8th October 2010
Adiyaman - Kahramanmaras - Kayseri - Cappadocia
We left Adiyaman towards Kahramanmaras fairly early this morning, in order to get there before lunch time to visit a market, well known for selling all sorts of handicraft products.
What I believe most of us were looking forward to, turned out to be just an average Bazar type of market, whose supposedly handicrafted artifacts were very hard to find, aggravated by the fact that it was pouring down with rain, for which some of us (I included) were not prepared for ... and there's no worst nuisance than wanting to stop at some of the hundred open market stalls, feeling wet from head to toe ...
Our guide was actually one of the restaurant male servants (we haven't yet seen any female serving at the tables, nor within our visible range), who patienttly guided us along the alleys of the closed and open air market.
Having nothing else but sandals to wear, I felt compelled to buy some shoes, having been told that in the past this region was known for making some of the best leather hand made shoes to be found in the whole of Turkey... and to my satisfaction I bought a pair of beautifully hand made green leather turkish shoes, that I didn't even try to "negotiate" (as the guides suggest), for they were already too cheap for the work involved.
Having nothing else but sandals to wear, I felt compelled to buy some shoes, having been told that in the past this region was known for making some of the best leather hand made shoes to be found in the whole of Turkey... and to my satisfaction I bought a pair of beautifully hand made green leather turkish shoes, that I didn't even try to "negotiate" (as the guides suggest), for they were already too cheap for the work involved.
Two views of the market, where city dwellers are seen wearing typical clothes (the old man on the left in turkish trousers and fez hat and the lady on the right with a long raincoat and a scarf around the head).
At lunch time we were introduced to one of the region's s typical (and particularly special) desserts - an ice-cream, called Maras Dondurast, which according to two different versions is either made of goat milk or arabic glue (being sold in slices in the region market) ... either way, it was maybe the best ice-cream I have ever had (... irrespective of being a bit sticky ...) ... and its flavour "lingered on" in my mouth most of the afternoon.
We then headed towards Kayseri, which we only reached by the end of the day. It was already beginning to get dark when we visited the Döner Kümbert (a conical roofed tomb erected in the XII century for a Seljuk princess, Sah Cihan Hatun), which pertains to the Hunat Hatun mosque complex.
The Hunat Hatun mosque (1228-1237), whose construction was ordered by the wife of the great Seljuk Turkish Sultan Alaettin Keykubat, the empress Mapheri Hunat Hatun, impacted me ... maybe because of being lit up on the outside, constrasting with the dim light of its interior (just illuminated by a chandelier), where the prayers were being carried out, by the time we managed to get an authorization to visit it.
Outside the Hunat Hatun mosque
Men kneeling down in front of several columns (so that no one might interfere with their connection with Allah by walking in front of them) were praying in a fairly audible way ...whilst three of them standing up were singing ...
We walked on tiptoes not to disturb them ... and their worshiping prayers, which we have gradually been getting used to, as the sound of the muezins's calls echoe over and over again ... in our minds ... Most of us have been waking up around 5 or 5:30 (depending on the region) to their call for the first morning prayer of the day.
Outside the Mosque, the lit up citadel of Kayseri created a strong impression on most of us. It is no wonder ... as this city has gone through three golden-age periods, the first one dating back to 2000 BC, when the city was a trade post between the Assyrians and the Hittites, the second one during the Roman rule (200-300 AD) and the third one having been during the reign of the Seljuks (1178-1243).
Night view of the Kayseri Citadel
It is a pity we can't further culturally "explore" this city ... we are on our way to Cappadocia ...
Although I have never been too impressed with 4 star hotels as opposed to any other 2 or 3 star ones, when physically exhausted, I must confess that after such a long journey, the sight of this Hotel room as I walked into its chamber ... really caught my attention, as if I could already picture myself slumbering away like a "princess", who has just been away from home for too long ...
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