Cachedocia Traditional Cache

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The Legend of St. George:

It is told that St. George was a Christian knight and that he was born in Cappadocia. It chanced, however, that he was riding one day in the province of Lybia, and there he came upon a city called Sylene, near which was a marshy swamp. In this lived a dragon "which envenomed all the country." The people had mustered together to attack and kill it, but its breath was so terrible that all had fled. To prevent its coming nearer they supplied it every day with two sheep, but when the sheep grew scarce, a human victim had to be substituted. This victim was selected by lot, and the lot just then had fallen on the king's own daughter. No one was willing to take her place and the maiden had gone forth dressed as a bride to meet her doom. Then St. George, coming upon the scene, attacked the dragon and transfixed it with his lance. Further, he borrowed the maiden's girdle, fastened it round the dragon's neck, and with this aid she led the monster captive into the city. "It followed her as if it had been a meek beast and debonair." The people in mortal terror were about to take to flight, but St. George told them to have no fear. If only they would believe and be baptized, he would slay the dragon. The king and all his subjects gladly assented. The dragon was killed and four ox-carts were needed to carry the carcass to a safe distance. "Then there well XV thousand men baptized without women and children." The king offered St. George great treasures, but he bade them to be given to the poor instead. Before taking his leave the good knight left behind four behests: that the king should maintain churches, that he should honour priests, that he should himself diligently attend religious services, and that he should show compassion to the poor.

Ihlara Vadisi’yi hos geldiniz! Welcome to the Ihlara Valley! Enjoy a day hiking through this remote gorge cut by the Melendiz Suyu River where you can see 1000 year old beautifully painted Byzantine churches cut from the rock and find a geocache along the way by the St. George Church (Kirkdamalti Kilisesi)

To reach this remote valley, it is best to rent a car for the day as it's difficult to get to by public transport. If you do so, the following fees apply:

• parking YTL 2 @ N 38° 15.211’, E 034° 18.150’
• entrance YTL 5

If you come here as part of a tour, parking and entrance fees should be included in your tour price. Most likely you'll only have a one-way hike from the steps to the village of Belisirma where the bus will pick you up.

Starting from the Ihlara Vadisi Turistik Tesisleri, perched on the rim of the gorge, you descend 383 steps ± 7 steps to start your hike through the gorge to the churches and cache. To go from the steps to the village of Belisirma and back is an approximate 6 km/4 mi round-trip hike. For hiking, sight-seeing, eating lunch, searching for the cache, and ascending those steps, plan on a good 4-6 hours.

(There is an alternate entrance to the gorge at N 38° 15.834’ E 034° 17.437’ near the village of Belisirma in which the cache is about 225 m/740 ft/0.14 mi away though I didn’t see any parking places; they must be further back.)

This cache is available from sunrise to sunset, but be sure to bring necessary provisions such as water, sunscreen, food, rain jacket or umbrella, warm clothes in the late fall/winter, and a flashlight with you so that you can view the vibrantly-painted frescoes in the cut-out churches of the valley walls. Some of the amazing churches to view along the way include the Yilanli Kilisesi (Snake Church), the Agac Alti Kilisesi (Beneath-a-Tree Church), and the Sümbüllü Kilisesi (Hyacinth Church).

• The cache was placed with a Garmin eTrex and had an accuracy of 29ft/9m at the time of placement due to the surrounding environmental interference.
• The cache location is west of the river across from the Karagedik Kilisesi (Black Collar Church) about 85 m/280 ft from the trail. Other than the steps at descent and ascent, the trail is pretty easy until the last 80 meters up the rocks to the cache location; then it’s a heart-pumper!
• BRING A PEN OR PENCIL TO SIGN THE LOG.
• The cache container is a small, metallic elliptical-shaped Ülker Rulokat tin.

The original cache contents include:

1. geocache note in Turkish
2. a logbook with Darsantre card inside
3. a nazar boncugu (blue eye)
4. a carpet change-purse
5. an APS keychain/penlight
6. a green whistle keychain
7. a “smoking kills” pin
8. a kokopelli pendant courtesy of AZCacheMeister
9. a Canadian flag pin
10. an orange spikey ball
11. a dog-shaped piece of carved onyx from Çavusin
12. a minature piece of Avanos pottery

The canyon was created by the cracking and collapsing, which occurred as a result of basalt and andesite lava from Mt. Hasan's eruption. The Melendiz river found its way through these cracks, eroding the canyon we see today. There are numerous dwellings, churches and graves built into the valley walls, some of which are connected by tunnels and corridors. The valley proved to be an ideal place for the seclusion and worship of monks, and a hideaway and defense area for people during times of invasion. The decorations in the churches can be dated to various times from the 6th to the 13th centuries, and the churches can be classified into two groups. The churches near to Ihlara display frescoes with Oriental influence. Those nearer to Belisirma display Byzantine type decorations.

Enjoy your hike, have fun finding the cache, and watch out for the sheep!