Cappadocia

About a three-hour drive southwest of Ankara is an area called Cappadocia. Millions of years ago volcanic eruptions covered the area with lava and volcanic ash. Erosion created structures sort of like Bryce canyon—standing columns that were soft enough to carve dwellings into. Once in contact with the air, the rock hardened, making the permanent homes very stable. People have been living in these homes since 1800 BC, and many are still inhabited. We stayed in a cave hotel that was lovely inside—modern but very cozy.

Nearby are about ten underground cities. We toured one of them of which about a tenth of the original city was lighted. Even 1/10th was a huge area. There were eight levels down, with stables and latrines on the top level (for easy removal), communal kitchens, family quarters, wineries, Christian chapels, and storerooms below. The earliest inhabitants started hiding from enemies there about 1800 BC, and some of the latest to use the area for hiding were Christians hiding from Romans. They estimate that the largest underground city could support 5,000 people plus necessary food and animals. Some of the underground areas are still in use for storing potatoes and other foods.

The Göreme valley has been designated as a world heritage site. Here, Christian religious communities were formed in the first few hundred years of Christianity. Monasteries, individual cells, large storage areas, communal kitchens and dining areas are all interesting, but the many chapels are amazing. Some of them have still-colorful frescos.

Cappadocia is mentioned twice in the New Testament. Cappadocians were present at Pentacost (Acts 2:9), and Peter wrote his general epistle to Cappadocians among others (1 Pet 1:1).

Even though the weather was terrible (rain, hail, sleet and snow!), we were thrilled to be invited and to receive permission to visit this amazing place.

Ron's Birthday

March 15th was an eventful day. We woke up to about 6 inches of snow outside, with temperatures in the 20s. We walked to church through slush, ice and snow, being careful not to slip as we walked through the still-falling snow.

The presiding Elder in Turkey, Richard Loosli, visited us this weekend with his wife. He came to release the previous branch president and call Ron as the new branch president. What a birthday present! We loved hearing the grandchildren sing "Happy Birthday" over the Internet. In our Turkish class on Monday, Ron heard "Happy Birthday" in Turkish, English, Russian and Arabic.

Roman Ruins in Ankara

Last week we took the bus to Ulus, the oldest section of Ankara, and visited the Roman ruins there. The area isn’t well restored, but it is very large, especially the tepidorium and caldarium (the warm and hot water areas of the baths), because the winters are so cold here. The area had once been surrounded by many Corinthian columns, so there were a great number of broken pieces lying around, just sort of laid out in rows all over the area, some in better condition than others. There were also grave markers, mostly with Latin and Greek inscriptions. The baths flourished in about 200 AD when Ancyra, as the city was called by the Romans, was a crossroads and the capital of Galatia.

Not too far away are two other Roman ruins: a column built to honor the Roman emperor Julian who visited in AD 362 and a wall of the temple of Augustus, built in 20 BC by the king of Galatia to honor a visit by the great Roman emperor. The temple became a Byzantine church in the 4th century and then a mosque was built on the site in 1425. (In the picture of the column, perhaps you can see a stork’s nest on top.)

We are constantly reminded of how long this area has been a center of civilization. The Hittites were here in Old Testament times, and there were several civilizations before them. Although the modern Republic is only 85 years old, the Turks have been here much longer. We regularly walk past the headquarters of the Air Force and Navy. The Air Force insignia shows it was started in 1911. We were astonished to see the date on the Navy insignia: established in 1081!

Our little Ankara Branch

Our small Ankara Branch has about ten active members plus a 5-year old child and a baby. About half speak or understand Turkish, and most but not all speak English, some as a second or third language. Our meetings are conducted in both languages, with the role of interpreter rotating among a few members. Our hymns are sung in both languages at the same time, and the language of the prayers depends on who is praying. One of the sacrament prayers is given in English and the other in Turkish. Our Branch President speaks Turkish and German, so Ron and I have had to dredge up long-forgotten German from our college days, as it often takes two languages to express a complete thought.
We meet in an office, titled on the outside “LDS Charities”, on the fourth floor of a bank building in downtown Ankara, about 2 blocks from our apartment. We hold a 2-hour block of meetings, with Sunday School alternating with Relief Society and Priesthood meetings. On Fast Sundays we hold a “Linger Longer” pot-luck supper—and after the last one, two of us became ill.

Here are pictures of our last Relief Society gathering and of the priesthood quorum.

Last Tuesday evening Ron went to the branch office to catch up on financial record-keeping with David Larsen, the Branch Clerk. They worked for an hour or so and went down to the lobby at 8:55 p.m. to find the front door locked! They had been told earlier that the building is open till 9:00 p.m., but apparently someone was a bit eager. The door had a big padlock on the inside, so they thought someone must be in the building, but no one responded to loud knocking on all the doors they could access. They called the phone number on the rental bill, but got no answer. There were no phone numbers posted in the lobby; the management was not apparently expecting that kind of problem. Ron and David checked for a fire escape from the fourth floor windows of the Church meeting rooms, but there weren’t any. (Not a comforting discovery when one contemplates the possibility of a fire.)

Finally, David, who is an American Foreign Service Officer, called the embassy and had their roving security patrol come to the building. Ron and David saw them through the glass doors as they arrived, and waved to get their attention. Being behind glass made Ron feel like some kind of exhibit. Fortunately, the security patrol talked to a cabby outside, who showed them where the caretaker stays in the basement. (Cabbies know everything; they spend their time either driving around or watching the neighborhood from an enclosed taxi stand.) They shouted down through a grate in the sidewalk, and the caretaker soon emerged and let Ron and David out, after only about 45 minutes of captivity. It could have been much worse; they had visions of sleeping the night on the meeting-room floor. Just another adventure in Turkey!