Ankara, Turkey, starting from traveling to the southeast, more than two hours backward plateau of Cappadocia (Cappadocia) region. Here hills, ravines, gullies and Valley Stream, the site is one and one of the "stone forest." Numerous stone pillars, soaring standing, forming a unique landscape.
Cappadocia stone forest is also known as "fairy chimneys" The region south of the mountain and Hassan El Jiya Si Hill used to be active volcanoes, the magma cooled and solidified rock formed a thick gray layer of tuff. Older course of time, sun exposure and tuff in the dark clouds of erosion under the soft part of the erosion and exhausted, Gap Stream gully formation in the ground, in underground caves formed undercurrent. Left behind more solid parts, the formation of a mix of rock. Of these, a thousand yards of the cliffs rise steeply, there are dozens of meandering in the fold, the more it is like a mushroom, tree stumps, minaret, like stalagmites and columns, odd rocks everywhere constitute the open-air museum.
Museum of the largest rocks in the vicinity of the Curie United States. Curie United States is one of only three to four families in the small village. Inside and outside the village, full of endless columns in a single glance, really rugged Chin, Wan towering rock. Only some ten meters high, some as high as tens of meters; some like a slender poles, while others like a giant fortress. Some were light red, ocher or brown, while others are gray, khaki or white.Rock surfaces are very smooth, with the changing sunlight and clouds changing their hue.
Curie beauty very smart, take advantage of these natural pillar of the building room to construct the building. In the village, they are almost all of the columns down the middle hollowed out, covered the ground floor, top of the painting stint, the walls cut lattice window shut. These financial natural beauty and artificial beauty in one of the stone, just like the opening of China's northern Shaanxi in the loess on the cave. We boarded the escalator, visited an "air restaurant," and two "air-hotel." Shihmen went from the low, inside the cave suddenly see the light, spacious halls, Erigeron faint, giving the return to the original cave life wonderful feeling. Outside the village, a basin-shaped cliff, hanging with a lot of caves community. Some caves can climb down the ladder to the rust-stained, and some can climb up along the rugged trail, some trail fell into disrepair due to the ladder or unattainable. These caves look very spectacular, porch, two storeys and lintels are decorated with geometric patterns. Locals told me that these are centuries-old churches or monasteries.
Curie around the United States several other small villages have their own characteristics.In Si Xisa two side by side in the gray hills. More than 100 meters high hill, from top to bottom layer of a dozen caves, especially neat rows, looking like a giant honeycomb. Curie Seoul home in the United States east of the S & P is a tall hill, according to historical records, this hill is the medieval Christian who has been concentrated resident. Later, the rocks have collapsed because of the risk, the clerics from here to another two up to ten meters of red-brown cone thirty-four pillars. It has two pillars still remain. There are holes drilled on the cylinder, the top covered with a ten foot diameter dome a few meters, like a huge atomic mushroom cloud explosion Jumping group.
In addition to these ground spectacle, the Cappadocia there is an underground landscape - in more than 30 use the special structure of tuff cut the underground city. We visited the southwestern United States near Derinkuyu Curie underground city. This city on the ground 2500 square meters, a depth of 55 meters, is divided into 8 layers. Cat Lumbar go down the stairs, make a bend of the tunnel seven Shui 8. The first level is the bedroom, kitchen, dining room, wine cellar and stables; with the second layer is the altar of the church; the third layer and fourth layer is the baptistery, church schools, shelters and armories; the bottom is reservoirs. The openings between the layers are one meter in diameter are placed more than a cobblestone drive. This is the underground city-specific safety devices.Anyone who comes, as long as the authorities set flip dark, stone disk will automatically seal the hole. This is a bit like the North China Anti-Japanese War mining typical "turn the mouth." Meanwhile, from the ground to the bottom, digging more than 50 channels, air can flow smoothly, so people in the cave did not suffocating feeling. According to legend, this underground city was started 3,000 years ago the Hittites built, and later completed by the Christians and the long-term use. On the same rock as the cave, the underground city is a haven for ethnic and religious. In the early Byzantine Empire, religious persecution and later the Arab invasion period, have had tens of thousands of Christians hiding in here.
Visited on the ground of rocks and underground caves, I could not help the question arises: Turkish population of 52 million, the vast majority of Muslims, Christians account for only 0.5%, so why build so many Christian churches, monasteries and religious refuge it?
It turned out that some of Cappadocia has always been a powerful nation Asia-Europe land scramble. As early as the 20th century BC, the Hittites here to build a strong kingdom.Later, the Assyrians have established trade presence here. Early 6th century BC, the Persians occupied and the overall control of the region. In 334 BC, Macedonia's Alexander the Great Crusade here, the Department will Seleucus I Nicator here to establish the rule of the Greeks. BC 190 years later, here reduced to a province of the Roman Empire.Respected Roman polytheism, the beginning of the era of the rise of Christianity in the Palestinian territories for brutal repression. The time, known as the Apostle St. Paul as the representative of Jesus Christ's first disciples to leave Jerusalem, came to the difficult terrain, suitable for hiding Cappadocia, Asia Minor, established the first Christian area, and began to build churches. The 4th century, the widespread Christian form a powerful political force. Constantine the Great and his successors Tiaoduoxi emperor realized that Christianity was used to consolidate the rule of an emerging imperial power. Therefore, they changed the policy, first announced the freedom of religion, then Christianity as the state religion. At this time, communication and research Cappadocia became the center of Christianity. A large number of churches, monasteries and other religious facilities construction in rock caves. At the same time, many "close to God" and the pursuit of ascetic life of monks also come here to form a loose religious society. The eighth century, the Christian church within the outbreak should use the icon of the fierce debates, disable the icons and the subsequent suppression of the movement who worship icons. Thus, another wave of religious persecution to the remoteness of some of Cappadocia once again become a haven for Christian clergy and believers. 9th century AD, Muslim Arabs invaded, a large number of Christians flee, Cappadocia has become stranded in a small number of Christians to avoid persecution of the alien and pagan sanctuary. A few hundred years later, a Muslim Turkic people come here, to establish the Ottoman Empire. Local residents have converted to Islam, Christian Greeks insist on withdrawal of almost all Christian influence in the region gradually eliminate. [
Byzantine Cappadocia cave paintings is an important part of art Under the rule of the Ottoman Empire, as the booming Christian centuries the center of Asia Minor, one of Cappadocia was gradually forgotten by the world. In 1907, French priest Guillaume de hot Fani Weng came here and found strange rocks and pillars of churches and monasteries are found there remains a large number of religious paintings. He possessed the same as for investigation and research, monographs published in 1925, "a new province of Byzantine art: the rock churches of Cappadocia." In this he was known as "Cappadocia authority of religion and art works," said among the Christians in and from where the rock pillars have disappeared, but a large number of Christian architecture was left here, Christian here has been continuation of civilization. Since then, Cappadocia by Western religious and academic attention, and its rare human values become eager to study. Now, every year hundreds of thousands of Europeans to come here to visit and study.
Cappadocia present more than 150 built in the rock, pillars and underground churches and monasteries. However, due to wind and rain erosion and human destruction, and many churches and monasteries have been seriously damaged. We visited several churches, though still intact, but not the pillar of the defects that were no windows and doors.Meanwhile, the cave paintings are repeated in the catastrophe. I see it, if one were intact and no. Even those most people dare not profane icons, almost lost the eye. Local friends say, some people believe that the saint's blue eyes into powder, used as an aphrodisiac by the birth of desire. Thus, many portraits of the eyeball were to pull out. How much of human wisdom, and thus ruined in a few hands of ignorance.
