Underground Cities
23. Август [месяц] 2008 | en
We left Kaya camping with the intention of checking out an underground city and seeing if we could also spend the night at Keslik Monestary, a place high on the recommended list of Joscha and Ed. But first a stop to an underground city.
We had a place on a map given to us by Kaya camping, and on it was a list of 4 underground cities. We headed towards the first one, as we were told they are all amazing to visit, but if you’ve seen one you know what the rest are.
And so we arrived at what I would describe as a town that could qualify as the setting for the Turkish version of The Hills Have Eyes. It was empty, dusty, and had a few old guys sitting and drinking tea, eying us with no small amount of distrust. I wanted out, this was not the tourist happy Cappadochia.
Patrick still wanted to check the place out, and came back 5 minutes later saying that a guy wanted to show us the ruins, for 10 YTL each, and whatever else we wanted after. (That was a weird way to put it, but before we could really discuss it he was there). I wasnt so sure, but Patrick has just talked to two Italian tourists who had just completed the tour and were happy. So reluctantly I went.
Underground cities are just about the coolest thing you can do in the area. I loved it. Even if the guide was more than a little `strangie`. This site is not even open to the public yet. It is in the process of being made ready for the mad tourist influx. There are no lights (just the flashlight he gives you plus his oil lamp) and there are no checks and controls. This is basically some locals taking advantage of the place and offering tours on the side. And I somehow suspect we got a much better tour because of it. This was the place he played as a kid, (and as an adult as well I do believe), and without the guide we could have been lost in seconds as we descended and ascended left, right and center (literally).
When we finished he asked if we would like to spend the night at his place and have a BBQ. But we really wanted to travel on to Keslik Monastery, and we doubted the experience would be less weird. And I think we made the right choice. The monastery is carved out of the soft rocks, and the caretaker was only too happy to help us out, let us stay the night in the garden of the monastery, and allowed us a fire as well. This was a little piece of heaven as at the moment fire is the dirty F word in turkey. We have been told to do what we want, just not to have a fire (and after seeing the remains of a 6 day fire in Aspendos I understand why).
Ключевые слова:
Keslik Monestary
Turkey
Карта:
N 38° 51.385
E 34° 94.373
Created at: 27. Август [месяц] 2008
