Day 4 – Thursday, June 11: Morning Flight to Kayseri, Cappadocia
We got up early today for the flight to the region of Cappadocia. We left the hotel at 5:30 and drove to the Istanbul Airport. Box breakfasts and coffee were provided. The weather was again perfect, with full sun and highs in there low 80s. We read from Acts 2:9 and 1 Peter 1:1 (the only references to Cappadocia in the Bible) as we departed for Kayseri. The procedures at the airport went well, with no delays. A snow-capped 13,000-foot mountain (the “Holy Mountain”) could be seen as we arrived at the Kayseri Erkilet Airport (ASR) at about 9:45. It is located today in the heart of the central Anatolia. This is the area of historic Cappadocia.
Ozkonak Underground City
We met “Ju Ju” (our Turkish driver who drove the bus from Istanbul on Tuesday) and loaded the bus. We drove to Oskonak, one of about 300 underground cites. While some date back to the Neolithic Period (3,000 BC), this city dates to the 1st millennium BC. In the days of the first century, residents lived in this underground cities to protect themselves from Roman persecution and marauding bandit. This particular city reached a depth of about five stories below the surface.
Pottery Art Shop and Store
From here, we all enjoyed stopping at Chez Galip Art Gallery. This is a shop where local Turks are trained to spin pottery. The “master artist” here is well known throughout all of Turkey. We were impressed how a wine libation vessel was made, replicating the ancient Hittite design from the Middle Bronze Period. Some of us enjoyed purchasing some of the finished art pieces. Making this from the local red clay is truly an art! Close by we stopped for lunch at a buffet resturant.
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“Our early morning flight from Istanbul took us to the region of Cappadocia. This is a region mentioned only twice in the Bible (Acts 2 and 1 Peter 1). It was a wonderful day of enjoying the unique rock formations here and learning about how early Christian communities lived here!”
Goreme Open Air Museum
Following lunch, we ended the day at the Open Air Museum at Goreme. The unique folding volcanic rock formations and “fairy chimneys” here is one reason people are attracted to Cappadocia. Many early Christian communities lived and worshipped deep in the rocks and crags, leaving their frescoes and paintings to be marveled at centuries later. Other communities lived underground. The Christians living here flourished in the 5th and 6th centuries AD. Church leaders like St. Basil, St. Theodore, and St. George were honored here among the Christian community. We all explored many of these “rock churches.” There over 1,000 of these spread through this area.
Our drive from here took us to view panoramic views of the region. During our second stop, we enjoyed a brief devotional, reading from Colossians 1. Could it be that the Jews who returned here following Pentecost in Jerusalem (Acts 2) were used by God to develop the early church here!
Nevsehir
In the city of Nevsehir we checked into our hotel (the new Crowne Plaza). Dinner was very nice. Many of us went to bed early in anticipation of the sunrise hot-air balloon ride early tomorrow morning.
Day 5 – Friday, June 12: Cappadocia, Gumusler Monastery, Tarsus, Adana
