Meskendir Valley
Our guide Togay won us over right away, by taking us on a hike.
Early that morning, on our hot air balloon ride, I had been amazed by the terrain below us, particularly the valleys with cones and pillars of white rock.
When Togay suggested that we hike in one of those valleys and get a closer look at the rocks, we enthusiastically agreed. Our driver Mahmut dropped us off at one end of Meskendir Valley. We’d do a mostly downhill hike and meet Mahmut at the other end. Sweet!
Togay had us touch the white “tuff” rock that lined the trail. Sand came off on our hands. This relatively soft rock even showed grooves from the runoff from recent rains. Togay explained that the landscape here changed constantly as the wind and rain eroded the tuff.
This was my favorite kind of hike, with different vistas around every corner and interesting features like caves and slot canyons.
Down here on the ground, we could see rectangular holes in the cones and cliffs. Togay explained that these were entrances to pigeon houses. For thousands of years, pigeon-keepers across Cappadocia carved out these houses and collected and sold the pigeon guano. The guano was used for fertilizing crops and for enhancing the colors of paint for frescoes. Some entrances had red designs painted on the rocks so that pigeons could identify their houses. Where rock walls had eroded away and collapsed, we could see rows of compartments, like mailbox slots, for the pigeon nests.
The tuff formations had fascinating shapes. Sometimes they resembled jagged teeth; other times they looked like soft serve ice cream. It was beautiful, in a slightly eerie way.
Near the end of the trail, we saw a rock that had been carved into a church. It wasn’t safe to go inside, but Togay assured us we would see many other rock churches.
We ended our hike in the village of Çavuşin, where a large rock with abandoned caves loomed over the hotels and restaurants. We had covered about four miles of strange and wonderful terrain. It had been a memorable first day in Cappadocia!
