Day 35 (11 July): High Desert along the Silk and Spice Roads
Early in the morning, the overnight bus arrived in Göreme which is in the heart of Cappadocia (which is the heart of Antolia, literally the motherland in Turkish.) Cappadocia is a high desert surrounded by mountains with a lot of interesting rock formations (think Moab, Arches, Badlands, or Joshua Tree National Parks in the US) from volcanic activity. In addition to the cool rock formations, the area has a lot of history as well, as it is the first point where the Spice Road (to India) and the Silk Road (to China) crossed.
I spent my first day there exploring (with a small tour group since it was the easiest way to get around) the Underground city of Derinkuyu, Ilhara Valley (a Canyon with Christian churches built into the walls for miles of it), a Caravansari building (former Inn along the trading routes) at Aksary.
I also had a great dinner at a restaurant named Alaturca and some interesting conversation in a carpet shop with its owner and a Korean Chemistry Professor in Turkey for an academic conference.
Observations.
1) The value of shelter (homes) can be really high. It must have taken years to buıld the underground city as it could house over 3000 people at its peak and went six stories deep. In ancient times, people would hide in it to avoid foreign invaders.
2) Crossroads on trading points have always been and always will be important. The reason that there was so much development in Cappadocıa is because it is where trading took place and where markets were made.
3) Turkey is developing quickly. I met a guy from San Diego who actually lives only blocks from where I did there, who was back in Turkey after coming here on his honeymoon nearly 15 years ago, who was telling me about what it looked like then and what the standars of living were like then.
4) Carpet shop conversation topics:
a) US travellers do not seem to be buying carpets anymore although Asian ones (Japanese and Korean primarily) have increased their buying. Maybe this is a reflection of the economic conditions at home?
b) When both the carpet shop owner (who spent time in Sommerville, MA) and the Korean Professor (who lived in Chıcago and Palo Alto) spent time living in the US, they noticed how they stopped caring about what was happening in the rest of the world and in their home countries they said. They seemed to think their was something inate in the American lifestyle that lets people forget about the rest of the world, esp. since the US is so bıg.
c) The carpet shop owner worried about future ethnic tensions within the US, which he thought would be bad for the rest of the world since he thinks the US is a good example of mixed ethnic communities that the rest of the world should be able to follow. He seemed to think this was going to happen based on a perception that new ımmigrants to the US are caring less and less about assimıilating which he thinks is very important.
d) Islamic culture dictates that if neighbors are in need that you help them at your own detriment. This means in the carpet business that sometimes you refer people to other shops because their shops are not doing well, rather than trying to quash the competition.
e) The carpet shop owner seemed to think (like many other Turks I met) that the US should have done more during the first Iraq war and that he hopes the US government keeps a presence in the Mıddle East until there is real democracy in Turkeys neighboring countries.
I spent my first day there exploring (with a small tour group since it was the easiest way to get around) the Underground city of Derinkuyu, Ilhara Valley (a Canyon with Christian churches built into the walls for miles of it), a Caravansari building (former Inn along the trading routes) at Aksary.
I also had a great dinner at a restaurant named Alaturca and some interesting conversation in a carpet shop with its owner and a Korean Chemistry Professor in Turkey for an academic conference.
Observations.
1) The value of shelter (homes) can be really high. It must have taken years to buıld the underground city as it could house over 3000 people at its peak and went six stories deep. In ancient times, people would hide in it to avoid foreign invaders.
2) Crossroads on trading points have always been and always will be important. The reason that there was so much development in Cappadocıa is because it is where trading took place and where markets were made.
3) Turkey is developing quickly. I met a guy from San Diego who actually lives only blocks from where I did there, who was back in Turkey after coming here on his honeymoon nearly 15 years ago, who was telling me about what it looked like then and what the standars of living were like then.
4) Carpet shop conversation topics:
a) US travellers do not seem to be buying carpets anymore although Asian ones (Japanese and Korean primarily) have increased their buying. Maybe this is a reflection of the economic conditions at home?
b) When both the carpet shop owner (who spent time in Sommerville, MA) and the Korean Professor (who lived in Chıcago and Palo Alto) spent time living in the US, they noticed how they stopped caring about what was happening in the rest of the world and in their home countries they said. They seemed to think their was something inate in the American lifestyle that lets people forget about the rest of the world, esp. since the US is so bıg.
c) The carpet shop owner worried about future ethnic tensions within the US, which he thought would be bad for the rest of the world since he thinks the US is a good example of mixed ethnic communities that the rest of the world should be able to follow. He seemed to think this was going to happen based on a perception that new ımmigrants to the US are caring less and less about assimıilating which he thinks is very important.
d) Islamic culture dictates that if neighbors are in need that you help them at your own detriment. This means in the carpet business that sometimes you refer people to other shops because their shops are not doing well, rather than trying to quash the competition.
e) The carpet shop owner seemed to think (like many other Turks I met) that the US should have done more during the first Iraq war and that he hopes the US government keeps a presence in the Mıddle East until there is real democracy in Turkeys neighboring countries.
posted by Traveling Brian at 5:07 AM
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