2019 Nov 5 Cappadocia · Göreme · Travel Notes

A quiet courtyard. I lumbered out of the cave room like a bear waking from hibernation and wandered to the terrace. From the carved stone steps drifted the scent of breakfast. Blue skies, white clouds, a pear tree, and in the corner the branches hung with “evil-eye” charms. In the distance, natural stone pillars showed the masculine profile of this ancient city—high slopes on all sides with a hollow at the center, vigorous yet serene. This is Göreme, a stone city with a lineage of a thousand years.

The Open-Air Museum is a religious refuge ringed by “fairy chimneys.” Anything great is never simple; its rise was carried by the tireless effort of those once seen as outliers. From hewing caves to painting frescoes, you can still feel the force of faith standing before the apse. Human remains at the doors of chapels still “guard” the sanctuaries.

Long ago, a goat that slipped and fell into a hole exposed a dust-covered secret: an underground city big enough for 15,000 people to live at once. It is among the deepest; less than 10% is open today. Narrow corridors link chapels, dining halls, storerooms, bedrooms. With thick round stone doors and a maze of tunnels, it shows the believers’ wisdom and courage under Roman pressure—and how a spark of hope for Christianity was kept alive.

I ignored the prescribed route, got lost a few times, and still ended up roaming the open area more or less completely. Finding the exit, I vowed never to be a cave creature in my next life—and suddenly felt new sympathy for marmots.

At sunset I stood on a high ridge about 3 km south of Göreme, waiting for yesterday’s beauty to return. The sky delivered—brilliant colors again, a land both healing and full of renewal.

● 2019年11月05日 鳗游随笔
● 宁静的院落，我就像一只冬眠醒来的狗熊从山洞里爬出来，懒洋洋的向露台走去，开凿出来的石头阶梯尽头飘来早餐的香气，蓝天白云梨树，露台角落的枝丫上点缀着恶魔之眼，远处的天然立体石柱展示着古城的阳刚之美，四面高坡，中心低洼，生气昂然，平静宜人，这就是格莱梅，传承千年的石头城。露天博物馆，一座被魔鬼烟囱包围着的宗教避难所，任何伟大的事物都是不简单的，崛起的过程充满了一些当时被认为异类群体的不懈努力和坚持，从洞穴的开凿到精美壁画的绘制，站在正龛前面，依然能感到宗教雄厚的力量迎面袭来。教堂门口的遗骸至今还守护着这些神圣的殿堂。早年间一只失足坠落山洞的山羊揭开了一段风尘已久的神秘洞穴，能容纳一万五千人同时生活的地下城就这么的展现在世人面前，众多地下城里最深邃的一个，仅开放不到10%，狭长的走廊连接着各个功能区，教堂，餐厅，储物间，卧室，可守能攻，厚厚的圆形石门，错综复杂的隧道走廊尽显被罗马大军压迫下基督徒的超凡智慧与勇气，同时也为基督教崛起保留下了星火希望。没有按照既定的参观路线，在几次迷路的背景下终于胡乱而又全面的走遍了开放区域，在找到出口一刻还是很感慨下一世千万不要做洞穴生物，也对土拨鼠有了别样的同理心。站在格莱美以南3km远，一座至高的山坡上眺望夕阳，等待昨日美景再现，炫彩天空不负所望的如约而至，治愈且充满复苏希望的土地。