Wandering Fel

Showing posts with label Cappadocia. Show all posts

Turkey Travel: Underground Cave Restaurant at Cappadocia

Okay, I just basically spent around 15 minutes to frantically looking at what happened to Picasa. Apparently Picasa and Web Picasa have been discontinued but no fret, Google does not totally abandon the ex-Picasa user. In facts, the features are usually done by Web Picasa last time has now been replaced by Google Photos. Looks wise, they are pretty similar. Well all works well as long as I can get back my pictures.

The funny thing is this makes me realise that I still have un-posted Turkey travel related blog posts. This blog has totally gone totally unorganised like its owner. LOL. Ok please don't mind me and let's all teleport together to a restaurant in Cappadocia which is situated at Hanem Art Center.

In order to enter the restaurant, you have to go down. Literally underground.

Welcome to Turkey's underground cave restaurant. This kind of restaurant setting is pretty common especially in Cappadocia area. Since the restaurant is usually pretty big, it can cater to a number of tour groups. And us is one of those tour groups that day.

Turkish in an underground restaurant in Cappadocia

Even though the restaurant is situated in an underground cave, the lightings are actually pretty good. It is quite cool in the summer too.

Inside an underground cave restaurant in Cappadocia

As usual, no meal is not started by Turkish bread which I don't think I can eat anymore at this juncture of the trip.

The salad, however, looks somewhat different this time. It's like a mixture of paste and yoghurt and greens and tomato thingy. Hahaha. I don't know how to explain but the taste is pretty much an acquired one.

Oh, normal mushroom cream soup. Yum.

Grilled fish. I wonder what kind of fish is this.

As usual, Indonesians always bring chili sauce everywhere and well, I don't mind it though. The grilled fish tastes better with chili sauce. Hahaha.

Turkish Dinner at Hamandali Restaurant, Cappadocia

After going through the process of carpet weaving in one of the weaving schools in Cappadocia, we were supposed to make our move to our dining venue, Hamandali Restaurant, which is located quite near to the school. However, we were still quite early and the restaurant is not ready for dinner yet. We had no choice but to linger around the yard for a while.

Thankfully, there are a lot of beautiful flowers to adore while waiting for the time to pass. And to take picture with.

The Turkish flowers look very beautiful from closer look too. I seldom see flowers in my daily life inside the concrete jungle and hence, the excessive adoring mood. Hahaha.

My brother had his silly and yet creative idea of making the flower fashionable. =P

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After half an hour, we finally boarded our bus and went to the restaurant. Hamandali restaurant is popular amongst tourists because it is actually a cave restaurant. Yes, you will have the experience of eating inside a cave. First, there is this potato souffle kind of pie.

Potato souffle at Hamandali Restaurant Cappadocia

And the spinach mushroom soup.

Spinach Mushroom Soup at Hamandali Restaurant

The main courses are then served together with rice because we, Indonesian, can't survive without rice somehow. Hahaha. There are pasta(s) too and all kind of grilled meats.

Turkish Dinner at Hamandali Restaurant, Cappadocia

The food served at Hamandali Restaurant is not bad and once you are full, you are not supposed to leave the restaurant immediately because Hamandali restaurant also offers Turkish performances such as belly dance and sufi dance.

Carpet Weaving School, Cappadocia

In Cappadocia, there is a vocational weaving school which employs hundreds of women in entire region to learn how to weave a carpet or rug. Visitors are welcomed to visit the school and see how the carpet is being made. These local arts are dying so it is recommended for visitors to come and see the process while it is still around.

The teacher/ owner of the school gave us a tour on how to make the carpet. Apparently no one knows exactly when the technique of carpet weaving first appeared but the oldest surviving carpet in the world is made in the Turkish style of a double knot. First, we were brought to the area where the silk cocoons are boiled.

Boiling silk cocoons for carpet in Turkey

Once the silk cocoons are "cooked" to the correct form. They allow them to dry for a while before the next process, spinning the cocoons.

Silk cocoons before spinning in carpet weaving school Turkey

Once the silk cocoons are spin, you will get the wool which then tied into a double knot and hence, the name, double-knot style.

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The double-knot wool is now ready for some coloring. The coloring material is boiled in the big pot and they just put the whole double-knotted wool inside the pot. Each pot is used to store different color.

