Leigh in Azerbaijan

Cappadocia in the middle of Turkey is an amazing sight.

The ‘fairy chimneys’ in Goreme, formed from volcanic ash and topped with harder rock, were weathered to leave tall natural formations that were then used to create homes and churches over countless generations.

While being a Biblical name most of what we saw was post-Biblical with around 1000 churches having been carved out of the rock.

Many religious communities lived in the caves (although ‘cave’ usually has prehistoric or poverty bound implications). Many of them were high above ground level and could have been defended from attack if necessary but many were also at ground level. In the small chapels the narthex was usually completely filled with small and shallow graves of (presumably) the saints of the time. Some of them had ossaries and all of them had a sense of how important their faith was. They were usually so small as to hold maybe 10-20 people standing but some may have held 100+.

These days the caves in town are still used as hotels and homes but I was unaware of any outside of town being used as homes. Before the advent of artificial fertilizers, many caves were used to house pigeons, which was the source of fertilizer

The men on the streets, working in cafes or rug shops, have an amazing level of English. They will often have a working level of Spanish and French as well. Each one says they have learnt on the street from talking to tourists, and if they are good conversationalists they have a much better chance of making a living.

Kapadokya is famous for its underground cities. These shots are above and below ground at Derinkuyu.  This underground city could house around 10,000 people.  It is thought that the Hittites, the Romans and the Byzantines lived here, progressively expanding the plan of caves.  One of the most interesting features is the millstone doors that could be rolled into place in the tunnels in case of attack.

This town of Ihlara was half way down a valley that had cave dwellings, now abandoned, cut out on both sides.  Apart from the overhead wires, this could have been a shot from mediaeval Europe.