Ankara and Cappadocia

I saw so many amazing things this past weekend! We left Thursday night at 1am to arrive in Ankara at 7am. I was so tired and wanted to sleep on the bus, but the landscape was so incredibly different than anything I had ever seen before, so I fought to stay awake. We went directly to the dormitory and had a quick nap before heading back out on the buses to go to Ataturk's mausoleum, Anitkabir. Anitkabir is this monumental structure with great columns and almost Egyptian motifs with a large courtyard in the center. We filed into the main building to see the sarcophagus of Ataturk in its intricately mosaic-tiled hall. The ceilings were covered in reflective gold tiles several stories high. We then went through an Ataturk museum and saw his car collection along with a history of the struggles of the Turkish republic. After Anitkabir, we headed to Ankara castle which is really nothing more than an old stone fortress, but it offered great 360 degree views of the city and its terra cotta roofed houses. Kocatepe Mosque was next on our list of destinations. It was really a very pretty mosque with painted domes and arches and people say it resembles the Blue Mosque in Istanbul. There is a large reflective gold chandelier in the center that is really stunning when you view the length of the mosque. From Kocatepe Mosque we went to a global village set up at a public shopping center, so the people living in Ankara could browse the tables with representatives from over 30 countries. We headed back to the dormitory to get ready for the barbecue we had that night. Elysia and I overslept from the little nap we decided to take, but because we are on "Turkish time" (meaning nothing starts when they say it will), we were actually early. We had fun eating kofte and tomatoes on bread and dancing up a storm.

Saturday morning we got back on the buses and headed to TurkSat, a center that controls the satellites that operate Turkish television channels. They were a sponsor of the tour and they gave us lunch. Other than that, TurkSat was the definite low point of the tour, mostly because we were all so anxious to get to Cappadocia. Hours later, we get to Durinkuyu underground city, seemingly in the middle of nowhere. We had so much fun exploring these low ceiling passageways and narrow stairways. There were so many small rooms with ceilings no higher than 5 or 6 feet. The complex descended 8 stories in complicated tunnels that opened up into a church, food storage areas, and rooms with no discernible purpose. We were also amazed to know the city had been used for 4,000 years. Incredible. We then went to get a panoramic view of Cappadocia as we watched the sunset. I can't really describe Cappadocia because it is unlike anything that I have seen before. It is a landscape created by a ancient volcanic eruption that left these formations of volcanic ash. Because the ash is soft, it was easy for the peoples that inhabited Cappadocia to hollow out homes in the rock. Please look to my pictures to get a better idea of the eerie terrain that is Cappadocia. Saturday night we went to a touristy restaurant to see some traditional dances and had dinner by sharing food on platters at long tables. Of course, in true AIESEC style, everyone participated in the dancing.

Sunday was our last day in Cappadocia, so we went to Goreme outdoor museum to look into some houses and churches carved out of the rock. In this one little valley there are hundreds of openings in the rock and dozens of small rock chapels to explore. The early Christians, persecuted for their faith, fled to the rough landscape of Cappadocia and made it their home. We saw chapels at Goreme dating from the 4th century to the 13th century. It really gives you chills to walk into these dimly lit caverns only to look up and see arches and domes carved out of the rock and elaborate paintings decorating all the walls. It was difficult to capture, but my pictures show some of the kinds of paintings, ranging from simple red on white to detailed paintings of the life of Christ. Cappadocia is really a treasure. We headed back to Ankara, but stopped first at the Salt Lake, the second largest lake in Turkey. However, due to heavy use in irrigation, huge expanses of the lake have dried up, leaving a moist, salt bed to walk on. We watched the sun set over a sea of white salt (and took some pretty cool pictures, too). I wish I could describe better the experiences that I had in Cappadocia and Ankara, but I hope this gives you some idea.