Which planet are we on?

If you're anything like me, there are certain Bible passages where your eyes glaze over a bit, such as interminable genealogies or records of ancient civilizations you never learned about in school. I also tend to ignore geographical names I don't recognize, so a lot of the New Testament reads something like, "And next Paul traveled to blah blah blah, passing by blah blah, blah blah, and the city of blah blah, where he met up with So-And-So, and then went to Blah Blah island."

Well, it turns out that "Blah Blah," in the New Testament, particularly in Acts and the epistles, is usually located in Turkey, which back in the day was the Roman province of Asia Minor and where a lot of early Christian missionary activity was located and some of the earliest Christian communities began to grow.

One of these exotic and meaningless names is Cappadocia, a region in south central Asia Minor mentioned twice in the Bible, first at Pentecost when Luke states that some residents of Cappadocia were treated to what must have looked like a flash mob when the Holy Spirit descended on the disciples; and again by Peter, who addressed his first letter in part to the Christians in Cappadocia.

So when my students started insisting that I put Cappadocia on the top of my list of travel destinations, the name registered as one of the Biblical "blah blahs" that I'd never paid much attention to. What I didn't realize is that St. Peter wrote a letter to hobbits. Because, you see, the people of Cappadocia, both in antiquity and to a certain extent today, live in houses like this:

0r this
which make up neighborhoods like this

and then cities like this
set against a landscape which stretches out like this for 250 miles east-west and 120 miles north-south, much of it looking like this.


Cappadocia's landscape is characterized by the bizarre rock formations created by a series of volcanic eruptions and erosion which left the area punctuated with tall towers known as "fairy chimneys."

Local people figured out as early as the Bronze Age that the soft volcanic rock was perfect for carving out cave dwellings that provided shelter from not only harsh natural elements, but also marauding enemies who were put off by the mountains. The ubiquitous fairy chimneys are great for hiding behind when your nemesis is trying to spot you from a lookout in the mountains. But the locals also had the advantage of a natural castle at the highest point in Cappadocia, just waiting for someone to carve a palace out of it.

Perhaps it isn't the Shire, but it's hard to walk through Cappadocia without imagining some sort of fantasy creatures as its residents. And yet, somehow the only Hollywood film to make use of this place is the upcoming "Ghost Rider 2"with Nicolas Cage, which is certain to disappoint in every way except its filming location.

It's no surprise that Cappadocia is always on the "must-see" list for travelers coming to Turkey. It's got something for everyone, whether you're into geology, history, delicious food, or simply climbing around on rocks. Or, for people like me who love all of those things, you might call it paradise. At any rate, next time I encounter 1 Peter, I will certainly have a mental image of hobbit Christians huddled together in a cave reading the words of St. Peter.