transforming and fading

My guide book described Devrent Valley, also know as Imagination Valley, as one of the high points of a trip to Cappadocia, being that it is one of the best formed and most interesting clusters of rock.  Considering I had found everything I had seen up till now truly amazing, I couldn’t imagine what Devrent Valley had in store for me.

Viivi and I were dropped off at the top of the valley and gazed out over the landscape.  Looking at the site my first thought was that the formations didn’t look so interesting.  Other sights we had passed along the road looked much more spectacular, so I was a little disappointed to start, but we were there, so we walked down the hill and entered the site.  Stepping foot amid the rocks, my perspective immediately shifted. Once I was surrounded by these massive, organic forms and felt enveloped by their presence and energy, I began to understand why this was such a special place. 

I spent some time in the valley, looking at, smelling and touching the rocks.  After a while, I felt inspired to dance, so I did a little butoh and then sat down for a long time to look closely at what I was seeing. 

impromtu butoh- good entertainment for tourists

For a while I just looked at the rocks as abstract forms, which was very satisfying to me and then I let my mind start to make associations and the rocks began to look like animals and people. Like looking at clouds, the images kept transforming and reinventing themselves and ultimately it felt like the whole place was moving. 

Here are a couple of funny clusters that have become famous due to other people's active imaginations:

This is the famous "camel rock"

There is also a "Napoleon" rock.
Viivi says she sees Napoleon in this one.

Using my imagination to see people and animals in the rocks in the valley reminded me of how I gaze at clouds and see things. The difference being of course, that the rocks are static- they don’t change like the clouds, or do they?  One of the really fascinating things about the stone in Cappadocia is that it is very soft and in a constant state of disintegration.  Everything- the rocks in Devrent Valley, the walls of the cave room where I am living, the cave communities- everything is constantly being transformed by touch, wind, sun and rain.  This natural erosion is what created this amazing landscape in the first place and it is also keeps it in constant motion, being reshaped and re-formed in each moment.  And ultimately, it is what will make it disappear.