Hmm...I really don't know what to say about Selime Cathedral. It's similar to much of what we had already seen in Cappadocia. It was just as quietly and powerfully beautiful as everything else...if not more.
When we got there, I thought, "Are we going up there?! Really?" While our group day tour with Heritage Travel had been quite cool so far, what I think they don't tell you on the website is that you do need some level of passable physical conditioning to be able to see much of sites on the tour. A hike (albeit easy), the underground city and now this? Geesh.
We had to walk up THAT.
It looks easy at this point, right?
Then it just starts to incline just a bit...
Of course our hike up eventually turns into this...Don't ask me how I made it up 'cause I don't even know.
The narrowest path I have walked up ever...ever!
When you get to the top and see the view, it seems totally worth it. I stopped complaining in my mind (and feeling slightly embarrassed at my lack of cardio endurance).
Do you see me?
When I saw rock formations like this, I knew that the trip up was totally worth it.
Again, you're not going to go up a hill almost anywhere in Cappadocia without seeing a religious monument. I present the "cathedral." At this point in the trip, I knew I wasn't supposed to be surprised or amazed by another church carved into rock, but I was anyway.
One my fellow visitors decided to do some climbing. I kept my feet on the ground, KWIM?
A close-up of one of the cathedral's columns. I believe that's Jesus, but I could be wrong.
I think everyone on our tour admired the cathedral, but we were much more taken with all of the opportunities to explore the rocks and take in some views.
See the pic above this one? A very serious looking Husband J made it inside there.
One thing that Cappadocia did teach me is that you've sometimes got to work to see some of the more beautiful parts of a place. Okay, hikers. I understand now.
2 comments:
I go crazy for anything built into live rock. So cool. Why don't we do that anymore? Seems efficient on materials, but I guess really inefficient on time.
You know, Hannah, I totally think the Cappadocians were on to something. Apparently some people lived in them well into the 20th century and had to to COAXED out of living in them. I would think the great insulation helps with the heating costs. :)
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