Day 9a - Cappadocia (The Church in the Rocks) - Goreme Open Air Museum

This is the Goreme Valley in Cappadocia, and these pictures are the Church in the Rocks

Short History of the Goreme Valley in Anatolia
During the severe persecution of the Romans, the Christians ended up in Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey). They arrived here with no money and not many things (sounds like us graduate students =) ) and so they came here and carved homes in the rock. As things settled down, they were able to actually paint frescoes in the churches (see the comment on the hidden churches below)

This place served as a location for young people to become leaders of Christianity. One of them was Saint Basil the Great ("Saint-Basile-le-Grand", a train station in Montreal). He showed Christians how they could make money and tell others about Jesus. The other "Great Cappadocians" Gregory of Nyssa and Gregory of Nanzianzus were also people here.

The people living here were basically just monks and nuns. Each church carried out their own things here until actually 1894. Today, the people who live here are the Muslim Turks. In 1960, this place became a museum and it is now open to the public.

The entrance fee to the Goreme Open Air Museum is actually only 15 Turkish Lira. (This was our fourth currency on the trip: We've gone from USD to Euros, to Egyptian Pounds, to New Israeli Shekels to Turkish Lira) Very Short Note on Cappadocia Cappadocia is derived from the Persian language, which it is "Cap pa do cia", meaning "the land of beautiful horses". Since the rock formations here are a combination of volcanic ash, lava and mud, the area is very fertile (hence all the lush greenery amidst the rocks)
Stairs to the kitchen	This is where they stored utensils

Dining Hall	Nice rectangular Table	Cooking area (see black ceiling)
The Hidden Churches of the Rocks Among all the openings in the rocks pictured here, there are three churches hidden away. Church #1 is called the Church of the Apple (because there was an apple tree in front of it) It is said that Longinus (supposedly the name of the soldier who pierced Jesus' side on the cross with a spear), was martyred in this area, and that this is apparently the church that he founded. There are beautiful frescoes inside this church of the rocks Church #2 is called the Church of Santa Barbara. Barbara was one of the first Christian martyrs. Her father was pagan and he was killed by a lightning bolt. In this church, there is actually a baptistery, where baptism by immersion was practiced. There are also frescoes of St. George and the dragon (or the serpent) which is the symbol of the killing of Paganism Church #3 is called the Church of the Serpent This church has frescoes of St. George and St. Theodore fighting against evil forces in the appearance of a serpent. There's also images of Onesimus, and also Constantine the Great and his mother Helena.

Next Stop: Pasabag Valley, Cappadocia :)