The Lefeuvre family in Antalya: September 2009

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Cappadocia, Ilhara Valley

On our way back to Antalya, we stopped by the Ilhara Valley where we went hiking with Guillaume & Charlotte.

We knew we were still in Cappadocia: there were lots of fairy chimneys, rock caved churches and houses.

The Ilhara valley is very nice. It is a 16 km gorge. The green color of the vegetation contrasts with the "organics" scenics of the past days.

In the center of this gorge, there is a river, perfect spot for the picnic and fishing... for the kids. We,unfortunately, couldn't expect any extra food from this activity

Then we went inside the caves. We were going on a bear hunt, are you afraid? NOOOOO answered the kids... We don't know if they were tiptoing inside :-)

Very nice adventure even for the youngest one...

Once we reached the upper level of the caved house, we enjoyed the scenic view of the valley.

Do you see the little window on the upper left side of the rock?
...

We were there !!!

On the way back, the kids were quite tired but they didn't complain, they had a lot of fun.
Guillaume & Bruno even had to carry 2 kids at a time each (one on the shoulders, one in the backpack).
Souvenir photo...

Monday, September 28, 2009

Cappadocia - Art & Crafts

Last week was also a very interesting learning experience for the kids. They learnt

1-How to make silk .
Yes, these are real cocoons and the larvae are inside.
You have to put them in hot water and use the little brush to catch the silk fiber(in the back).
Then, you put them all together and collect 10 to 15 fibers at the time. The cocoon is out of fiber when it stops moving and floats away from the others.
The natural silk is not shiny. You need to boil it. It's at this time that producer make the final decision quality vs. quantity.
Longer boiling time increases quality but reduce yield... Tough choice.

2- How to make a carpet

How to follow patterns, how to differenciate style of a region and quality (silk vs wool). We really liked a silk one we saw, but it was $22,000.

3- How to make pots

The village of Avanos in Cappadocia is famous for its pottery. We had the opportunity to visit one of those shops and Paul even got the opportunity to give it a try. He loved it even though he got dirty hands.

Sunday, September 27, 2009

Cappadocia - Pink Valley

The name comes from the color of the rocks that are... pink.

Without planning it, we met on the parking lot with Charlotte & Guillaume, our friends from Antalya. So we went hiking all together.

Wonderful scenic views

But, we still took some breaks for playing and having fun.

The luckiest one did a small detour to visit a rock wren church. Could you expect such a church build in the rock in a so wild place...

The entrance

First room

2nd room

Cappadocia Must see Places

Cappadocia is so rich of wonders that we probably haven't seen all the "Must see places".

But, if you go there you have to stop to

The camel (thanks Marie for the photo).

For those of you who follow Nolween & Antoine's blog, it might remind you "their chicken" without the sea of course.

Uchisar castle.

A big rock full of holes on the top of the city. It was used to be a refuge for the villagers. It looks like a big piece of swiss cheese to me. The view of Goreme dale is wonderful on the top of the castle.

The three "pretty ones" (uc guzeller)

The place is famous for its fairy chimneys. Some still have their hat.

Goreme open air museum

(Unesco world heritage)

Pretty crowded but it is where the most beautiful rock wren churchs are located.

Saturday, September 26, 2009

Cappadocia - Land of Fairy Chimneys Introduction

Cappadocia, which is situated within the triangle of Nevsehir, Aksaray and Kayseri is bounded by Erciyes with a height of 3,916 m (12,848 ft) in the east and by Hasandag, a volcanic mountain of 3,253 m (10,673 ft) high in the south.

The tough rocks, formed by the lava spurted by these two mountains during geological times, had kept on taking constantly changing shapes with kind effects during the course of time, and the wonders of the world of today were created.

During the early times of the spread of Christianity, the people who needed to hide themselves from the Arab raids, carved out these tough rocks thus constructing churches and built underground cities to defend themselves against the raids.
The settlements in Cappadocia had come into existence, mostly in the valleys of Goreme, Ihlara and Soganli. The people who had settled here, worshipped in the churches that they carved out of the rocks, and they dealt with agriculture to meet their own needs. The water sources in the valleys made this region productive.