungal-like pillars were gradually formed.
Moreover, the neck of the tuff cone thins with the clock, so that at some point the "hat" will fall. Remains not protected from above will be completely destroyed.
Going back. The scene on the road reminded of the famous work of Dumas, and I wanted to exclaim: "Athos, Portos and Aramis! "))
Modernized version of the Musketeers))
The sun plays with the illumination of the surrounding rocks
What an endless sky ...
Already in Goreme, looking with amazement at the closed doors of shops (where can I buy water now, huh ?! ), I can slowly reach my brain - today is a day off! This means that there is a total curfew in Turkey. Everything should be closed, locals are sitting at home. So that's why Chavushin was so extinct! Goreme today, by the way, is also not very crowded, although tourists create some traffic.
Heavy storm clouds are concentrating over the city. Having decided to finally make the weather forecast come true?
Balloons will not fly tomorrow either, because we are promised another rain.
Well, the common waiter, the Ukrainian subspecies is determined and will have some time to wait for its flight))
Continued here .
