Cappadocia to İstanbul, Turkey I (4/21/2025)

Monday, April 21, 2025

On the way to the Nevşehir Airport, we stopped at Özkona, an underground city discovered in 1972.

This is the local muezzin (the man who
calls Muslims to prayers from the minaret
five times per day) who discovered the
underground city when he wondered
where the water went when he watered
his own patch of crops

A model of the underground city, which was likely built
by Christians in 7-8C CE to hide from Ottoman attacks

The stables where even livestock were kept underground,
with carved-out mangers to provide feed for the animals

A niche high up on a wall to hold a lantern

A pillar as part of the support structure

Holes in the ceiling were kitchen chimneys,
and there were also ducts to provide ventilation

We had to duck through the doorways

Work space in a kitchen

A winery: grapes were pressed/stomped in this room and
the liquid flowed through the hole into a reservoir basin

A narrow one-way path; Tamiko had to
back up in a crouch position when met by
someone coming from the opposite direction

In case enemies entered the underground city, large
round rocks were rolled across a doorway to block access

We used Turkish Airlines to fly between
İstanbul and Nevşehir/Cappadocia

It was close to 18:30 before we embarked on
the Viking Saturn, in stateroom 3009

Despite only a couple hours of daylight left, we
left the ship for a short free-time excursion,
passing the enclosed Nusretiye Sebili/fountain and
an accessible Muslim ablutions fountain

Nusretiye Camii/Mosque (1823–1826, by
Krikor Balian in late Ottoman Baroque/
early Empire style) with two minarets

Tophane Kasrı/Pavilion (1852, by British architect
William James Smith) was used by sultans during
their inspections of military facilities in the area and
to welcome foreign dignitaries arriving by sea

The sideways 'S' states "Democracy Century";
Turkey was founded in 1923

Tophane Meydan Çeşmesi/Square Fountain (1732)
supplies public water for drinking and ritual washing

Kılıç Ali Paşa Camii/Pasha Mosque (1578-1587, by
Mimar Sinan) in a complex with an ablution fountain,
medrese/school, hamam/baths, and a single minaret

At a tram station, we wanted to purchase individual tickets at a kiosk and were wary of two gentlemen who wanted to help us, but only to purchase a pass. So we left to return to the Viking Saturn.

Back past Nusretiye Camii/Mosque

 Nusretiye Saat Kulesi/Clock Tower (1848, by
Garabet Amira Balyan in Neoclassical style)

Koşucu/Runner (2017, by Anthony Cragg)

Buildings were decorated with the Turkish flag and
portraits of Mustafa Kemal, better known as Atatürk/
Father of the Turks, the founder and first president
of the Republic of Turkey, in preparation for 
National Sovereignty and Children's Day on April 23

Can you see the cat joining the couple at Burger King?

Many shops and restaurants of Galataport were
next to the Viking Saturn

İstanbul, The City of Names (2022,
by Ahmet Günestekin) lists all the
names by which the city was known

You may notice that the Turkish alphabet has both a dotted and undotted letter 'i'. The dotted 'İ' and 'i' are pronounced "ee." The undotted 'I' and 'ı' are pronounced like our short 'i' in "it".