Going Underground

Cappadocia was the home of the Hittites, who were surrounded by more powerful neighbors, including the Persians. The Hittites could not prevail against their enemies, so they built underground cities for refuge. There are 36 of them in the area - some of which are connected by tunnels running for ten kilometers. We toured the one at Kaymakli. The Hittites had built the first two levels and the later Christians built four more levels underground. People could live in these structures for up to 6 months if necessary. The first (uppermost) level housed the animals, for rather obvious reasons. The second level was the church and priest rooms. The third level contained living rooms. Below that was the kitchen, winery, laundry, and washroom. The infrastructure included HVAC - shafts for air circulation - and a telecom system - a series of small tunnels/tubes for shouting messages. The air shaft was multifunctional because it served as a well, an entrance/exit, and a means to hoist up chamber pots in addition to supplying fresh air and allowing smoke to escape. There were huge stones that could be rolled to close tunnels. Given the very cramped hallway tunnels, it is puzzling how those large stone wheels could be maneuvered into place. The pictures aren't the best, but they give the idea.

The largest river in Turkey, the Red River, flows through Cappadocia on its way to the Black Sea. We crossed it and walked along its banks in the town of Avanos, where we found a little restaurant to drink chai and play backgammon for a while. Avanos is the center of pottery making, which also dates back to the Hittites. We strolled around the town and even enjoyed a brief thunderstorm (with our rain gear comfortably back at the hotel). The farmers of Avanos grow some great-looking vegetables, including some of the largest cabbages and nicest cauliflower we'd ever seen. The Friday market in Avanos was packed with people and fun to walk through.