FROM TORUL TO FOCA TALES IN STONE
For thousands of years caravans of camels, dervishes,
weary horsemen, shepherds, carts, skylarks, kings and armies crossed
and recrossed the land of Anatolia. Little trace remains of any
of them, not even a cloud of dust. But two other travellers which
crossed Anatolia, both above and below ground, are still with us:
wind and water.
The wind caressed the soil and rocks, while the
water falling as rain moistened them before draining into the earth
and forming rivers and streams, which carried away everything in
their path on their way to the sea. Wind and water have eroded the
stone and soil of Asia Minor over many thousands of years, creating
extraordinary natural monuments. Most famous of all their strange
and startling creations are undoubtedly the rock pillars of Cappadocia
and the great white travertines of Pamukkale. But Turkey has other
enchanting natural formations which fascinate travellers as much
as they do geologists.
One such is to be seen on the island of Orak off
Foça on the Aegean coast. The rocks here are named after
the Sirens mentioned in Homer’s Odyssey, and were home to
Mediterranean seals until recent years. The spell-binding voices
of the Sirens which drew sailors have faded away, lost in the gaping
mouth of time which consumes all things.
All that is left is the strange limestone rocks,
some of which resemble knife blades, others submarines and still
others caterpillars.Far away at the other end of Turkey, in the
district of Torul in the province of Gümüshane, is a broad
fault crack at whose edge is an amazing cave. Karaca Cave owes its
existence to the dolomite rock of the area and to underground water
carrying carbon dioxide which dissolves the calcium carbonate in
the rock to form stalactites. The cave is so beautiful that to describe
it as an underground palace would be no exaggeration. The cave,
which spreads out horizontally in a series of caverns, was opened
to the public in 1996.
Now we travel back westwards to Karapinar in the
province of Konya in central Turkey, where the eight kilometres
long Lake Meke is another of natursr masterpieces. This is a volcanic
lake which has formed in a main crater containing smaller volcano
vents. Islands like red humps rising from the greenish water so
mysteriously are the work of these now extinct secondary volcanos.
These earth cones, the children of fire, lie dormant now, but still
whisper their ancient story.On the Gelibolu (Gallipoli) peninsula
are two wind blown headlands five hundred metres apart on the coast
near the village of Küçük Anafartalar. One of these,
Küçük Kemikli, has a porous structure like a meteorite.
Rock created in the distant past by sediment and silt building up
in the delta here has been eroded slowly but relentlessly by sea
and wind. On the second headland, Büyük Kemikli, are memorials
dating from the Gallipoli campaign.Two more natural formations for
which human history is but the twinkling of an eye are to be seen
between Silifke and Erdemli on the Mediterranean coast.
The first of these is the huge swallow hole of Kanlidivane,
90 metres in length, 70 metres wide, and 60 metres deep, situated
41 kilometres from Silifke. Standing on the edge and looking down
is a scary experience. On its brink is the Church of Papylos. Kanlidivane
swallow hole was notorious in Byzantine times as a place where criminals
were thrown down to lions kept at the bottom of this great natural
pit. If you come here in spring, you will be welcomed not only by
goats but by irises. The people of Anatolia sought every way to
find relief from their troubles and cures for illnesses. Tying scraps
of cloth to trees and making wishes was one, folk medicines another,
and the Wishing Cave still another. The cave - Dilek Magarasi- is
300 metres away from two more famous swallow holes known as Heaven
(Cennet) and Hell (Cehennem) at Narlikuyu on the Mediterranean.
Believed to be good for asthma, the cave has a very high humidity
and is home to a colony of bats that flit through it. Like Karaca
Cave, the Wishing Cave is illuminated by mercury lamps.
Now we travel north again to the gorge of Ballikayalar,
50 kilometres east of Istanbul in the village of Tavsanlinear Gebze.
Here mountaineers come to practice, particularly at weekends. In
summer, when the stream which flows at its base is reduced to a
trickle, it is possible to walk the length of the gorge as far as
the village of Demirciler. The rocks are easy to climb up but none
the less magnificent.Heading back towards the Aegean, near Kula
120 kilometres from Izmir, is a valley lined with rock cones reminiscent
of those in Cappadocia.
These formations, like a ghost castle, are again the work of erosion.
To reach them cross Kula Bridge in an easterly direction and turn
to the left. Seven kilometres further on you pass the village of
Sarniç, and on the side road which leads back to Kula you
will see the strange shapes of black and red volcanic rock.Yazilikaya
in the district of Seyitgazi in the province of Eskisehir is famed
for its great rocks bearing carved Phrygian reliefs and the monument
of King Midas.
When the rays of the morning sun light up the monument
and its carved inscriptions in the as yet undeciphered Phrygian
language, you can hear the whispers of history. Around the village
are other Phrygian remains such as Gerdek Kaya, Aslankaya and Arezastis.
With its perforated stones and astounding rock texture, this is
another place which should definitely not be missed. Finally there
is Kerpe on the western Black Sea coast, where the cliffs rise in
steps parallel to the sea.
All these natural phenomena were created by wind
and water, two patient fellow travellers across Anatolia. Who can
guess what other marvels they will create in the future.
By Akgun AKOVA
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