Reminiscence from Anatolia- Part Eighteen: Cappadocia by dusk!
The couple’s name were Nabil and Rasha… they were from Alexandria… where Nabil worked as a Doctor.
It was nice talking to them… they had got married, recently and were on a honeymoon. They had taken a different route to Cappadocia… going to Canakkale, Troy… then to Ankara and then to Cappadocia. They said that I shouldn’t miss Canakkale… I smiled and thought aloud- some other time. I knew I have missed a number of jewels in Turkey… my idea was to cover as many different zones in Turkey as possible- breadth of experience than depth- that, perhaps has been my talisman while traveling… I don’t stay at any place for more than a day… moving constantly… that helps me in covering higher number of places… the depth, I make up for it by reading thereafter.
The Ilhara Valley trek is magical… it makes you stop from time to time… stop, look around and relish the ethereal beauty of the place… the burbling brook- which resonates with your thoughts and amplifies them… giving you a vista to think upon… or the woods which give you solace… or the grottos all around… suggesting you of human possibilities…
I befriended the Iranian couple and the Malaysian guy… while on the trek… the Malaysian, I noticed, had an excellent understanding of photo-ops… he told me to take pictures here and there… and all of them turned out to be extremely well done. Nevertheless, the two of us couldn’t communicate more than that- due to language problems… it actually amazes me… as to how Chinese or Malays or Koreans or Japanese… travel so much… with little knowledge of English or French… the global languages. And yet they do, they are open to so much of international experience. We Indians, sadly, don’t open up to such experiences.
The trek lasted almost an hour… within which we completed about 4 kilometers… it ended at a place called Belisirima. There, on the edge of the river was a small Restaurant- where we were supposed to have our lunch… the restaurant had created seating arrangements wooden canopies by the river… and a few on small man-made islets amidst the river… I chose the islet… the whole environment was magical… the taste of bread, amidst these environs, was mellower… more subtle.
It was time to move… to Selimiye Monastery- a beautiful, rock-cut monastery- which was the epicenter of religion in entire Cappadocia region… Esraa told me that Cappadocia was an important center for Orthodox Christianity Monasticism… and Christian monks from different parts of world… and of different denomination came to Selimiye.
Selimiye was a great place to visit… it was getting darker and perched atop at a height in Selimiye, we could see the silhouettes of Cappadocia panorama. A mosque here… a village there… an abundant Greek church… and hilly surrounding. Selimiye was a great vantage point…
It had a wonderful defense and a great line of sight… which alerted the monks in the monastery even when enemies were afar… the monks used to climb to higher altitude or could fight back- taking advantage of their heights… the cathedral of Selimiye was equally magical… with frescoes- that time has ravaged… slots for books and scrolls…
We were supposed to move to Pigeon Valley panorama from here on… Cappadocian used to rear pigeons in large numbers- they were a good source of meat, and their droppings were great manure… although, Esraa told us, pigeons were plentiful everywhere in Cappadocia… they were astonishingly abundant in the Pigeon Valley… where Cappadocians had made special shelters. Pigeon Valley trek is by itself a stand-alone trek and primary fixture when one is in Cappadocia.
Near the Pigeon Valley panorama was a Onyx Showroom. Onyx is a special stone, which is found abundantly in Cappadocia… and Onyx jewellery has become a sort of cottage industry over here… I was least interested in it… I sat on a bench seeing the wonderful pigeon valley… and wondering… if I could stay in Cappadocia for one more day… I was supposed to leave today… by 8 pm bus to Kayseri and thereafter at 11 pm to Kahta… my whirlwind touring didn’t spare me enough time for Cappadocia… which had much-much more to offer. Nearby someone had created a tree of evil-eyes… Turkish evil-eye (a shining blue round pendant like thing) has assumed global recognition… it is present everywhere… in India, in Egypt, in Jordan, Syria… in the time of dusk… with little light… the evil eye tree looked extremely beautiful and magical…
I was joined by the Tamil gentleman… we started talking… he was originally from Rameshwaram… a Tamil Brahmin… bitter about the treatment given to his community in India… he didn’t long to go back… and found himself comfortable in the West… most of the people I met over here in Cappadocia… were flying back to Istanbul… Cappadocia, for them is the farthest east one comes to travel in Turkey.
I got back to my hotel at around 7… and was packing the wares… when the hotel owner came to clear the bill… he asked me where I am headed after Kahta or Nemrut… I told him to wild South-East… but do not have any plans… any reservations… he said- I like your attitude… you are a true traveler… these words sounded sweet to me.
The bus to Kayseri was late… I had to wait in a small Bus company kiosk for about an hour… it was getting chilly day by day… and days were getting shorter… I was hungry… I wondered if I would have enough time to catch up with a dinner in Kayseri…
I reached Kayseri at around 10.30 pm… I still had about half an hour for my bus… Kayseri bus stand was well organized- so I didn’t have any problem in locating my bus terminal and the bus company…
I rushed for a quick dinner… and came across something unusual… something recognizable… a steamed dough… filled with meat and potato… called Manti…
Time for some more cultural revelations.
