Erdemli Rock Churches

The area, accessible via the Kayseri – Yeşilhisar highway, takes its name from the nearby village of Erdemli. It can also be described as a monastery built at the eastern entrance of a deep and long valley. The large columned church located on the southern slope at the entrance to the region is particularly noteworthy. A stream originating in the village flows through the valley and is used by the villagers. There is also a pool in the valley where the water is stored for irrigation. The depth of the valley allowed for the construction of chapels at higher elevations, and numerous chapel caves were built in the region. Frescoes can still be seen in some of them today.

The valley is located within the boundaries of Yeşilhisar district and has characteristic rock formations similar to Cappadocia. These churches, situated right next to Soğanlı, are among the important structures of their time.

You can check Google Maps to find the location of the Erdemli Rock Churches.

Erciyes Summit Climb

Just before going to bed at 00:30, I set my alarm for 04:45. Excited about the next day's activity, I only managed a short sleep, waking up immediately when the alarm went off. The hardest part was getting out of my warm bed. At 05:00, I met up with my teammates; a total of six of us set off. We drove to the Zümrüt ski resort, but from there, there were no roads, and since the cable cars weren't operating at that early hour, we started walking from that point (2250 meters) at 05:45. Our goal was to reach the summit using the ridge route, so we started from the "Çoban İni" area towards the ridge route. At the beginning of the ridge route, one of our friends gave up and had to turn back. We reached the top of the first ramp of the ridge route at 09:00 (3305 meters). Another teammate also turned back from this point. We followed a long, undulating path along the ridge route. The view of Develi from the ridge route and the clouds forming along the way were exquisite. We reached an altitude of 3440 meters at 09:55, 3065 meters at 10:44, and 3655 meters and Hörgüç Kaya at 11:50. As can be seen in the photos below, Hörgüç Kaya is the biggest obstacle on the way to the summit. We passed Hörgüç Kaya via the route on its lower right side, and we reached an altitude of 3710 meters at 12:30. From this point onwards, the ground became completely slippery, consisting of shattered rocks. The risk of rocks falling from above was very high, and indeed, many rocks broke off and fell down. This was the most difficult part of the summit route; it took us a full half hour to get through it. At 12:26, we reached an altitude of 3800 meters, which was the path leading to the summit. Following this path, we reached the summit at 3815 meters at 13:02. In front of us stood a sheer rock face 101 meters high; the highest point of that rock is 3916 meters, which is why the summit of the mountain is officially recorded as 3916 meters. At the summit, there is a completely different atmosphere and culture; people sharing meals, asking about each other's health, and having sincere conversations between people who had never met before were truly fascinating. On the day we summited, there were about 20 other people summiting with us. At the summit, the weather was constantly changing; clouds would suddenly surround us, and then the sun would suddenly scorch our skin. On one side, we could see Niğde, on another, Yahyalı, and on yet another, Pınarbaşı. As the sky darkened, the strong winds froze us, and thick glaciers cascaded down from the summit. The feeling of exhaustion mixed with happiness I experienced at that moment is indescribable. I recommend everyone experience this unforgettable moment. The summit register was hidden in a bag under large pieces of rock; we signed it, had a few snacks, admired the breathtaking view, called our loved ones to celebrate reaching the summit, and then set off on our descent. We used the "Hell Creek" route for our return journey, so named because of its steepness and the presence of a scree-like, fragmented rock face. This creek narrows into a gorge along the route, and all the falling rocks reach the ground through this gorge, forcing climbers to cross it. The descent was very fast but extremely dangerous; in some places we even had to ski on the sand, and the loud crashing sounds of rocks falling from above were truly chilling. The climbers descending via the Hell Creek route do not begin their descent before crossing the creek, otherwise the lives of the previous team would be endangered. We arrived at the Zümrüt facilities at 5:30 PM and completed our climb there. In total, we hiked for 11 hours and 45 minutes, climbing 10 kilometers and descending 8 kilometers (a total of 18 kilometers hiked).

Summit Date: August 18, 2013

Summit Time: 13:02

Departure Route: https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=209502669509610535051.0004e4507652a6dbebcb5&msa=0

Landing Route: https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=209502669509610535051.0004e450924aec5c8a795&msa=0

Summit Team: Cihat Aydın Muhammed Ali Koç Bilgin Summer House

Below you can see our photos from the summit journey.