Cappadocia

From Istanbul we flew to the Cappadocia region of Turkey. Truly amazing scenery. At the same time, there were similarities to New Mexico.
Our first stop was a visit to one of several underground "cities.
Everything here was carved out of the tufa rock. Loking at these pictures, I see similarities to the Puye Cliff dwellings in NM.
The rooms are not on the same level and the doorways are narrow.
This is not a grinding stone. It is an emergency door lock...
When necessary, this "lock" could be rolled into the door to block passage.
This blurry picture (I'll have to go back and try again) shows where amphorae full of wine were stored.
Why did they need a picture window?
This set of steps goes up--although it is hard to tell--and was barely wide enough for my shoulders.
The abandoned vllage outside the underground city.
As we saw at each place we visited in Turkey, there was always a minaret.
This is really the name of the restaurant where we had our first meal in Cappadocia. It is certainly descriptive.
A stew-like dish is sealed into the pottery and cooked. Then the top is boken off and the food served.
We often ate outside at nice places like the "Local Restaurant".
With some fairy chimneys in the background
This has to be seen to be believed. Their are often rooms built into the chimneys and people have lived here for many years.
This complex is integrated into the chimney area.