Cappadocia : Gumusler Monastery

Info :  A short bus ride 10km northeast from Nigde  will take you to Eski Gümüsler where a wall of rock punctuated with caves concealed the remains of a substantial monastery set around a courtyard until it was rediscovered in 1963. Inside its church were found some of the finest of all the Cappadocian frescoes, with images of the Annunciation, the Nativity and the saints dating back to the 11th century. Much has been made of an El Grecoesque elongated Madonna with a Mona Lisa smile; sadly, this only seems to have materialized after clumsy restorative efforts. Upstairs more soot-blackened frescoes appear to show hunting scenes. In the rush to admire the paintings it’s easy to overlook the evocative reminders of monastic life that surround the courtyard: rock-cut graves, huge storage pots built into the ground, even a rolling-stone identical to those used to close off the tunnels in the Derinkuyu  and Kaymaklı underground cities.

   

Cappadocia : Ihlara valley

Info : The volcanic eruption of Hasandagi led to tectonic movements that left the surface of the region covered with a layer of volcanic rock. The same volcanic activity led to pressure and heat being put upon the limestone causing it to crack and create naturally spouting springs of hot water, these can be seen at the Ziga Thermal Springs between Ihlara and Yaprakhisar. The structural characteristics of the region due to volcanic eruption produced tufa outcrops which were moulded by wind, erosion and other natural phenomena and created the strange and colorful Fairy Chimneys that are also encountered at Selime and Yaprakhisar. The tectonic movoments produced tufa rock that in some places is soft and in others is coloured grey, green and brown. Huge areas of crumbling rock completely covered the area in its debris. The Ihlara valley alogside the melendiz River is a result of this disintegration that created a canyon with a deep base. The fast flowing river is in places between 100 and 200 m deep and it divides the valley into two; it continues towards Aksaray with the name Ulunmak until reaches Tuz Golu (Salt Lake).
 Aksaray Province of Cappadocia region was an important religious centre in Christianity's very earliest days. Founders of orders  like Basil of kayseri and Greegory of Nazianos lived here in the 4th century. A different set of monastic rules than the system used in Egypt ad Syria was determined here. Although the monks in Egypt and Syria cut themselves off from relationships with the wordly things the monks under Basil and Gregory did not. The birthplace for this concept was Belisirma.   Gregory, offering a new explanation for the Holy Trinity, brought about a debate concering the divinity of Christ. His ideas prevailed at the Council of Iznik. Thus an innovator became a saint for the the rock region of Belisirma, Ihlara and Gelveri where Gregory lived. With the defensive castles of Mount Hasan providing defence against Arab invasions the churces were able to continue in peaceful worship.
 The Ihlara Valley  has protected these rock-cut dwellings ad churhes with frescoes and they come down to us a unique historical treasury. These frescoed churches and dwellings easily carved into rock from the early years of Christianity are scattered all along the way from Ihlara to Selime through the Ihlara valley.
 Ihlara valley has been formed at an approximate depth of 150 due that the erosion made by Melendiz river coming from the mountains of Melendiz to the volcanic rocks. Due that the richness of the watering possibility and its hidden form and easily to hide structure it was the first settlement place of the first Christians escaping from the Roman soldiers In the Ihlara Valley  there are hundreds of antic churches caved in the volcanic rocks. The most known Ihlara valley churches are Agacalti Church with cross plan, Sümbüllü Church, Pürenliseki Church, Kokar Church, Yilanli Church, Karagedik Church, Kirkdamatli Church, Direkli Church, Ala Church, Kemerli Church and Egritas Church.

How can you go: You can go to Ihlara valley from Aksaray province 40 km. Aksaray is 674 km. far from Istanbul, 225 km. from Ankara, 693 km. from Izmir.

The text is from the : http://www.cappadociaturkey.net

 

Σινασός Καππαδοκίας (Sinasos of Cappadocia)

Info : Η Σινασός ήταν μία μικρή κωμόπολη στα βάθη της Ανατολής, 250 χλμ. νοτιοανατολικά της Άγκυρας . Λέγεται ότι το όνομα της προέρχεται από το σημιτικό σιν που σημαίνει ήλιος και την κατάληξη άσσος, όπως Αλικαρνασσός, Παρνασσός, άρα Σινασός σημαίνει Ηλιούπολη.  Σήμερα ονομάζεται Μουσταφάπασα και ο  πληθυσμός της πριν από την Ανταλλαγή  το 1924 ανερχόταν σε περίπου 3000 Έλληνες και 500 Τούρκους. Πηγή ευημερίας για τη Σινασό ήταν το εμπόριο. Οι Σινασίτες διέπρεπαν στην Κωνσταντινούπολη  ως έμποροι ναυτιλιακών ειδών, αλιπάστων και κυρίως μαύρου χαβιαριού, του οποίου είχαν αποκλειστικά το διαμετακομιστικό εμπόριο από τη Ρωσσία στην Ευρώπη και για το οποίο είχαν συστήσει ειδική συντεχνία με δικό της Καταστατικό, ήδη από το 18ο αιώνα. Η ελληνική εκπαίδευση και οι επαφές με την κοσμοπολίτικη Πόλη είχαν ως αποτέλεσμα την αύξηση του βιοτικού επιπέδου των Σινασιτών και τη βελτίωση των δεσμών με την ιδιαίτερή τους πατρίδα. Η νοσταλγία, η αγάπη για το χωριό και η ευημερία των Σινασιτών, δημιούργησαν τα περίφημα αρχοντικά της Σινασού, τα οποία είχαν πλούσιο εσωτερικό και εξωτερικό διάκοσμο, με σκαλιστά φορούσια, μαιάνδρους, τοιχογραφίες κλπ. Ένα τμήμα των σπιτιών ήταν σκαλισμένο στον μαλακό βράχο και το υπόλοιπο ήταν κτιστό. Από αυτά, 95 έχουν κριθεί διατηρητέα από το τουρκικό κράτος, ενώ ολόκληρος ο οικισμός χαρακτηρίσθηκε διατηρητέος από την UNESCO  πριν από λίγα χρόνια. Τα κτήρια που έχουν διασωθεί αλλά ακόμη κι αυτά που είναι ερειπωμένα μαρτυρούν τον πολιτισμό των κατοίκων της. Τα τελευταία χρόνια πολλά από τ'αρχοντικά αυτά μετατρέπονται σε ξενοδοχεία και πανσιόν .

Tips :  Στον κεντρικό ναό των Αγ. Κωνσταντίνου και Ελένης, που σώζεται μέχρι σήμερα, ο Οικουμενικός Πατριάρχης Βαρθολομαίος, τα τελευταία χρόνια τελεί λειτουργία, σχεδόν κάθε χρόνο.