Fairy Tales and Legends
from Cappadocia

next >>>

Spooky Drums 

Every year in early spring, when we were children, our parents took us with them to our garden down in Pigeon Valley.
During the winter months it snowed a lot and when the weather grew warm again, the water from the melting snow carried branches,
bushes and sand into the underground water tunnels leading onto our land.
To ensure proper irrigation for our orchard, these tunnels had to be freed from the brushwood and the channel cleaned of sand and stones.
We children often thought it would be fun to go into the tunnels, but it was forbidden.
Sometimes, however, it took more than stern warnings from our parents to make us stay outside.

One year, we again went down to the garden for the first time in the spring. It was a windy day and I remember very well that there was a horrifying noise coming out of the tunnel. There was loud “hooo” and “booohh” and we children were terrified.
My parents turned around and whispered to each other, just loud enough for us to hear: "If only the children would stay outside. This year, the Cinler (jinns) are very lively." And my father answered: "Can you hear the drums the jinns are playing? They have started to dance already!"
Our parents turned towards us for a last glance, looking as if they were scared as well, before they disappeared through the opening into the darkness.
After that, they could be certain that we would never go against their warning not to enter the tunnel. We sat at the side of our garden until they had finished their work, hoping that both our parents would emerge safe and sound.

However, Jinns and Fairies do not only appear in the valleys. In the village of Uçhisar, they are still around, waiting to strike fear into people’s hearts.

They mostly live inside the empty houses and caves in Asağı Mahalle but have also been seen in and around the kale. In the night, their little lights fly through the night sky, shimmering like the reflections of diamonds.
Nevertheless, when I became older I was no longer afraid.  No ghost could scare me, nor could I be enticed by a fairy, because wherever I am walking, day or night, I carry my enam with me, a small Koran, carefully covered in its tiny bag, the muşamba.
(The narrator was born in 1923)

Treasure

At the end of the 19th century many Uçhisar villagers worked for the Padişah, the Ottoman Sultan. Not being posted just anywhere in the Empire, they were asked to work in Topkapı Saray, the Sultan’s Palace in Istanbul.
While for some families in the village it was only the grandfather, for example, from other families up to three brothers might be employed. All in all there must have been men from 40 families in Uçhisar, all entrusted with the duty of serving as palace waiter or doorman.
Working in the palace of course, was more than a just a job. It was an adventure for those who served there, and also for the family members left waiting behind in the village.
Each time they returned for a short visit, the men brought presents for all, as well as money for their families to live on.
After those visits, the money or sometimes even small golden pieces needed to be hidden well. Even the famous Ottoman soap was a treasure and had to be stored safely. Some people dug a hole into the floor of a cave, while others carved an opening right into the walls, carefully bricking it up again until the money was needed. Later, however, it was not always easily found. Still, whenever there is an old village house undergoing restoration today, one often feels a tingling sensation of wonder that perhaps a long lost treasure may come to surface. (Told by several villagers)

The Surprise

Once, when a young man from Uçhisar left his parents to have his own home for his wife and family, he found an empty house for sale in Asağı Mahalle. Soon after he had bought the building, the renovation work started. Many rooms had to be whitewashed, the roofs had to be fixed before winter and the caves must be checked for possible damage.
During the renovation, the young man started digging, when he discovered something unexpected, but most welcome. The treasure was not big enough to make him rich, but for that time in Uçhisar, he was now well off.
Nobody knows for sure what exactly happened or what kind of treasure he found, but it must have been valuable enough to enable him to buy that bigger and nicer house. (Told by several villagers)

When I asked this person about the treasure and what the village gossip about it was, the man, now being nearly 80 years old, just nodded his head, smiling. "So, is that what they say, well…" was his only answer. His eyes, however, sparkled just like gold.

First Day of School

I was approximately seven years old when my father told me that from now on I would go to school. Of course I was very excited. None of the other girls from my neighbourhood went to school, only the boys. I thought if my father wants me to go, then it must be right.
In the morning, my mother woke me up earlier as usual. She dressed me in my nicest clothes and then carefully brushed my beautiful long shiny hair, which nearly reached my hips, then tied it with a nice ribbon. When my mother said that I was ready to go, my father took my hand and we walked together all the way to the schoolhouse.

It was a happy and interesting first day in school. Well-mannered, I sat down with the others, waiting for what was to follow. I was very proud to be one of them, and I looked forward to soon being able to read and write as only a few boys from my neighbourhood could.
The next morning I went back to school, this time on my own. Just as I sat down on my chair, the teacher looked at me with a reproachful expression, shook his head and then said, "Tell your mother that she has to cut your hair before you come back tomorrow."
….and this is why I went to school for exactly two days! (The narrator was born in 1935)

next >>>

Be our guest and visit the places,
which now and then were had been inspiration for
numerous stories and legends about Cappadocia.
Contact us now...