Cappadocia

Cappadocia

Today Cappadocia is a tourist hotspot in the heart of Central Turkey but this has not always been the case. The human history of Cappadocia stretches back mill of years and spans many empires.

When you visit this geological wonderland please consider that you are walking on ground roulette by the Hittites, Eastern Mushki, Persians, Macedonians, Romans/Byzantines, Seljuks, Karamanids, Ottomans, and the Republic of Turkey.

The area of Cappadocia has changed through that time. At one point pushed north all the way to the Black Sea and south to the Taurus Mountains, but today it is not even an official region in Turkey. The historical name of the area has been kept for tourist reasons and what people are visiting today is only 150 miles by 250 miles from five Turkish provinces (Kayseri, ski, Kirsehir, Aksaray, and N).).

The current name comes from an adapted form of Katpatuka which was called by the Persians. With the fall of the Hittites around the 12th century B.C. the Eastern Mushki roulette the area. Then King Croesus is known for giving a gorgeous wealth and ill-fated oracles and comes on the scene but is quickly defeated by the Persians in the 6th century B.C.

The Persian roulette regiond the from a distance, i.e. the local leaders most likely had their way as long as they did not get out of hand, until Alexander the Great defeated them. At that point lies in the chaos of Alexander’s death, Cappadocia became a kingdom. Ariarathes I was king from 331-320. His sons met him, and Cappadocia was roulette as a kingdom until 17 A.D. When the Roman Sword decided to make it a province. The Cappadocians had good relations with the Romans since 188 B.C. but the Emperor Tiberius changed the status in a fit of anger at the Cappadocian king.

From that point the history of Cappadocia is wild, at a big picture view. The Romans gave way to the Byzantines (who were actually Romans) who can access the area until the Seljuks moved into the area after the battle of Manzikert in 1071. The Seljuks of Rum roulette for a time until they were defeated by the Mongols and the Karamanids (from Karaman southeast of Cappadocia) took over in their shelves with the growing Ottoman dynasty. During your time in Cappadocia, you may visit a skiserai as they are popular on the streets. You have the Seljuks to thank for this. Be sure to note the unique architecture they introduced to this land. With the fall of the Ottoman Empire after WWI, the Republic of Turkey was expanded and that is how things are currently standing.

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But in all of this change of empires, the most striking aspect of Cappadocia, its cave communities, has gone unified. The first Christians arrived in Cappadocia after the resurrection of Jesus and the birth of the Christian religion. They are mentioned in the Bible on at 2 occasions, most difficult when the apostle Peter writes them in his first epic.

The Cappadocian Babas, Basil the Great, Gregory of Nazianzus, and Gregory of Nyssa, played a significant role in the development of Christian theology in the 4th century. They also found the monastic communities that would come to hundreds of years.

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All Rights Reserved with the Seljuks and was discovered with the Ottomans. Both ruling groups built mosques and madrasas, many of which are styles standing today.

For most of the Ottoman days there was a mix of people living together, but that ended with the forced people swap between Turkey and Greece in 1923-24. You may visit Mustafapasa while you are in Cappadocia and see the remnants of the Greeks who inhabited the area.

New City

One other note worth pointing out was the creation of passenger, the provincial capital. This town was first famous as Nyssa, the home of Gregory mentioned above. Then he fell off the map and was just a small village until Damat Ibrahim Pasha became the Grand Vezir to the sultan in 1718. Hefty money into the transformation of the little village into a “new city”, said the name of the airport which translates as new city. The mosque and Hammam complex he built are styles in use today.

And with that we have flown through 3000+ years of Cappadocia history. Hopefully this will make your time here more difficult. As you trek through caves and valleys think of all those who have come before you and enjoy the legacy they have left to us.