May 13, 2022

May 13, 2022

Aimee and I both woke up with headaches. Too much cheap Turkish wine last night. We packed up and left heading southwest. We stopped in the remote Cappadocian town of Guzelyurt. The name means 'beautiful country' in Turkish. It is an apt description. Just outside of town, we get a dramatic view of a hilltop church with the peaks of Mt Hasan in the distance.

In Guzelyurt we meet the local Imam. His mosque is small but quite beautiful and colorful inside, The Imam told us it is his full time job and that he is paid by the state of Turkey. None of the other religions are state sponsored.  Amusingly he told us there would be peace in the world if everyone was Muslim and followed the rule of the Koran. The Imam walked with us to the historic area.

We first visited the 4th century St Gregory Church with its distinctive Romanesque barrel arch nave. At some point it was converted to a mosque and all the sacred murals whitewashed. Next door is another Underground City. We were the only visitors. I thought it was just going to be a few rooms but there were shafts with toe holds cut to reach another large chamber below. There was still another vertical shaft with toe holds, but after descending again the artificial lights ended. Although this complex is probably smaller than the Underground City we saw yesterday I like this one better because of its authenticity. The Underground City we toured yesterday with its crowd and modern openings now seems like the Disneyland version of a human ant hill.

We kept on driving stopping at a truck stop again for lunch. The food at these oasis cafeterias has been surprisingly good.

Our next stop was in Sultanhani to see its Caravanserai, the largest in Turkey. These medieval inns are all over Turkey and were placed about 15 miles apart on the Silk Road, the distance a camel could walk in one day. I can't believe how large this one is. The solid stone structure meant it also served as a military outpost. This caravanserai has a monumental entrance and two wings. The first courtyard is for people and has a tiny mosque in the center; the second is a stable for the animals. Control of the western leg of the Silk Road was one source of the Ottoman Empire’s wealth. From the East also came the weaponry technology they employed to conquer Constantinople and Eastern Europe.

In the late afternoon we arrived in the city of Konya, once the capital of the Seljuk Turks who predate the Ottoman Turks. We stop at the Tomb of Mevlana Rumi. He was a Persian poet and theologian who developed the Sufi sect of Islam. This philosophy encouraged the spiritual self-discipline aspect of the religion. Its most distinctive element is the meditation done while turning (e.g. Whirling Dervish). The tomb is a major pilgrimage site (and apparently also a school trip destination). As a result Konya is one of the most conservative regions. Unlike Ankara and Istanbul most women here are wearing headscarves.

We finish the day at our hotel in downtown Konya. We have dinner in the Hotel Lounge on the roof. Humorously they are out of almost everything, except Chicken Fajitas, our second Mexican entree. It was delicious. Unfortunately I had to drink my whiskey and soda back in our hotel room.