Carpets in Cappadocia

For my final post about our adventure last spring in Cappadocia I would like to tell you about a marvelous place.  It is a place where they make, display and sell (to those who can afford it) some of the loveliest carpets I have ever seen.  Ladies, who have learned carpet-making from their mothers, come to perfect their skills. They stay for a year (I believe), complete one carpet, and take a loom home with them when they leave so that they can continue earning money.  The wool and silk that they use is spun there. We even got the chance to see them harvesting the silk. They put the empty silkworm cocoons in hot water and them pick them up with this little broom.



Pulling the cocoons.

Once they are able to find an end they hook it to a machine and it pulls the thread out. That's not the best description, but it was pretty cool to see.

 

 

It was amazing to watch the women working on the carpets. Only the most talented are able to work with silk because it is so fine it requires both more skill and precision. The wool ones looked difficult to me, but the ladies were working like there was nothing to it.

 

 

After seeing the workers, we were led to a viewing room where they laid out various carpets for us to look at. They even encouraged the kids to get down and crawl around on the carpets.

 

 

 

 

There were so many other fabulous carpets, truly works of art, that I don't have pictures of. We are definitely going to have to go back...

 

 









Eating in Cappadocia

I love Turkish food, as is evident by my weight gain in the last 20 months. The bread, the spices, even the lamb (which I've never cared for before).  The food in Cappadocia was a little different than what we get here in Adana, but it was still yummy.

At our first stop, the underground city, we found these great snacks. They're spiral-cut potatoes on a skewer and they're fried up like potato chips. Simple, tasty, and just a little different for novelty's sake.

Later, we went to lunch at a restaurant in Goreme.

I can't seem to caption the pictures. :(  We started with the requisite bread. You know bread is good when Ben digs into it.  The boys were so excited that they were each able to get their own pizza...until it showed up with sliced tomatoes on top.  Lizzy got pasta. Keri got cigar borek (cheese wrapped in a very thin dough). Ben and I got testi kebap which is cooked in clay pots which they open at the table for you.  His was lamb. Mine was chicken. They both had tomatoes, peppers, and mushrooms in them. It was all very good.

The great food continued for the next day and a half, but there's no more pictures. I really am going to miss Turkish food when we leave.

Pottery in Cappadocia

Turkey is filled with beautiful, hand-painted pottery in stunning colors and designs.



 

 

 

Ben actually prefers the designs that are less colorful. I believe they're Hittite designs, but I can't remember for sure. We bought a vase and plate similar to the pattern on the ones in the far right of this picture.

 

 

We were able to watch a potter at his wheel...which he spun with one leg while shaping the vase. It was pretty cool.

 

Then, he offered us a chance to try. Lizzy, Alex, and even Ben gave it a shot. They had fun and did a pretty good job.

 





Climbing in Cappadocia

The first place we visited was an underground city.  It made me think of the cave system in Stephenie Meyer's The Host. 


Rolling stone door used to keep raiders out.

Ben ended up exploring deeper into the caves with Mark and Krystal Bowen while the rest of us took the kids back to the surface. While they were climbing around they came across the remains of  a cow and a sheep that were partially decomposed. Yuck! They also took quite a few pictures...as you might be able to tell by his face, Ben could have done without the photo ops. haha

 

 

Ben and the older three kids did lots of climbing on the hills and ruins, as well. It sometimes made me nervous, but they did really well. If you look really close in this picture you'll see two figures on the ridgeline...they're my kids...this is one of those times I was nervous.

 

 

There were cliff dwellings too.  We even saw some that were still occupied, but I don't have a picture of those.

 

 

Mark in a crevice

 

Ben and Krystal are up in that shadow.

 

I like this picture of Ben and Alex.



 

Climbing was by far Ben's (and the kids') favorite part of the trip.  

 







Shopping in Cappadocia

Cappadocia offers great shopping opportunities. From small stands set up near other attractions (such as the fairy chimneys) to larger shops in the villages, there is always something to spend your money on.  And we enjoyed all of it.

