DOI Artikel:
Sterrett, John R. Sitlington: An Epigraphical journey in Asia Minor: during the summer of 1884
DOI Seite / Zitierlink:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.8679#0240
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AN EPIGRAPHICAL JOURNEY
July ii. Kuyulu Tatlar to Ortakieui, 5 h. 34 m. Kuyulu Tatlar
is so called from twelve or fifteen wells, all in a cluster. From them
the village is supplied with water. This region, though blank on the
old map, has numerous villages. It may be noted that the Tada Su
of the old map does not exist, at least not in the plain of Kuyulu
Tatlar and Malagob ; and, furthermore, the drain-water from this
district must run south, and not north, as on the old map. Malagob
is a large and flourishing village, whose inhabitants are in the main
Greek-speaking Greeks. The Greeks are numerous all through the
western part of Cappadocia. As a general rule they cling to their
language with great tenacity, a fact worthy of notice, inasmuch as the
Greeks in other parts of Asia Minor speak only Turkish. Their dialect
has been treated by KapoAtS^s in the Movadov kuI Bij3\io9rji<7) rijs
EuayyeAiK^s 2,YoAr/s, published in Smyrna. Instances of Greek-
speaking towns or villages are Nigde, Gelvere, Malagob, and Orta-
kieui, in what is commonly but wrongly called Soghanlu Dere. Leav-
ing Malagob we shortly ascend a hill, which turns out to be 'the rim
or bluff of an elevated plateau, extending east as far as Develii Kara
Hissar. Soghanlu Dere, Ortakieui Dere, and what other Deres
there may be, are mere breaks in this plateau, and the top of the
bluffs of all the Deres correspond with the general level of the sur-
rounding plateau. The descent down into Ortakieui Dere is made
by an artificial road that has been excavated out of the soft tufa.
July 12. Ortakieui to Develii Kara Hissar. We got lost between
Ortakieui and Soghanlu Dere, and the exact time cannot be given.
The time between Bajak and Develii Kara Hissar is 1 h. 50 m.
The wonders of Soghanlu Dere have been described by Hamilton.
The rock-cut dwellings are more numerous, but of the same character
as those at Selme and Ikhlara; only at Soghanlu Dere there are no
temple fagades to be seen. At Bashkieui the Ortakieui Dere is about
one hundred yards wide; but the width increases steadily, reaching
a width of from five to seven hundred yards at the point where
Soghanlu Dere branches off laterally from it. While the surrounding
plateau is a barren waste, the soil in the Deres is exceedingly fertile,
delighting the eye with its luxuriant gardens. This is especially the
case at Ortakieui. Whether these rock-cut habitations date originally
from an earlier epoch or not, it is at all events certain that they were
used by the early Christians. But such habitation goes back to a period
AN EPIGRAPHICAL JOURNEY
July ii. Kuyulu Tatlar to Ortakieui, 5 h. 34 m. Kuyulu Tatlar
is so called from twelve or fifteen wells, all in a cluster. From them
the village is supplied with water. This region, though blank on the
old map, has numerous villages. It may be noted that the Tada Su
of the old map does not exist, at least not in the plain of Kuyulu
Tatlar and Malagob ; and, furthermore, the drain-water from this
district must run south, and not north, as on the old map. Malagob
is a large and flourishing village, whose inhabitants are in the main
Greek-speaking Greeks. The Greeks are numerous all through the
western part of Cappadocia. As a general rule they cling to their
language with great tenacity, a fact worthy of notice, inasmuch as the
Greeks in other parts of Asia Minor speak only Turkish. Their dialect
has been treated by KapoAtS^s in the Movadov kuI Bij3\io9rji<7) rijs
EuayyeAiK^s 2,YoAr/s, published in Smyrna. Instances of Greek-
speaking towns or villages are Nigde, Gelvere, Malagob, and Orta-
kieui, in what is commonly but wrongly called Soghanlu Dere. Leav-
ing Malagob we shortly ascend a hill, which turns out to be 'the rim
or bluff of an elevated plateau, extending east as far as Develii Kara
Hissar. Soghanlu Dere, Ortakieui Dere, and what other Deres
there may be, are mere breaks in this plateau, and the top of the
bluffs of all the Deres correspond with the general level of the sur-
rounding plateau. The descent down into Ortakieui Dere is made
by an artificial road that has been excavated out of the soft tufa.
July 12. Ortakieui to Develii Kara Hissar. We got lost between
Ortakieui and Soghanlu Dere, and the exact time cannot be given.
The time between Bajak and Develii Kara Hissar is 1 h. 50 m.
The wonders of Soghanlu Dere have been described by Hamilton.
The rock-cut dwellings are more numerous, but of the same character
as those at Selme and Ikhlara; only at Soghanlu Dere there are no
temple fagades to be seen. At Bashkieui the Ortakieui Dere is about
one hundred yards wide; but the width increases steadily, reaching
a width of from five to seven hundred yards at the point where
Soghanlu Dere branches off laterally from it. While the surrounding
plateau is a barren waste, the soil in the Deres is exceedingly fertile,
delighting the eye with its luxuriant gardens. This is especially the
case at Ortakieui. Whether these rock-cut habitations date originally
from an earlier epoch or not, it is at all events certain that they were
used by the early Christians. But such habitation goes back to a period