Central Anatolian Plateau

A stopover in Boğazkale (Hattusas), the hilltop capital of the Hittite Empire, took us back to 1200 BC. The Hittites were an Indo-European people whose kingdom, at its height, stretched from the Aegean Sea to east of the Euphrates, including much of present Lebanon and northern Syria. Cuneiform inscriptions on tablets found in the late 19th century reveal the power and importance of this kingdom. Towers, temple gates, houses, and fortifications punctuate the ruins. The Lion’s Gate has two protective stone lions. The relief of a war god distinguishes the King’s Gate. According to new findings, an underground tunnel represented a passage to the underworld.

Two kilometers away is Yazılıkaya (“Inscribed Rock”), the sanctuary of the Hittite Empire, built around a natural rock cleft. An open air gallery of stone reliefs depicts in detail the beliefs of worshipers and the rituals they performed to please the gods. Gods and goddesses process toward a central spot. Village boys in Boğazkale make a living carving marble replicas of ancient statues. I bought a lion statue from a young boy, who impressed me with a chunk of marble from a nearby quarry carved into a shiny lion baring its teeth. It makes an attractive bookend.

We continued our journey through the 1000-meter-high plateau. Erciyes, an old volcanic mountain and the third highest peak in Turkey, gradually emerged. The region’s distinctive fat-tailed sheep, wheat and sugar beet fields, and vineyards completed the scenery.

As we approached the Cappadocia Valley, the topography turned into a fantasyland. Volcanic tuff resulting from the eruptions of Mount Erciyes overlies this region; the colors vary as a result of different eruptions. “Giant sand dunes” exposed to the air have hardened and over time eroded into odd conical forms of gray-yellow rock, many over 15 meters high. Called Peri Bacaları (“Fairy Chimneys”) in Turkish, some appear to have off‑angle hats. After a quick walk around we checked into the Perissia Hotel for two nights, leaving the discovery of this open air museum to the next day.

A folkloric show in the evening introduced us to regional dances and music. To the accompaniment of davul (large drum beaten with a stick) and zurna (Turkish oboe), we watched the unveiling of a bride from Antep in the Southeast, as the groom threw her a string of gold. Then we joined the wedding party and danced around a fire. A dance from Silifke in the south featured wooden spoons, while one from Artvin in the northeast exhibited fast footwork. A dagger dance from Kars in the east showed off macho virtuosity. Violin, accordion, and darbuka (small drums played with the hands) joined the big drum and oboe.

Kaymaklı, near Nevşehir, is an underground city burrowed into the tuff. Used for refuge from invaders, many of the houses are now used for storing grain or as wine cellars. They have chimneys for ventilation and keep an even temperature throughout the year. In Ortahisar we visited a cave house complete with living room, guest room, and kitchen. Zelve is a village carved into the side of a mountain. Inhabited until the 1950s, it has been declared unsafe by the government because of erosion. It is now a museum.

Lunch was at a restaurant called Şömine (“Fireplace”) in Üsküp. Here we enjoyed the specialty of the house, çömlek (clay pot) kebap. The meat cooks slowly in a small earthenware jar, its mouth sealed tight with dough. The waiter breaks the pot with a single knife blow to the neck and pours the steaming contents onto a platter. Some of us took turns breaking the pots. I had to hit twice to break mine open.

The town of Göreme is honeycombed with caves, some once used for pagan worship. Most of the caves were rock-cut churches and monasteries decorated with narrative frescoes. My souvenirs from this area are a T-shirt depicting the three emblematic cones of Cappadocia, known as the Three Graces, and lace work by local women.

Avanos is a charming town famous for its pottery, located by the Kızılırmak (or Red River). The river’s red soil provides clay for the pots. A sculpture of stacked pots adorns the town square. The craft is passed on from generation to generation within families. We visited a shop where a fourth-generation potter gave us a tour. My favorite vessels were urns inspired by ancient Hittite forms and designs.

