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My Day: Friday, October 14th Mary Weir mkweir@shaw.ca
 My day! And what a day it was, filled to overflowing with wonderful
discoveries in my favourite place in Turkey, Kapadokya. Actually, much of it was rediscovery because I’ve been this way before. But that only served to make me impatient to be out seeing the view of Cappadocia from the Museum Hotel s terrace in the early light. I was gluttonous to once more enjoy the art and history that saturate this jewel of a hotel. Then, breakfast tinkled my curiosity with the enormous variety of cheese, breads, condiments. This year, a more quiet enjoyment of it all, but I am still overwhelmed, still on beauty overload. It s a mellower, possibly richer experience encounter this time. I am captivated by the simple fountain in the far corner of the Museum’s terrace, hidden away by the restaurant: Sevigi Icin , it proclaims in well worn letters. These words have a double meaning that stood in my mind as a touchstone for the day: Drink Love, or For Love. Although several people aren’t feeling well this morning, most of us headed out to see the sights. First stop is the Best View of Goreme, an opportunity for shopping as well as looking. Here, we see the double greatness of Cappodacia: the amazing rock formations into which have been carved houses, places of worship and work; the crafts and arts that seem to be better here than anyplace else. Meli calls Cappadocia “the competition ground for the Creator and the created”. Cappadocia is a region of a hundred square miles, whose name literally means Land of the Beautiful Horses. It is a rugged and picturesque landscape of multi coloured stone carved into fairy chimnies and tuffs by thousands of years of powerful weather. The most similar thing for North Americans would be South Dakota’s Badlands; but this was far more amazing in that people have inhabited this desert, these rocks, for thousands of years. The French were the first Europeans to “discover” Cappadocia for tourists. They built a Club Med here whose taps flowed with red and white wine, while praising the fabulous rocks of the area. Then, the Germans came,targeting bikers and hikers to visit this unique landscape. While they were right to marvel in the forms and shapes that erosion had cut into the earth with its various deposits of minerals yielding different resistances, something lacked. Six thousand years of amazing geology was echoed by thousands of years of human creativity. First, people found that by digging out the soft interior of the rocks, they could make excellent storage space for food, later for animals. Then, when conquerors came and forced them to hide, they learned that cave houses provided many advantages in this climate of extremes. The hide-outs were cool in the summer and warm in the winter. In the carved out houses of Cappadocia were produced the best carpets, the best pottery, the best wine. Nearby the best horses were bred. Although there was not much natural top soil, crumbing rock and pigeon manure made for fertile earth. Meli spoke of the natural self esteem of the creative Cappadocians which made them unworried about what others would do or say, made them trustworthy and trusting. These are people with a talent for creativity and for peace. Zelve Open Air museum showed us the archeology and geology of this region where rock carved houses last for two thousand years before cracking open. Zelve was built two thousand years ago and has had continuous habitation until people were moved out, for the sake of safety, in 1950. When the residents, reluctant to leave, finally were gone, the site became a world heritage center. Now it is a place for experiencing the grandeur of creation as well as the ingenuity and adaptability of humankind. We imagine pregnant women climbing up the sheer cliffs into houses. We see the cave mills where donkeys were used to turn enormous donut shaped stones to grind wheat. We admire the mini carpets hung out windows to attract pigeons which were highly valued for their fertilizing droppings. We hear the acoustics that amplifies Beau and Nancy s singing to fill the valley. We view places of worship… In the Church with Grapes and the Church with Fish, we hear how the first Christians identified each other with the sign of a fish. In Greek, the letters of the word fish stand for Jesus Christ God Son Saviour. We see the so called Maltese crosses on the walls. This early cross was not a sign of crucifixion, but symbolizes the same fish motif: Jesus Christ Son of God Saviour. The Church with Grapes was built before the Fish Church and we see grapes, Maltese crosses and vines. Here the simple people could understand grapes which made this place feel like a home to them. Everyday objects conveyed a profound hope to them. After Paul left Caesarea, Christians settled here amidst the rocks. Further up the valley, we look at the old monastery with its decorations of the Tree of Life and Sun. Lunchtime has come too soon, but another treat for eyes and appetites await us at the Hanodasi restaurant in Nevsehir. Near the entrance we see a woman rolling out and baking the pide that we will soon be eating. This is an old restored house filled with beautiful and interesting things. Meli tells us that it is believed that beauty keeps out evil… and no place is this more important than at doorways where beautiful things are often hung above the opening. After savouring a feast for the eyes, we dig into the numerous salads and discover manti. Manti is Turkish homemade pasta, sometimes filled with cheese or meat, covered with yogurt and chickpeas and seasoned with mint and sumac. Delicious! Our driver, Huseyin’s home in Goreme is our next destination. We meet his wife and mother-in-law with pleasure. We notice the sieve for sorting grapes and the mountains of pumpkins, grown for their seeds. We sample these naturally roasted seeds with our tea as we talk about marriage and divorce, children, and learn to tie on head scarves in several traditional ways. The mother-in-law tells us that while she visits her other child in Istanbul for half the year, she much prefers it here in Cappadocia! I certainly understand and share that preference. Then we step back into history as we visit the monastery carved into the rocks of the Goreme Open Air museum. This was built in 380AD. We see Jesus portrayed in a number of different ways, including some with red hair! In the frescos, we see the rooster that symbolizes Peter, St. Barbara who is a special favourite in Cappodocia, all eighth century drawings. In the second cell ceiling frescoes show us the blessing of Constantine s mother, St. Onuphorous, St. George, St. Simon on the Pillar portrayed as female. The third cell is especially noted for the wonderful un-retouched colours of the twelveth century frescoes and eighth century drawings. Here we see a crucifixion scene in which Jesus has muscles, a strong and powerful figure, not the weakling as in some western art. And Mary looks sad. Then, back to more modern times, as we drive to Avanos to visit the Avanos cooperative carpet centre. Carpets here are amongst the finest in Turkey and in the world. We learn how carpets are made, watching the weaving on several looms, seeing the silk worms and how the thread is spun, observing the dying process from natural dyes. We learn about single knots and double knots, how there are at least three hundred knots per square inch, usually far more. The more knots per inch, the better the carpet. We see weaving in wool, cotton, and silk. In a state of awe and amazement, we moved into the vast show room where muscled men threw out carpet after carpet on the floor for us to look at. And yes, some of us fell in love and bought carpets. Mary, Doug, Clyde, Nancy, Ameta, Sue and Karen, David and Liz, experienced the ecstasy and agony of decision and haggling that goes into the buying of these soon to be cherished works of art. It took hours…while the others were comfortably back at the hotel enjoying supper, we continued in this serious and intoxicating business. In exhaustion and elation, we finally returned to the Museum hotel where a patient restaurant staff was waiting to provide delicious food for our bodies For many of us this would be remembered as the day we bought the carpet. And while some souvenirs are extravagances, this one was a luxury that keeps weaving alive and traditional art blooming in the remoter corners of Anatolia. After this full day, my mind and heart returned to the inscription on that simple fountain. We had indeed drunk love in the beauty of creation, human and divine. We had begun to understand that it is love that creates beauty and enables people to survive and flourish amidst hardship. And beauty, like faith, hope and love, gives meaning to life, even, or perhaps especially, amidst the desert of Cappadocia.
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