Prior to the 1924 Population exchange - an event where entire populations of Greek and Turkish citizens switched countries to be within ethnic national borders - Kapadokya was largely Christian and the city of Güzelyurt largely Greek. The Greeks are all long gone, but the ruins of churches, monasteries, and even just living quarters remain. After our lunch, we took a hike down the hill.
Here you can clearly see how the rock was carved:
One cannot be sure why this arch was built overlooking the mountain, but it could have made a wonderful backdrop to an altar:
These all appeared largely unoccupied:
Another moment of "Imagine growing up with this in your backyard":
Walking by these, I wondered their stories: Who carved them? Who lived there? Why did they leave?
From the ruins, it is clear that the city once had a much larger population:
Now, only the plants and occasional animal or bird frequents these haunts.
Did they have wells TB? How far to go for water? Wonder who had the local candle making business.....:)
ReplyDeleteNylon12 - I have no idea what the water situation was, although given the length of occupation, there had to be something nearby.
DeleteI think we take the fact that we dwell in light so much of the time and can easily see and read and do activities any time day or night very much for granted. Indeed, the darkness of all of these places without light cannot be underestimated.
Lack of safe water and general sanitation problems has forced mass population movement many times in history.
ReplyDeleteMichael
It has, Michael. Another thing we often take for granted.
DeleteQuite fascinating. Carving out rock like that is quite unimaginable to our modern instant gratification mindset!
ReplyDeleteAny evidence of cisterns? There are ancient remnants of these in Jerusalem and Petra.
Leigh, I am so unfamiliar with this sort of rock carving - the places I have lived for most of my life were based on granite, not this sort of malleable substance.
DeleteNo specific evidence, though I imagine they had them. I think the rainfall here is similar to any Mediterranean climate, so likely they had to supplement.