In the Seljuk caravanserai of Sarıhan we watched a Sema ceremony by whirling dervishes. This ceremony symbolizes, in seven parts, the meanings of a mystical cycle to perfection. It is a journey of man’s spiritual ascent. A dervish, with his headdress (the tombstone of his ego) and white skirt (the shroud of his ego), is spiritually born to truth by removing his black cloak, and advances to maturity through the stages of the Sema. While he whirls his arms are open, his right hand directed to the sky, his left hand toward the earth; he turns from right to left revolving around the heart, thus embracing all of humankind. The accompanying drum sound symbolizes the divine order of the Creator, and the sound of the bamboo reed (ney) the divine breath that gives life.

After completion of the ritual, ending with a prayer, the dervishes returned silently to their cells for meditation. As we filed out in silence, I was glad to have gained insight into this unique ceremony inspired by the spiritual leader Mevlana (1207-1273), who embraced all despite their differences.

On our way to Konya, Evin talked about education and military service. Education is compulsory for 8 years and free to all through university. The Ministry of Education sets the curriculum, which requires foreign language instruction in all government schools. There are also vocational schools. Due to Turkey’s large young population, every province has a university. However, entrance exams are tough and are heavily weighted toward math and natural and social sciences. To prepare for entrance exams, most students take private lessons outside of regular school hours.

Compulsory military service is two years. University graduates serve a term of 20 months as officers. Recruitment takes place three times a year. Going to the army is a festive occasion in the villages; parents are proud to have their boys serve the nation. The first six months of training includes instruction in family planning. 60% of the national budget goes to the army, the largest in Europe.

Traveling on the old Silk Road, we stopped at the Sultan Han caravanserai. The caravanserais were inns with courtyards built 20 miles apart — a day’s trip on camel or horseback. Caravans carried silk, spices, and salt from east to west, crisscrossing Anatolia via several land routes. The Silk Road lost prominence once sea routes were discovered. We climbed to the roof terrace of the han and looked over grain fields and animal pastures. Villagers were harvesting pumpkin seeds, which are a major snack industry among many others. State-run until the 1950s, industry is now privatized and dots the Anatolian landscape.

An old Roman town (Iconium), Konya is the grain capital of Turkey. It is also its religious center, with a population of close to one million. Because of Ramadan all restaurants were closed during the day. The tall Hilton Hotel and Mercedes dealerships attested to the current prosperity of residents, virtually all of whom observe a traditional dress code. Solar-heated water depots on rooftops are a conmon sight.

Konya’s renown goes back to the 13th century, when it was the capital of the Seljuk Empire with its rich architecture. The İnce Minare (“Thin Minaret”), with its turquoise tile accents, is now a museum of stone and woodcarvings. The Mevlana Museum is distinguished by its fluted turquoise tower, and attracts people from all over to the mausoleum of mystic, poet, and philosopher Mevlana Celaleddin Rumi. His followers, the whirling dervishes, go through nine years of training in the tekke (dervish houses) here. Annually on December 14, a festival is held in honor of Mevlana’s birthday.

The Archeology Museum houses many finds dating back to the Neolithic, Hittite, Phoenician, Roman, Hellenistic, Byzantine, and Ottoman periods. Its most valuable piece is a sarcophagus decorated with reliefs of the labors of Hercules.

Before leaving town, Evin took us to a carpet shop at our request. Here we viewed beautiful naturally dyed wool carpets and kilims. Carpets are knotted and heavier than kilims, which have a flat weave and are lighter in weight. I bought two of the latter, one with a stylized fly motif from Konya, and one, a runner, with a geometric pattern unique to Bergama. Muslims believe that Allah is the only creator of natural perfection; therefore, the depiction of nature in decorative arts is always stylized.

The road to Antalya offered wonderful points of interest. We stopped in Beyşehir to see the Eşrefoğlu Mosque, built in 1297. Another Seljuk masterpiece, this mosque, with a capacity of 2000, features carved and painted wood panels, in addition to mosaic tiles made of ceramic chips. In the center is a hole that collects water from the roof to provide moisture for the structural cedar posts and to keep them from drying. The imam who gave us a tour of the mosque recited a short segment from the Koran.