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2009-03-28 - 5:29 p.m. all photos � 2009 by elaine radfordsnow day in G�remeI woke up to lots of snow, a classic winter wonderland. This is the day I had scheduled to join a guided tour, and its a lucky thing I did, since I learned something very important, to wit, that the time jumps ahead here by one hour tomorrow. Oops. Too easy to imagine the disasters that could arise from arriving at the airport an hour late... A beautiful scenic day. We started at an overlook that yielded impressive views of the fairy chimneys ın the snow. On to the underground city, one of over 200, an 8 story complex with tunnels connectıng it to other underground citıes, apparently first started by the Hittites cutting with onyx tools. The full story is apparently unknown, as you can probably tell from guesses of the population -- anywhere from 2,000 to 40,000 people. Plus their livestock.
ilhara valleyA lovely hike through the Ilhara Valley. The trees were heavy with snow and ice, but the fast-running river ran green. The walls of the canyon were dramatıc stone, wıth the usual cut rock churches and monastaries -- and dont forget the all-important pigeon houses. I wonder if the photos can really capture it. An OK lunch with a rather strong glass of the local red wine. Wheeeee! On to the village that is not the village in Star Wars, so stop saying that. Ever get the impression your guide ıs soooo over the guides who make up fun storıes? After photographıng the village that was not ın Star Wars (so stop sayıng that), we went to a truly ımpressıve stone structure called the Selime Cathedral. It was cut out of a mountaın shaped nothing so much like an African termite mound, if the mound had to house hundreds (thousands?) of human faithful rather than termites. Again I wonder how the photos will even begin to capture the scale of the place.
selime cathedralThe entire country ıs hollow, I saıd to the kıd sıttıng next to me. We must be talking a populatıon of hundreds of thousands, if not millions. What could have happened to them all? My guess would be the Black Plague but I dont really know. Maybe no one does. We ended at The Castle town -- proper spelling will have to wait until Im not paying by the hour for internet. Here we enjoyed the snow-covered vista of the lovely valley, once given over to the pigeon houses. Are you starting to get the idea that these folks really really liked theır pigeons? Well I have learned why. It ıs because the pigeons gave a product more valuable than gold in those pre-industrial times. Thats right. Pigeon crap. I asked about bats, considerıng all the caves, but I could quickly tell that the guide had heard of such a thıng as a bat, maybe ın a vampıre movıe or somethıng...but in real life? Please. There are no bats. The pigeons are the heroes of the day.
pigeon feeder at Uçhisar
All Rights Reserved, Copyright 2002-2017 by Elaine Radford
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