Cappadoccia, Caravanserai

 Houses carved form rock, with many rooms and stairs. Imagine what the dusting would be like after a windy day.

 Robert the photographer gets his photo taken

 No he is not a Turk, he just looks like one! As his mother is Greek, I better watch what I say but he does look the part. Yes, he did buy that hat!

 Now that is a backpack!

 Got to love this, old meets new. A steel ladder to climb up onto a camel [a very old form of transportation.]

 Market stall.

Amazing region of Turkey, rock formations that resemble fairy towers. These were formed by ancient volcanic action, entire villages are carved out with people still living in some of the towers, there are underground cities and christian catacombes with amazing frescoes with the colours still vibrant after all this time. We went to open air museum in Goreme through the Avcilar Valley, Kayamakli Underground City, the place were early christians hid from persecutors, Pasabagi in Zelve region and Avanos, shopped for handicrafts this area is famous for.
Caravanserai
The first picture is of the portal of the Karatay Han near ayseri in Central Anatolia.
A caravanserai, essentially a transit stop where men and beasts rested overnight, layovers in the great bazaars could easily extend into weeks or even months.  These huge stone buildings were made to shelter the caravaneers, their camels, horses and donkeys, and their cargoes, to keep them safe from highwaymen and to provide needed travel services, a huge square or rectangular building with high walls of local stone. The walls are smoothly finished but devoid of decoration, except for the potal which is elaborately decorated with bands of geometric design, Kur’anic inscriptions in Arabic script, and the sculpted geometric patterns of mukarnas (stalactite vaulting).
Walk through the main portal and you pass the room of the caravanserai’s manager and enter a large courtyard. At its center may be a mescit (small mosque or prayer-room), usually raised above ground level on a stone platform. (The mescit may also be built into the walls above the main portal.) Around the sides of the courtyard, built into the walls, are the service rooms: refectory, treasury, hamam, repair shops, etc.
At the far end of the courtyard from the main portal is the grand hall, a huge vaulted hall usually with a nave and three side aisles. The hall is usually lit by slit windows in the stone walls and/or a stone cupola centered above the nave. The hall sheltered goods and caravaneers during bad winter weather.
Most caravanserais were built as pious endowments: a wealthy Seljuk gave money for the building’s construction and also made available a source of income to be used for its maintenance.
Caravans were welcomed into the caravansarai in the evening, and were welcome to stay free for three days. Food, fodder and lodging were provided free of charge, courtesy of the building’s founder. (Most caravans probably moved on the next morning.)