Dyeing process of wool for Turkey carpet

Once the material is ready, it is now time to weave. There are certain patterns to follow like how you normally knit. But looking at the pattern, that carpet does not look easy to make, really.

Once you have finished the "tour", you will be invited to look at the end result and even, try to walk on it. They really feel so smooth and you can buy them at cheaper price (thanks to Government's subsidy) here. You don't have to carry it on flight (because that will be too heavy) as the store will deliver it to your house in whichever country you are coming from.

Zelve's Fairy Chimneys, Cappadocia

After our visit to Goreme and its Open Air Museum, we went to visit its neighbouring area called Zelve. The drive to Zelve was pretty near, I think it lasted around 10 to 15 minutes.

The road between Goreme and Zelve Turkey

Zelve is located quite tucked away out of sight off the main road. It was a living community until the year 1952 where ordinary locals went about their daily life, grinding bulgur (re: cereal) at the mill, pressing grapes in the saraphane (re: winery), rearing pigeons for their manure for fertilizer and bedding their animals down for the night in the cave-cut stables.

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Zelve is also famous for tourism because of its soldier's rock or fairy chimneys. There is an open air museum (albeit smaller than Goreme) in Zelve.

Folklore says that long time ago a prophet was on the run while soldiers were chasing him. He was trapped in Zelve canyon and started to cry to God asking Him for help. He asked God to either turn the prophet into a bird so he could fly away or turn the soldiers into rock (now that's a very specific request in time of needs..lol). God, in His grace and mercy, decided to turn the soldiers into rocks and today, visitors can see these amazing soldier-fairy chimneys when they visit Zelve.

Zelve Soldier Fairy Chimney Rocks Turkey

Goreme Open Air Museum, Cappadocia

Goreme Open Air Museum is a unique museum in Turkey because it offers visitors the chance to see and explore the churches built inside the rocky wall. It is usually the first sight to be visited by travellers in Cappadocia because it is located in the center of the region with easy access from all directions. It is within walking distance from Goreme village center (around 15 minutes).

Goreme Open Air Museum has been a member of UNESCO World Heritage List since 1984. It is not without any reasons. The area covered by the Open Air Museum is known to form a coherent geographical entity and represents historical unity. There are a total of eleven refectories within the Museum, with rock-cut churches tables and benches. You can enter some of the rooms and see how it feels to live literally inside the rocks.

Each refectory is associated with a church. Most of the churches in Goreme Open Air Museum belong to the 10th, 11th and 12th centuries. The churches are built inside the rocks in order to avoid persecution during those times.

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We visited one of the churches in Goreme called Church of Pantokrator. The wall paintings inside the rock church are still well-maintained and in order to preserve the color of the paintings, no flash photography allowed inside the church.

Church of Pantokrator in Goreme Open Air Museum Cappadocia

From one of the windows inside the church, you can see the view outside. The rocks opposite the Church of Pantokrator are also used by different churches and monasteries.

Did you notice that these rocky structures kinda resemble face? Reminds me of Lava in the short-opening-animation for Inside Out. Too bad the rocks here don't sing the Lava Song, oh well, after all they are rocks not volcanoes. XD #pardonmyrambling

Road Trip in Cappadocia, the Nazars Tree

During our road trip in Cappadocia area in Turkey, we saw a lot of interesting and beautiful things. For example, we saw the beautiful rocky terrains of Cappadocia which makes the region pretty famous in the tourism industry.

We also saw weird stuff like a natural viagra market. Like, seriously? Nobody buy this in a broad daylight when we were passing by the stall though. Hahaha.

We finally made a stop when we saw the famous Nazars tree. Nazars refer to the blue eyed bead talisman which are believed to ward off evil eyes. The evil eye is a curse believed to be cast by malevolent glare, which is usually given to a person when they are unaware. Many cultures (including the Turks) believe that receiving the evil eye will cause misfortune or injury.

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Nazars are usually made in the form of disks or balls, consisting of concentric blue and white circles (usually, from inside to outside, dark blue, light blue, white, dark blue). Folklores say that the staring eyes are supposed to bend the malicious gaze back to the sorcerer.

The talisman is most frequently seen in or on houses and vehicles or worn as beads.