 

There were a number of stalls outside the underground city that we stopped at on our way to Goreme. We looked at a lot of fun things, even tried some on, but bought very little. Each of the kids got a small soapstone carving, but I didn't get a picture of those.

Garret in a hat/headwrap.

One of the things I was looking for was a great bag like the ones I had seen so many of the other ladies carrying.  They are made locally and are beautiful.  There were different varieties in a number of places, but I got mine in a shop in Goreme.  I found a cream-colored (linen, I think) one with deep, earthy colors and a black velvety one with bright colors and a touch of silver thread.  I couldn't decide which one I wanted.  Ben said the black one didn't really "look" like me, but I think that was just his way of saying that he didn't care for it. He knows me better than that (or should after 13 years). In the end he insisted on buying both of them for me. I love them and use them all the time.

 

While I was mulling over purses, Ben was checking out tablecloths and placemats. We didn't end up getting any because we couldn't agree on a pattern. We enjoyed browsing, though. Quite a few of the patterns reminded me of ones you would find in the southwest United States.

 



 

 

We also bought a desk lamp and some pottery. Both are still wrapped up because we don't have anyplace to display them yet. Here are some examples though:

 

 

 

Our lamp globe is blue. Our pottery (a plate and a small vase) are off-white with a black pattern...similar to the design on the far right of the picture.

 

The next find reminded me of my belly-dancing relatives and couldn't not be photographed. :)

 



 

 

 

 



Exploring Cappadocia

Back in April we spent part of the kids' Spring Break in Cappadocia with some friends.  We were only there for two days, but they were jam-packed with fun.  Unfortunately, we didn't have a camera with us (other than my iPhone). The Bowens, however, are prolific photographers and were nice enough to make us a couple of discs of photos. So...I am going to be doing a series of posts.

We drove up on Friday and stayed at the Travel Inn Cave Hotel in the village of Goreme. We were in the family room. There were 5 twin beds and a double.  It was a nice hotel for a fair price and included a traditional Turkish breakfast. The air was a little humid and musty, but it's built in a cave so that's to be expected.

 

We explored an underground city, climbed around some fairy chimneys, watched hotair balloons at sunrise, ate good food, did some shopping and saw craftsmen (and women) at work. I will get more into all of those in the next few posts. My overall thoughts are that it was a great time with some great friends in a beautiful area.

 

Family picture in front of fairy chimneys.

 



Keri getting a ride from Mark Bowen.

Home Alone

The older three kids have been in school for about a month now, and Keri started Sure Start (preschool) two weeks ago. This means that I am home alone for the first time ever! It's still a little strange to have the house so quiet during the day, but I've been enjoying it. Ben hoped that it would mean a sudden change in my housekeeping skills, but he should know me better than that by now. LOL

Seriously, though, I am trying to be better. I'm also trying to make it to the gym at least a couple times a week.  I had lunch with the ladies from church twice (the first time Keri came with us) and with the squadron spouses group and Ben's leadership once. I finished a Christmas present for someone special and got some more of Ben's blanket done. I've read (or listened to) a few books. On a side note...audiobooks are fabulous for multi-tasking. All in all, I've enjoyed my "me time".  Perhaps the next step is some schooling...

Speaking of school, the kids are doing pretty well. Lizzy seems to be enjoying middle school and has taken up the flute. She practices daily and its starting to sound like music. (heehee) Middle school and high school here is a block schedule, so she has 4 90-minute classes a day. They alternate A days and B days. The only class she has every day is Language Arts/Reading.
 

Starting middle school in her gym clothes.

Alex is doing pretty well. Part of his homework is on the computer, which he thinks is SO cool. Some days are harder than others, but I think overall he's liking school. He's also excited about starting soccer last week. 

All ready for 3rd.

Garret is doing really well. He is excelling at reading much earlier than the older two did.  He's playing soccer, too.







1st day of 1st grade.



Keri was so excited to start school. She told me when the other kids started that she didn't want me to be her teacher anymore. So it's a good thing she was accepted into the Sure Start program. She's loving it, too. She is also starting soccer on Saturday.