In some ways that doesn't matter though because this is a part of the country that attracts a devoted regular following of people who return like the swallows with the seasons. First off there is Latif, a renowned saz player who brings groups of American Sufis here. The venues may vary, but the routine is well established. The group gathers in one of the rock-cut churches and serenades each other and a select band of locals with music and poetry, the evenings generally spinning out long after the organized entertainers have packed up and gone home.
Then there is Dore, a San Francisco-based world music deejay whose groups consist of people for whom the music rather than the mysticism is the message. With him comes his partner Clara, an acclaimed poet who finds inspiration in the rocky landscape. This year their usual spring tour fell by the wayside, but word is that numbers are picking up nicely for the autumn.
Next come the shop-a-holics. The serious carpet collectors seem to be a dwindling bunch as the chances of landing a real bargain slowly fade. On the other hand, we still receive visits from two women who come here to buy nomadic pieces which they take back to the US to sell, investing the proceeds in a charity to support the Palestinian cause.
Then we have the scholars. In the past they were mainly interested either in the rock-cut churches and their frescoes, or in the troglodytic lifestyle, but as the churches have all been mapped and the traditional way of life has ceded space to modernism, they have become more interested in tourism as a phenomenon, and especially in the impact of tourism on the traditional lifestyle. They come from all over the world to carry out their surveys. Sometimes they're one-offs who soon move on to the next project. Others, however, come back regularly, chronicling the changes they see taking place over the years.
Less conspicuous are the individuals who come back time and again on a quest to tick off every one of the hidden churches, roaming way out into the valleys, then returning full of glee to make those of us who actually live here feel guilty with their tales of frescoed medieval masterpieces we barely knew existed.
Last but not least there are the people who show up again and again just because they love the laidback atmosphere of the place. Many of them live in Ankara, which means they don't have to drive far to indulge their passion. But sizeable contingents also head up from the American military base at İncirlik near Adana, bringing with them, if we're lucky, stocks of hard-to-come-by US goodies only available at the shops there.
Of course all our tourists are equally welcome, but we wouldn't be human if we didn't reserve a special place in our hearts for these, our special guests.
Pat Yale lives in a restored cave-house in Göreme in Cappadocia