Panorama Kaptan Osman, Cappadocia

My trip to Turkey was one of the best journeys I have ever taken in my life. It is pretty sad Turkey has become kinda devastated in the tourism industry because of its recent havoc due to terrorism. Nonetheless, Turkey has always been a beautiful country. I really love my trip back then to Cappadocia. We went to this place where we can see the panoramic view of Avcilar Valley from Panorama Kaptan Osman (re: Captain Osman).

Noone knows the origin of Kaptan Osman but now, the place is also referred to as Kaptan Osman Cafe because there is a small cafe there right at the side of the valley where visitors can eat peanuts and peaches while drinking the apple tea. If you are looking for some kind of souvenirs from Turkey, the cafe also functions as souvenir store selling statue of Cappadocian houses.

A few metres from the cafe, you will find a small hut which functions as ice cream parlor. The name of the person behind the ice cream bar is not Osman though. He will play tricks to whoever buying the ice cream but it's all fun and harmless so you don't have to be wary. The Turkish ice cream tastes good.

Turkish ice cream stall at Panorama Kaptan Osman Turkey

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Our tour guide bought a few peaches for us to try. They taste sweet and juicy. Nice!

Turkish peaches at Panorama Kaptan Osman Turkey

Okay, why are we here again? Our main reason to come all the way to Panorama Kaptan Osman is not solely to enjoy eating peanuts and peaches. We come here for the panoramic view of the beautiful Avcilar Valley of Cappadocia. This kind of natural view is only one in the world and I am so grateful to be able to enjoy such beautiful view during my journey to Turkey.

Panoramic View of Avcilar Valley in Cappadocia

The sky was so clear too because we visited Turkey in the heat of the summer. If you are visiting Turkey around the same time (August), don't forget to wear a big shade and apply sunblock. It is really hot.

Summer Trip to Panorama Kaptan Osman Cappadocia

Turkey Travel: Kaymakli Underground City, Cappadocia

Have you ever heard about people living in an underground city? Perhaps in the storybook? But it was actually real. Kaymakli is a proof that underground city does exist.

Kaymakli Underground City Cappadocia Turkey

The entrance to the underground city. You can see that there are two arrows painted on the top of the cave. Those arrows serve as a direction so that tourists will not bump and stuck in traffic inside the underground city.

Entrance to Kaymakli Underground City Turkey

The underground city was used by the Christian inhabitants to protect themselves from the oppression of the Mongolians in the 14th century.

Inside the underground city of Kaymakli Cappadocia Turkey

The Christians continued to inhabit the cities when Turkey fell into Ottoman empire to avoid persecution at times.

Stairs and caves at Kaymakli Underground City Turkey

The underground city is surprisingly cool. Cool enough for people in those days to store their wines.

Saraphane Winery at Kaymakli Underground City Turkey

This is how the winery looks like. A natural refrigerator for the wine bottles I suppose.

Wine cellar at Kaymakli Underground City Cappadocia Turkey

The city was finally abandoned when the Christian inhabitants were expelled to Greece. All tunnels still last until this day even though only a certain section is opened for tourists.

Turkey Travel: Hot Air Balloon at Cappadocia

After 50 minutes of waiting (see post), we finally boarded the hot air balloon and ready to fly up. I was so excited and feel that I'm reenacting scene from UP. Although there's no flying house among us here.

Boarding Hot Air Balloon at Cappadocia Turkey

The sun just rose and that made the color of the sky, the ground, and the balloons look beautiful. <3

A parade of hot air balloons at Cappadocia Turkey

When we got higher, the balloon kinda dispersed based on the wind direction. The landmark of Cappadocia is very beautiful from above. Combination of rocks and green and a few colorful balloons.

Cappadocia Nature Landscape from Hot Air Balloon Turkey

After 30 minutes or so we started to feel the sun burning. When you feel that, you know that the time to land is coming soon.

Morning ride on a hot air balloon at Cappadocia Turkey

The captain (i.e. balloon operator) will open a bottle of mock champagne (i.e. sparkling) to celebrate your inaugural hot air balloon flight. And other than that, each of the participant will receive a certificate. A proof of your flight. LOL.

Heard about a sad story about balloon accident few years back (or last year?), I hope the balloon operator do maintain and exert extra caution when flying the balloons. =(

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