I woke up a little bit earlier today and went out to take a picture of one of the other things Cappadocia is famous for…

Then we took a little hike–DOWN hill this time!! From the hotel up on the hill, to the city down below.

Then we all climbed back on board Kaptain Fred (the van) and headed back to Ankara. Along the way we stopped to help this little fellow safely across the highway.

  
We got back to Filipus just in time to grab a pot of soup and take it to the weekly meeting of the Filipus staff/workers for a little fellowship and prayer.

  
Then, at about 10:45pm we walked back to our Ankara home. Tomorrow is the last day in Turkey for most of the class. Four will be staying on for part, or most, of the summer, doing internships for school.

I was too tired last night to type and wanted to find my pillow, and I tried to post some pictures of our jam-packed day before I went to sleep but even though the wifi signal was strong, the Internet was unwilling. So I’m trying again this morning…

Let’s see if I can remember all that happened yesterday. If I recall, after breakfast we loaded in the van and drove towards a town by the name of Güzelyurt. Along the way we listened to a podcast about Monasticism and learned a really old (but cool) hymn. The little mound in this fist picture would be our first stop . On top of that rock is St. Analipsis Church. There are remains surrounding the rock date as far back as the Hittites, and show that the area has been inhabited since that time. It’s seemingly last refurbishment was in 1894. The following pictures are as we get closer and arrive.

Once in the church itself, we sang the hymn we learned earlier in the morning. It dates back to the time that this church was being used for worship, though the tune w modernized and our lyrics were in English. We then drove back into the town and had some lunch on a sidewalk cafe – a place Ryan said was his favorite in all of Turkey. He ordered his favorite dishes and we ate family style. It was all really good-and authentic.  

After lunch we walked around Güzelyurt to explore this cool little town. Murray bought a plate and had the artist who painted it autograph the bottom. We also ran across what looked like a subway entrance but more likely led to a cistern.

If I understood correctly, this little town was known for Christians and Muslims living peacefully together for hundreds of years. There are Christian churches and monasteries all over the countryside here. Most were in the caves carved into the sandstone cliffs. In the 1920s, I think, Greece and Turkey did a population swap with all the Christians from here being relocated to Greece and all the Muslims from there being relocated to Turkey. All the Christians from Güzelyurt were relocated to Greece at that time.

We then packed into the van a drove to Çiftlik, into a peaceful valley, at about 5,800 feet in elevation. Notice the glaciers on the mountains in the background. On my son’s suggestion, a few of us got out of the van and walked to the little red church down the road. It was a gorgeous day (rain hadn’t started…yet) and it was really cool to approach the church the way many visitors would have, on foot.  

This church was built in the fifth or sixth century, possibly during the reign of Emperor Justinian. The property belonged to the family of Gregory of Nazianzus, one of the Cappadocian Fathers. It’s sits right net to the road which was the route between Constantinople and Antioch. It was also a stop for pilgrims traveling to Jerusalem. The Red Church was recently restored (the dome and some supporting structure) by the World Monuments Fund and is one of the earliest surviving Christian buildings in Turkey-most likely predating the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul. It’s certainly not as marvelous as he Hagia Sophia, but my visit here actually touched my soul/spirit even more profoundly. I’ve been to much older ruins, some of which are Christian, but this little church in this beautiful valley was used by God to strengthen and deepen my faith like none of the rest have.

While in this church, we celebrated the Lord’s Supper. In the same place ages of our brothers and sisters have done the same. As this church was still being used into the early 20th century, that’s at least 1,500 years of communion going on there. It was one of the highlights, if not THE highlight of my trip. It was an almost tangible connection to possibly thousands of my brother and sisters in Christ throughout the centuries. My only regret is that we didn’t drive away in silence…

The church used to be surrounded by a city. The rocks which now are piled up between the fields used to be houses and other buildings in a bygone era. About 100 yards away from the church was a tree on a mound. The mound is actually the walls of a building that they think might have been the house of Gregory of Nazianzus. If that’s truly the case, and the house and church were there at the same time, then the church could actually be dated back to the fourth century. Next to the house was the actual road that went to Istanbul to the west and Antioch to the east.

   
  
 We did a lot more yesterday but it’s bout time to check out of the hotel and see some stuff and drive back to Ankara for our last night in Turkey. So I’ll have to finish this post later

We visited a LOT of church/monastery sites (in and out of the rain), both caves and traditional structures. One we went to after the Red Church is in a place called Monastery Valley, outside the little town of Güzelyurt. It is now called the Güzelyurt Church Mosque. 

On the drive back to our cave hotel we drove through a little weather. Of course we had to stop and let the children play with the snow (hail)…

Then we stopped at a mall and had a little dinner. 

I wanted to see a movie, but wanted to get back “home” even more.

  
We finally got back to our hotel, shared and debriefed and then I took a short stroll before heading back to my cave for the night.

We are in the region of Cappadocia and checked in to our hotel. The rooms are on the side of the hill and not really cave rooms-well, except for mine (which is carved out of the limestone, in the belly of the rest of the hotel – no widows but I got my own queen sized bed and bathroom. The girls got rooms on the upper floor and have the best views of the valley.

I’m still amazed at how green Turkey is. Here’s a picture or two of the drive out of Ankara…

Our Quiet Time didn’t really become official, but the first hour or so was pretty quiet anyway…

  
The drive to Uçhisar was fairly uneventful. We pulled over once to get some native raisins and hazelnuts at a roadside stand. There was some huge things being moved that was on three different trucks, each taking up both  lanes of the two lanes alloted to our direction.

   
    
Here’s a couple/three pictures of my room …

While eating lunch at the hotel, we are learning about early church history (particularly how communal monasticism started – in Egypt, and right here where we are now – separately from each other, but happening simultaneously with each other.) We also learned how missional movements sprung out of these monastic communities. 

Tuesday morning, June 2nd. Murray and I have been to the market to get some bananas, oranges, yellow honeydew, bread, and jam (I THINK it’s boysenberry, but it might be mulberry, or maybe blackberry…) The rest of the class is now 1 minute late from official start of breakfast time so I’m gonna go grab something to eat before they show up and it disappears in the whirling of the dervishes.

  
No sooner did I click “post” than these guys popped in the kitchen door…he who hesitates doesn’t get as much to eat.

Today I think we’re going in to some part of town to serve soup which the students at Filipus made here last night. They do this every Tuesday. We most likely will be helping behind the scenes since none of us speak much Turkish.

It’s Wednesday morning as I continue this post and we’re about ready to drive to Capaddocia for a two night stay. Yesterday we went to the Ataturk Mausoleum and Museum and then spent the afternoon at the church with the Filipus students, passing out invitations, serving soup and tea and bread, praying for those who might and would come, cleaning out a storage shed. Then we all piled into the van, stopping along the way so that a couple of our students could learn a Turkish dance on the sidewalk. That evening we went to the home of an American family who are workers here in Ankara for some fellowship, pizza, and ping pong.