Kindness of Strangers

Saturday, August 16, 2008

I am writing this post from a cave. A real cave! Maikael and I are staying in Goreme, a town in Central Turkey, in the Cappadocia region, known for its unusual rock structures that look like The Smurfs’ house on speed. These formations were originally caused by the deposit and eventual erosion of volcanic material; their insides were first carved out by early inhabitants - troglodytes, or cave dwellers — of the area thousands of years ago. Over the centuries, these unusual cave-like homes have been repurposed time and again — an early example of “green” design?

We are lucky enough to be staying in an original cave room at the Fairy Chimney Inn. Every hotel in town seems to have “cave” somewhere in the title, but few can boast the opportunity to stay in a real cave. Most just look like caves; ours in the real McCoy. The Fairy Chimney is owned by Andus, an anthropologist-turned-hotelier, who first came to Cappadocia 25 years ago to search for his dissertation topic. His academic background informs everything in this Inn - his greatest concern in restoring and transforming this property to an inn was to maintain the character of the original cave dwellings. Rather than peddling rugs, Andus is more interested in sharing his obvious passion for and encyclopedic knowledge of the history of the area.

When I was little, I was constantly building forts in my house. My favorite place was the laundry room, where I would string bedsheets to differentiate different “rooms” on top of the washer and dryer. The dryer was always the kitchen - grocery shopping was conveniently located next door, in the real kitchen - and the washer was always my bedroom/living room (depending on the time of day). Staying in a cave brings me back to those early forts. Our bathroom is a small nook carved out of the rock, a simple batik curtain strung across to divide the living and bathing areas. The room is outfitted in exotic rugs and plump pillows, only adding to the feeling that I’m living in a fort for the next few days. We even have a porch with fabulous views of the Pigeon Valley, so named for the pigeons that were bred here to fertilize the surrounding farmland. There’s stlll a few left today.

Given our meager backpacker’s budget, we are making a major splurge by staying here (66 Euros per night with breakfast). But we have dreamed about going to Cappadocia after reading a New York Times article years ago on the area, and have always wanted to stay in a cave. So far, it’s been worth every penny. This place was the perfect antidote to my homesickness. The landscape, with its barren hills, dry weather, cool evenings, and loopy topography, reminds me of New Mexico.

These caves have housed different people for different purposes for thousands of years. I am but one person passing through, hunkered down with my laptop, a post-modern troglodyte.