It was nice talking to them… they had got married, recently and were on a honeymoon. They had taken a different route to Cappadocia… going to Canakkale, Troy… then to Ankara and then to Cappadocia. They said that I shouldn’t miss Canakkale… I smiled and thought aloud- some other time. I knew I have missed a number of jewels in Turkey… my idea was to cover as many different zones in Turkey as possible- breadth of experience than depth- that, perhaps has been my talisman while traveling… I don’t stay at any place for more than a day… moving constantly… that helps me in covering higher number of places… the depth, I make up for it by reading thereafter.
The Ilhara Valley trek is magical… it makes you stop from time to time… stop, look around and relish the ethereal beauty of the place… the burbling brook- which resonates with your thoughts and amplifies them… giving you a vista to think upon… or the woods which give you solace… or the grottos all around… suggesting you of human possibilities…
I befriended the Iranian couple and the Malaysian guy… while on the trek… the Malaysian, I noticed, had an excellent understanding of photo-ops… he told me to take pictures here and there… and all of them turned out to be extremely well done. Nevertheless, the two of us couldn’t communicate more than that- due to language problems… it actually amazes me… as to how Chinese or Malays or Koreans or Japanese… travel so much… with little knowledge of English or French… the global languages. And yet they do, they are open to so much of international experience. We Indians, sadly, don’t open up to such experiences.
The trek lasted almost an hour… within which we completed about 4 kilometers… it ended at a place called Belisirima. There, on the edge of the river was a small Restaurant- where we were supposed to have our lunch… the restaurant had created seating arrangements wooden canopies by the river… and a few on small man-made islets amidst the river… I chose the islet… the whole environment was magical… the taste of bread, amidst these environs, was mellower… more subtle.
It was time to move… to Selimiye Monastery- a beautiful, rock-cut monastery- which was the epicenter of religion in entire Cappadocia region… Esraa told me that Cappadocia was an important center for Orthodox Christianity Monasticism… and Christian monks from different parts of world… and of different denomination came to Selimiye.
Selimiye was a great place to visit… it was getting darker and perched atop at a height in Selimiye, we could see the silhouettes of Cappadocia panorama. A mosque here… a village there… an abundant Greek church… and hilly surrounding. Selimiye was a great vantage point…
It had a wonderful defense and a great line of sight… which alerted the monks in the monastery even when enemies were afar… the monks used to climb to higher altitude or could fight back- taking advantage of their heights… the cathedral of Selimiye was equally magical… with frescoes- that time has ravaged… slots for books and scrolls…
We were supposed to move to Pigeon Valley panorama from here on… Cappadocian used to rear pigeons in large numbers- they were a good source of meat, and their droppings were great manure… although, Esraa told us, pigeons were plentiful everywhere in Cappadocia… they were astonishingly abundant in the Pigeon Valley… where Cappadocians had made special shelters. Pigeon Valley trek is by itself a stand-alone trek and primary fixture when one is in Cappadocia.
Near the Pigeon Valley panorama was a Onyx Showroom. Onyx is a special stone, which is found abundantly in Cappadocia… and Onyx jewellery has become a sort of cottage industry over here… I was least interested in it… I sat on a bench seeing the wonderful pigeon valley… and wondering… if I could stay in Cappadocia for one more day… I was supposed to leave today… by 8 pm bus to Kayseri and thereafter at 11 pm to Kahta… my whirlwind touring didn’t spare me enough time for Cappadocia… which had much-much more to offer. Nearby someone had created a tree of evil-eyes… Turkish evil-eye (a shining blue round pendant like thing) has assumed global recognition… it is present everywhere… in India, in Egypt, in Jordan, Syria… in the time of dusk… with little light… the evil eye tree looked extremely beautiful and magical…
I was joined by the Tamil gentleman… we started talking… he was originally from Rameshwaram… a Tamil Brahmin… bitter about the treatment given to his community in India… he didn’t long to go back… and found himself comfortable in the West… most of the people I met over here in Cappadocia… were flying back to Istanbul… Cappadocia, for them is the farthest east one comes to travel in Turkey.
I got back to my hotel at around 7… and was packing the wares… when the hotel owner came to clear the bill… he asked me where I am headed after Kahta or Nemrut… I told him to wild South-East… but do not have any plans… any reservations… he said- I like your attitude… you are a true traveler… these words sounded sweet to me.
The bus to Kayseri was late… I had to wait in a small Bus company kiosk for about an hour… it was getting chilly day by day… and days were getting shorter… I was hungry… I wondered if I would have enough time to catch up with a dinner in Kayseri…
I reached Kayseri at around 10.30 pm… I still had about half an hour for my bus… Kayseri bus stand was well organized- so I didn’t have any problem in locating my bus terminal and the bus company…
I rushed for a quick dinner… and came across something unusual… something recognizable… a steamed dough… filled with meat and potato… called Manti…
Time for some more cultural revelations.
2 comments:
How did Manti taste?
Very bland for my taste!
Post a Comment