Cappadocia, Turkey
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© Photos from the Album of Linda Young
They call them the "fairie chimneys." Such is the introduction to Cappadocia, the land of the Bible. This ancient city was often besieged, and the dwellers therein escaped all their foes by going into the caves. They had a huge underground city with many miles of caves camouflaged by cleverly devised ground covers that were carefully pulled into place by the last escapee.
Today you can roam through these underground caves, and the above ground ones too, and see the sites of the early churches, imagining attending a service there. These elaborate caves are the color of a russet piece of pottery, and the formations themselves have carved the "fairie chimneys" that protrude from the top. They make a unique, rosy village as you view it from a distance, especially seen in the early morn or late afternoon glow.
But for pure magic, go there when the snow has fallen, and it looks like the icing on a red velvet cake, candles and all. Then take a hot air balloon ride in the light of dawn, and you have this sureal landscape below, and the brilliant reds, blues, yellows and greens of the other balloons around you, and for a little while you imagine that paradise has penetrated your dreams.
