By Ricky, on December 4th, 2009 Aya Sophia in Istanbul © Ricky Yates. Originally built as a Church, it was converted to a mosque with the addition of minarets, after the fall of Constantinople in 1453. In 1935, under the government of Ataturk, it was turned into a museum and some of the original Christian mosiacs and frescoes uncovered and restored.
Before I continue describing and illustrating our journey back to Prague from Cappadocia in central Turkey, via Bulgaria, Serbia, Montenegro, Croatia, Bosnia, Croatia again, Slovenia, Italy and Austria, I want to post a more reflective piece about Turkey and the tensions and issues that it currently faces. In many respects these are a microcosm of what increasingly divides the West, with its culture and values that are Christian in origin though becoming increasingly secular, from those countries in the Middle East, the Gulf, other parts of Asia and North Africa, where Islam . . . → Read More: The Islamization of Turkey
By Ricky, on November 22nd, 2009 Ihlara Valley © Ricky Yates
After an interesting week here in Prague with the events marking the twentieth anniversary of the Velvet Revolution, I shall return to writing about our trip last month to Asia and back.
The final place we visited in Cappadocia was the Ihlara Valley. This lies about 40km south-west of Derinkuyu and was somewhere I had not visited during my 1975 trip. It is located near Mount Hasan and Mount Melendiz, two of the now extinct volcanoes whose past eruptions have left Cappadocia covered with volcanic lava and ash. The Ihlara Valley or Gorge has been formed by the Melendiz River cutting down through this soft rock to depth of around 100metres over a distance of some 14km.
There are a limited number of access points to the valley. The one we used was about 4km from the village of Ihlara, adjacent to a . . . → Read More: Cappadocia – The Ihlara Valley
By Ricky, on November 18th, 2009 Charcoal roasted ham being cooked on Old Town Square © Ricky Yates
Yesterday, Tuesday 17th November 2009, marked the twentieth anniversary of the start of the events that led to the ‘Sametová Revoluce’, the Velvet Revolution, which saw the demise of the Communist government that had ruled Czechoslovakia for previous forty one years. As I mentioned in my recent blog post about Holidays and Celebrations in the Czech Republic, 17th November is now kept as a public holiday entitled ‘Struggle for Freedom and Democracy Day’.
Although not a Czech and having only lived here for 14 months, I was still interested to see how the momentous events of twenty years ago would be celebrated. So early yesterday afternoon, Sybille and I set out from our flat and travelled by bus and Metro to the centre of Prague, in order to soak up the atmosphere.
One thing . . . → Read More: The Velvet Revolution – 20 years on
By Ricky, on November 18th, 2009 Tunnel in the Underground City at Derinkuyu © Ricky Yates
Because of the soft nature of much of the rock that covers Cappadocia, not only are there Underground Churches but also several complete Underground Cities. One of the most interesting and best preserved is at Derinkuyu in the south-west of Cappadocia, located between the cities of Nevsehir and Nigde.
The early part of the Underground City at Derinkuyu pre-dates the Christian era, parts of it belonging to the 8th and 7th centuries BC. It was used by Christians seeking to hide from Roman persecution during the first three centuries AD and then extended and used once more between the 5th and 10th centuries AD during the middle Byzantine period. Christians hid in this and other Underground Cities like it, to escape attacks from Arab Islamists which occurred from the 7th century AD onwards.
Carved out . . . → Read More: The Underground City at Derinkuyu
By Ricky, on November 14th, 2009 Old Testament Prophet with scroll © Sybille Yates
Along with Fairy Chimneys, the other unique attraction in Cappadocia is a whole series of Underground Churches, carved into the soft rock. Most have been decorated internally with an amazing variety of wall paintings and frescoes. There are rock carved Churches scattered right across Cappadocia but some of the most interesting and best preserved, lie in the upper part of the Göreme Valley, a few kilometres west of Ürgüp.
Christians settled in this part of Cappadocia in the second and third centuries AD. They carved and built these Churches and associated settlements, seeking to escape Roman persecution of their faith. After the Roman Empire adopted the Christian faith, there was less need to hide away in this remote area. But monastic and teaching communities remained.
From the seventh century AD and onwards, the increasing spread of Islam led more Christians . . . → Read More: Cappadocia – Land of Underground Churches
|
rickyyates.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.
|
Recent Comments