Turkish delight

Turkey is a one of a kind place. Located in both Europe and Asia, it is a mix of tradition and modernity, where the call to prayer mingles with the buzz of the light rail. Yet, most travellers only brush past Turkey on their way towards the Far East.

So it is not surprising that most people have never heard of Ihlara Valley. Even though it is in touristy Cappadocia, it does not receive many visitors. It is far from the hotels and civilisation in general, in a place that looks too much like a desert for comfort. In fact, it made me feel a sudden urge to check if I was carrying enough water. If there was enough gas in the tank. But when the car reached Ihlara, there was no valley in sight. Nothing but rocks and dust and heat. I looked at the guide in half despair. Grinning, he pointed at what seemed a crack in the ground just below the horizon. Then I saw the valley.
I saw a canyon that stretched far and deep, with lush green and a stream of clear water throughout. As we descended the many flights of stairs towards the bottom of the valley, I marvelled at the pistachio trees and took in the impossibly moist air in the middle of the desert. A bird flew past us and I realised I had not seen any birds on my way there. The valley was more than a crack in the desert: it was a true oasis teeming with life. “I could live here”, I thought, “Hide away from the world”. As it turned out, that idea was nothing new.

Christians used to live in caves there, hiding from their persecutors. The unique landscape of Cappadocia, made from volcano eruptions, provided them with rocks that could be easily carved to make shelter. The remote location and the canyon added to the security. The creek and the oasis that came with it were the final blow. As a result, the valley is strewn with cave houses and churches, which are the most preserved remnants of the Christian presence in Cappadocia.

It is an agreeable hike across the valley, following ancient trails around the trees, towards painted caves that tell us of struggle, religion and life from centuries past. The stark colours and long texts betray the Syrian and Egyptian origins of the former inhabitants. They tell of the people that made Turkey what it is today, a home away from home where they found solace, sadly echoed today by the new wave of refugees.

Ihlara holds the history of Turkey inside a crack in the ground. But it is more than an open air museum, it is a transcendent experience where man can be one with nature.