Page 84 - LIN JAN 2022 WEB FILES

Cappadocia . A Short Trip To Mars?

by Ron McGinty

o appreciate the rare terrain of Cappadocia, Turkey, is
from hundreds of feet above wandering through in a hot
Tair balloon. Hundreds of balloons ascend into the air
each morning at daybreak. The baskets glide close enough you
feel you can touch the tops of the snowcone-looking mountains.
Mother Nature spawned volcanic eruptions many centuries ago,
and erosion triggered the anomaly of shapes. Many say it seems
magical or mystical to experience this phenomenon.
The former prime minister of Turkey, Ahmet Davutoglu,
describes its uniqueness. “Turkey is a European country, an Asian
country, a Middle Eastern country, a Balkan country, a Caucasian
country, a neighbor to Africa, Black Sea country, Caspian Sea, all
these.” Cappadocia is a symbol of rareness and is a UNESCO
World Heritage Site.
As you drift across the terrain, you can visualize the deep
history. Bear with me, and I will try to cover centuries in a few
sentences, kinda like the Cliff Notes. The Hittites were the earliest
to manufacture iron weapons and tools. They ruled Cappadocia
until the Persians took over in about 550 B.C. Next was Alexander
the Great and subsequently the Roman Empire. The luxury of the
Romans is evident in the area’s ruins.
The area was a sanctuary for Christians during the time of the
Byzantine Kingdom. Christianity grew in Cappadocia, where
the remains of many churches survive still today. Following the
Romans, the Muslim Turks conquered this area, and today the
current population is predominantly Muslim. Cappadocia’s wealth
resulted from a route to the silk trade, as was Petra in Jordan.
Hopefully, this little bit of history will set the stage for why
Cappadocia is such a mystical area and not only for its uniqueness
of terrain. The balloon parade is the most-watched event each day.
It passes over mountains and hotel tops with masses of spectators
taking selfies with the balloons as the backdrop.

84 Life in Naples | January 2022