An Australian in Cappadocia

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I met Andrew Rogers two years ago. He was a successful businessman in Australia who suddenly had a heart change and decided to be a sculptor.

Rogers, with his innocent smile and glasses on his nose, seemed like a right-minded man.

But if you look at what he has done, you think the opposite.

Because with a backpack, Rogers has been going places to sculpt colossal pieces all over the world in a way to be seen even from the space. A crazy man, one can think of him.

When I first met him, Rogers talked about his sculptures as part of a project titled “Rhythm of Lie.”

Rogers has sculpted symbolic sculptures by using tones of stones and rocks in Chile, Bolivia, Israel, Sri Lanka, Australia, Nepal, Iceland and China since 1990; sculptures that reflects different cultures.

The message Rogers tried to give with the “Rhythms of Life” is that the essence of life is same but rhythms are different.”

Rogers wanted to carry different rhythms from the past to the future through different symbols.

He, in a way, formed a “chain of monuments” around the world.

I had a chance to see the last ring of this chain in Cappadocia last week.

Hot-air balloons expensive

With the opening program for Rogers’ sculptures, we have to fly over in a hot-air balloon to see his sculptures in Göreme.

However, weather conditions were not appropriate. So we couldn’t do it although flying in a hot-air balloon in Cappadocia is a must.

We were able to see the sculptures by climbing to the Karadağ hill where Rogers himself made inroads into the region.

Eight sculptures add more to ever-beautiful Cappadocia. And the sculptures bring in a touch of modern art to an important tourist attraction point of Turkey.

Turkish Culture and Tourism Ministry Assistant Undersecretary Özgür Özaslan seems so pleased that Rogers transformed Karadağ into the world’s largest land-art exhibition platform. I conversed with Özaslan at the opening ceremony.

A tourism doyen, Özarslan, say with the inclusion of Rogers’s sculptures as part of tourist activities, number of sight-seeing tours will increase in Cappadocia.

However, there is a tiny detail he forgets.

Hot-air balloons to see miraculous ferry chimneys and caves in Cappadocia are quite expensive.

If prices are lowered to some sensible figures, the place will be more attractive for tourists.

Rogers contribution to employment

As I said, hot-air balloons are not necessary to see Rogers’ sculptures.

Rogers managed the project with nearly 250 workers in the field. He employed a total of 5,000 workers in his projects spread into five continents so far.

Rogers did not only work with men but also convinced women picking up potatoes in fields.

Women and men laborers in Cappadocia handed on 11,000 tones of stones and rocks to each other for Rogers to form sculptures.

The Australian sculpture’s contribution to employment in the region must have been appreciated because locals also joined the opening ceremony.

As we watched a folkloric dance activity, we realized young equestrians in Cappadocia, which is known as the realm of beautiful horses.

Locals who very well know fairy chimneys, frescoes in church caves in the region seemed happy for their contributions to the sculptures in Cappadocia that could be seen from the space.

Centuries-old Cappadocia hosted endless number of ancient civilizations starting with Assyrians, Hittites and Persians goes into eternity. And the contributions of Cappadocia in the 21st century will be considerably high.