How can you resist images like these? I can't. People have been living in Cappadocia for over 2000 years but in the last 1000 years or so, the christians has burrowed into the mountain side, built for themselves homes, monasteries and rock cut chapels, many with colorful frescoes. Wow. People of Cappadocia were mentioned in the bible in the book of Acts of the apostles. They were among the people gathered around the upper room soon after the baptism of the Holy Spirit. I can't imagine that this trip to Turkey has led me to read about St Paul's various missions in Anatolia then known as Asia Minor. St Paul, himself, was Turkish from Tarsus in present day Turkey. I had to read my book on Church history to learn about Constantine and the Byzantine Empire. I had to find on the Internet, the Nicene Creed which I recited in church every sunday growing up. Why the Nicene Creed? The Council of Nicea featured 3 Bishops from Cappadocia called the Cappadocian fathers and it was at the first council of Nicea (again in Turkey, present day Iznik) that the Nicene Creed consolidated the beliefs of the Christians. I can't wait, fairy chimneys and rock cut chapels, colorful frescoes...... this is so amazing. This was supposed to be just an exploratory trip to Istanbul but it has morphed into something else. We are doing a little bit of Western Europe and the cost of the trip is piling up but it is worth it.
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