Recently we had the chance to do some exploring around the area. First, our teammates' cousin arrived for a visit and they took him all over the country. I, Scott, was able to join them for a trip to a place near our city, whose name, when translated, means 1000 Husbands. I'm not sure where the name comes from, but the place is beautiful. There are several caves lodged in a cliff near the top of a long mountain ridge, probably 4,000 feet in altitude. Rumors abound that 4000 years ago the caves were inhabited by ancient Babylonians. Whatever the truth is about that, we only saw evidence of human activity dating back 3 months from the 100's of picnics there.
Our teammates drove their little sedan on the trip with their cousin. My tutor came along and acted as a guide. Turns out his family owns several tracts of lands close to the caves. Anyway, our car only got us within a mile or so of the caves. The road was just too rough. We all got out and started on foot further up the road before having the bright idea that since we were on foot, we could cut the corners of the switchbacks by bushwhacking straight up the side of the mountain. After about 45 minutes of pressing through thickets of thorns, tall grass, and ankle-breaking rocks we found the entrance to the caves.
There are 3 caves worth seeing. One you have to crawl on your belly through a narrow opening to get in and out of, but is fairly deep. Another you can stand up in and goes back about 100m into a large cavern. The other isn't deep, but is very wide. The views of the city and countryside are spectacular! You start to question what country you are actually in! One thing we didn't count on were the bats, hundreds of them, in the caves. And another cave had lots of wasps and bees living in it, so needless to say, our fears got the best of us and we didn't fully explore the caves.
Then my cousin came for a visit just this weekend. In addition to exploring more of 1000 Husbands, we had another first experience: picking up hitch hikers. With three guys in the car, we didn't feel too intimidated to pick up an old farmer and a young man walking together. It is so nice to be able to speak the language and not just ask them their name and work. Anyhow, after they got to their destinations, we pressed on, this time with a borrowed 4WD SUV, making it to within 150m of the caves. We decided to first go up a ravine to get on top of the mountain, above the cave entrances. We totally underestimated the distance involved, but once we got to the top, the view was a 360-degree panorama of beauty. There was our city sprawled out in front of us, mountains and hills in every direction towering over valleys laden with farms. And to top it all off, everything is still green!
Our teammates drove their little sedan on the trip with their cousin. My tutor came along and acted as a guide. Turns out his family owns several tracts of lands close to the caves. Anyway, our car only got us within a mile or so of the caves. The road was just too rough. We all got out and started on foot further up the road before having the bright idea that since we were on foot, we could cut the corners of the switchbacks by bushwhacking straight up the side of the mountain. After about 45 minutes of pressing through thickets of thorns, tall grass, and ankle-breaking rocks we found the entrance to the caves.
There are 3 caves worth seeing. One you have to crawl on your belly through a narrow opening to get in and out of, but is fairly deep. Another you can stand up in and goes back about 100m into a large cavern. The other isn't deep, but is very wide. The views of the city and countryside are spectacular! You start to question what country you are actually in! One thing we didn't count on were the bats, hundreds of them, in the caves. And another cave had lots of wasps and bees living in it, so needless to say, our fears got the best of us and we didn't fully explore the caves.
Then my cousin came for a visit just this weekend. In addition to exploring more of 1000 Husbands, we had another first experience: picking up hitch hikers. With three guys in the car, we didn't feel too intimidated to pick up an old farmer and a young man walking together. It is so nice to be able to speak the language and not just ask them their name and work. Anyhow, after they got to their destinations, we pressed on, this time with a borrowed 4WD SUV, making it to within 150m of the caves. We decided to first go up a ravine to get on top of the mountain, above the cave entrances. We totally underestimated the distance involved, but once we got to the top, the view was a 360-degree panorama of beauty. There was our city sprawled out in front of us, mountains and hills in every direction towering over valleys laden with farms. And to top it all off, everything is still green!
1 comment:
Pictures are so pretty! I would never guess where you are! Looks so lush and green...
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