NEWSFLASH: Christians Live Under Rocks

Underground City

Over the past couple of weeks our group has traveled cross-country and stopped at many historical biblical sites. We’ve seen the places where Paul walked, gladiators fought, and athletes competed. However, one of the coolest places I’ve seen while in Turkey is the Underground City near Cappadocia. Yes, a city that is entirely hidden from the sun at about thirty meters deep. Though archeologists believe it was built sometime between the 8^th and 7^th centuries B.C.E., it is not certain exactly WHO originally built it, as it seems that it could have been either the Phyrgians or the Persians.

Getting used to the caves on the first level - the ceilings are a little low!

Regardless of who originally built the caves, they were eventually occupied by Christians who were avoiding persecution by Romans, Persians, and other groups who opposed the early Christians.  Amazingly enough, these caves were spacious enough to be occupied by as many as 5,000 people at a time, which gives a good idea of just how big they were. Though portions of the cave have collapsed at this point in time, the first five levels have been open to the public since 1969, allowing us to see what it may have been like to live as a hunted human being in a religiously-intolerant land. It is important to note the caves were not meant to be lived in continuously; during the times they were under attack, people were able to live in the caves for up to six months at a time. These structures were not viewed as permanent homes, but rather a temporary hiding place while enemies prowled.

The first level is only the entrance to the cave, so we’ll start with the second floor. Because so many people were living in such tight quarters, life had to be communal and open. Food was therefore stored in a common area with access to everyone. Prior to actually living in the caves, people would store up food ahead of time so that the supply would not run low while hiding. During the time they were in the caves, farmers would go out at night and collect food from the fields in secret so they could avoid being seen. Based on what we saw in this cave, grain seems to be the most common and easy food to store for longer periods of time.

One of many food storage rooms in the caves. The dents in the floor would have been used to hold containers of wine.

When it came to cooking in the kitchen, which was on the fourth floor, cave-dwellers made sure to only cook at night so that the smoke would not be visible outside. Since smoke would obviously be a health issue, they cooked maybe only once or twice a week so that the smoke wouldn’t become overbearing. Though they did have an impressive chimney that went almost as deep as the original caves, the ceiling in the kitchen area was notably blackened from the smoke that didn’t escape right away.

A section of the kitchen. The black walls aren't that appealing, but I'm sure the food was delicious. Or as delicious as cave food can be.

Food was not the only thing that got its own cave level, however, as we saw at least two wine cellars (levels three and five) within the five floors we visited. Don’t worry, early Christians weren’t passing the time away by getting drunk all the time. As our cave-guide informed us, wine back then was much lighter and less potent than what we drink today. And, rather than drinking to get drunk, the real purpose of the wine was to keep warm in the chilly caves. Wine was also a somewhat easier alternative than water, as the wine may have been cleaner and less potentially hazardous to one’s health. 

One of many wine cellars! The hollows in the wall were used to hold even bigger containers of wine.

As you would expect, living quarters were kind of cramped – the maximum number that could be fit into a one-room house was eight people. Each family that lived in these “houses” had their own chamber-pot, which, when its contents were mixed with limestone and salt, would then be thrown into the fire as a means of disposal. The richer families would live near the surface of the caves, while the poor would live at the bottom. If you’ve seen the movie Titanic, just think of Rose living in the suite versus Jack sleeping near the boiler room.

The beautiful Julia Dematatis explores the narrow and winding tunnels of the cave.

As you can hopefully tell from the pictures, living in these caves would have been an adventure!

Caravanserai

The main gate to the caravanserai

The other place we visited today was one of many Caravanserais (as you can see, the word “caravan” makes an appearance there). “Serai” (pronounced "Sir-I") means palace, and caravan, as we know, is a group of people traveling together from one destination to the next. In the 13^th century, the Seljuk Caravan was travelling from China to Turkey (and everywhere in between) on the famous Silk Road. Because the caravans were constantly on the road and in possession of so many valuable items, they were vulnerable to attacks from bandits who wanted to steal their goods. The solution? Build stone fortresses every 15 kilometers all the way from Turkey to China. This particular caravanserai was built in the year 1229 and though there has been some reconstruction on the site, it's still clear what this would have looked in the 13th century. On the inner gate are two small carvings, a flower and a star. The flower symbolizes life, and the star represents the universe. Together, these symbols mean that everyone is welcome in the caravanserai.

If you look closely, you can see the star in the left corner above the arch, and the flower on the right side above the arch.

These “caravan palaces” were safe havens for everyone who needed protection. Safety wasn’t free, however, as each caravan needed an expensive document signed by the Sultan which allowed them to stay at any one of the caravanserais. Whatever the cost, the benefits of staying in the caravanserais clearly outweighed the cost of being robbed. Though caravans were welcomed at any caravanserai, it wasn’t like staying at a hotel. Each caravan was responsible for providing food for themselves and their animals, and couldn’t rely on the guards of the caravanserai to get food for them.

The structure of the caravanserai was simple, an outdoor room similar to a courtyard was used in the warmer months, and an enclosed room was used for the Winter. In both the Winter and the Summer, animals and humans shared the same space for eating and sleeping. Each caravan was made up of about 30-40 people, and up to 100 animals could also be in that group. To be honest, the inner room still smelled like animal excrement to me, but that was probably just all the pigeons that have taken up residence there.

The enclosed Winter room. It smells slightly of damp things and pigeon poop.

One corner of the outdoor/summer room. I'm not entirely sure what the point of this staircase is.

The Silk Road clearly has some historical importance for the world at large, but for Turkey specifically the Silk Road is the means by which it became famous for its silk rugs. Marco Polo was responsible for bringing the silk worm to the Anatolia region in Turkey, and for then teaching the Turks how to utilize them. Without the caravanserais, it is doubtful that some of these caravans would have been quite as successful in trading and traveling, and presumably, cultural advancements would not have happened.

All in all, these were some pretty cool places that we got to visit in the past couple days, and I'm pumped that I got to share them with you.

Rachael Haqq