A traditional wood stove in the corner of the sitting room heats the cool stone walls of this large cave-house turned workshop and gallery quarried into the hills of the town of Avanos in central Turkey. Homemade wine adds to the warmth as the ever-steady hands of Chez Galip, a local artist, hover over a spinning traditional potter’s kick wheel and mold masterpieces of times past from wet clumps of terracotta-red and mineral-rich clay taken fresh from the nearby Kızılırmak, or ‘Red River’.

The town of Avanos has been renowned for its high-quality earthenware since 3000 BC. Although the modern plastic revolution saw serious contraction of the Avanos pottery industry for quite some time, today, thanks to local artists like Galip, the town is witnessing a renaissance of the craft. More and more travellers have come in search of their own unique souvenir from the World-Heritage listed Cappadocia region. After 47 years of continuing a family tradition that reaches back five generations, Galip assures us that “Many things have started and many things have ended, some things have brought much and some things much less, but what’s never changed is my enthusiasm for the bit of clay next to my wheel.”

Our plans of a short visit inevitably stretch into the evening. The conversation deepens as the sun sets behind the area’s incredible lunar landscape of weathered rock formations. The humble potter with his now clay-stained şalvar (Turkish baggy trousers) takes us into an even bigger cavern, where hundreds of his items are on display. Beyond it, in an even deeper chamber, are exhibits of the most impressive handmade crafts, those using his unique family design. Also on display is a huge pot some 600-800 years old, found near the town. It is in Galip’s gallery with special permission from the municipality.

We continue up a small incline toward a low doorway. I almost expect to meet Bilbo Baggins on the other side. Alas, while we meet no hobbits, we do learn that Chez Galip is passionate about more than just pottery and good wine; he also has a world-record collection of hair cuttings from woman around the world. Some 16,000 of them hang in another chamber at his gallery in town. Of course this may seem quite peculiar, but it also confirms that Galip is one very extraordinary and interesting character, one that you’ll remember for many years.

Fans of expertly made Turkish pottery should not miss the annual Cappadocia Avanos International Tourism and Handicrafts Festival, held in the last week of August. Of course, Galip – and all of Avanos – is ready to welcome all callers at any time of year.

A special visit to Galip’s workshop, including pottery instruction from the potter and a taste of his homemade wine, is available to the intrepid traveller through Urban Adventures, which also has other experiences on offer in Cappadocia.

More about Chez Galip can be learned on his website or via the spectacular 360-degree photography of his workshops and studios.

For more information about Avanos and the entire Cappadocia region, visit www.cappadocia.travel and contact Lirita Tours, your whl.travel local connection. They can also arrange stays in actual cave-houses, deep inside rocks often excavated thousands of years earlier.

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