Cappadocia, Turkey

Larissa and I have dreamed of going to Turkey together since we were graduate students in archaeology. At long last a trip with our ideal itinerary through western Anatolia was organized for twenty-nine MFA Associates, Senior Associates and friends by Mimi Braverman. What a trip it was – everything we were hoping for and so much more. Using Fest Travel, Mimi B. lined up guide extraordinaire Serhan Gungor for three weeks this May. Serhan was erudite, eloquent, warm, funny, and an expert on Turkish history. Our driver, quiet Ilyas, was a master at the wheel, and kept our bus spotlessly clean for 3,000 miles. And the group was wonderful – deeply interested in both art and archaeology, these were people who were actually delighted to see yet another ruin.

How I loved Turkey! From an archaeological viewpoint, it’s stupendous – everything from Neolithic and Bronze Age cities to the best preserved Roman ruins in the world. Students of art history will be floored by the Classical and Byzantine art; nature lovers equally astounded by the geological formations of Cappadocia, the breath-taking Taurus Mountains, the spectacular sunsets, and the remarkable variety of wildflowers. It’s as modern as any of its NATO allies and has a strictly secular government, yet the population is largely Muslim. As of now, the conservative Fundamentalist party is in power while the military (along with the intelligentsia) is the liberal counterbalance. Ataturk is still widely idolized, and the reforms he instituted have forged a viable 20th /21st century nation from the remains of the Ottoman Empire’s heartland. Our tour started in Ankara, a thoroughly up-to-date capital city with a picturesque walled old city. Ataturk’s Mausoleum is here – a gigantic complex intentionally resembling an ancient temple. Every visiting foreign dignitary must pay obeisance here (Obama has already done his duty.)

One of the things that surprised me most about Turkey is the high quality of the museums, which are all very well set up and maintained. The Archaeological Museum in Ankara may be the best. What a collection it has – I was especially thrilled to see frescos, reliefs and the famous “Mother Goddess” figurine from Catal Huyuk as well as the standards from the Royal Tombs of Alaca Huyuk.

From Ankara, we headed south through Cappadocia, an archaeologist’s heaven. The blustery conditions at Late Bronze Age Hittite capital city of Hattusas (ca. 1400 BC) brought home to us the power of the ancient Anatolian chief god Teshub, the storm god. Although I’d studied the site as a grad student, I was unprepared for the majesty of the mountain setting, the huge extent of the ancient city, and the steepness and enormity of the protective glacis. What a thrill to see the Lion Gate! Nearby is the Hittite open-air sanctuary of Yazilikaya, in which reliefs of gods carved into the cliffs march into a narrow cleft wherein resides the “Dagger God.” We also visited the Early Bronze Age/Hittite site of Alaca Huyuk and the Assyrian trading colony Kultepe.

Even more exciting for Larissa and me was Catal Huyuk (ca. 7,000 BC), the large Neolithic site often called the world’s first city. It’s very well set up for visitors, with features of the excavated houses clearly identified. The houses are all adjoining, with entry through holes in the roofs. You could still see the marks the ladders left on the walls, and bull horns sticking out of the sides of benches. Originally, the houses also had painted frescoes. Our advisor at Brandeis had dug here, so this was a pilgrimage for us.

The Nevshehir region is unbelievable. The plateaus have worn away into fantastic formations called “fairy chimneys,” hoodoo-like cones rising hundreds of feet into the air. Plateaus still undergoing the erosion process have sides that undulate wildly and the different layers of exposed rock are most colorful. Houses, dovecotes, and churches have been hollowed out of these cones and into the sides of cliffs. We were fortunate enough to be able to visit one of the houses. Seating is all on divans carved out of the rock, and knickknacks from all over the world decorate niches in the wall.

Nearby, the cave churches of Goreme are now a UNESCO heritage site, so their marvelous frescos are being preserved. Some of these churches are quite big and have domes, colonnades, side chapels, etc. This area has long been a haven for the persecuted, who created entire cities (complete with wineries and stables) underground to hide in during times of peril.

One of the many highlights of this trip was the morning we had a balloon flight over this region. Our pilot (Mike, Kapadokya Balloons) was an expert – he would dip us so close to the chimneys that we could almost reach out and touch them, fly through a canyon, then float us up above the clouds. There were over 30 balloons aloft that day – and as romantic as you would think it would be to be the only balloon afloat, the large number of them sure made for beautiful pictures.

After the balloon ride, we hiked down into the Kizilcukur Valley and were able to see the fairy chimneys up close. Every ten paces would bring another splendid vista. The rain that was somewhat bothersome during the first few days of our trip resulted in the most superb display of wildflowers I’ve ever seen. There were entire fields of them; there were clusters on ancient walls, there were brave single plants fighting for a roothold on sheer rock. The final tally isn’t in yet, but I think all told we saw over 50 varieties. Brilliant red poppies were the show-offs, but every other color in the rainbow was also very well represented.

We drove along portions of the Silk Road and stopped at several caravanserais. Small mosques are everywhere in this region – many newly constructed with shiny stainless steel domes. Ultra-conservative Konya is the home of the Mevlana Museum, where Rumi, founder of the Whirling Dervishes, is buried. Aside from Ephesus, this was the most mobbed place we visited. We did witness a Whirling Dervish ritual, which gets old real fast. My impression was that they don’t whirl so much as rotate.

Mimi Santini-Ritt 2009