A Musical Visit to Cappadocia with Jeff Johnson and Phil Keaggy
Cappadocia – Jeff Johnson and Phil Keaggy Along with Timothy Wenzel’s Running Away, Cappadocia by Jeff Johnson and Phil Keaggy has been in my music rotation for several weeks now. Cappadocia is the third recording as a duo for Jeff Johnson and Phil Keagqy. The inspiration for the album is Cappadocia, a visually spectacular area in central Turkey. Christians have regarded Cappadocia and the surrounding area, as a place of great spirituality for several thousand years. About Cappadocia and It’s Impact on Jeff Johnson The colorful soil of Cappadocia has eroded over the millennia leaving steep cliffs and tall rock spires known as fairy chimneys, and into that rock ancient inhabitants carved houses, churches and even entire communities sometimes partially exposed and other times entirely underground. Jeff Johnson relates, “My wife and I were invited by friends to travel to Cappadocia in 2017. The first morning we were there we went into a valley full of underground wonders. One particular entry had a wooden bridge and then a stairway inside that took us up to a carved-out basilica within the hillside with a rose-shaped window where the sun’s rays filtered in illuminating the many columns and chambers that made up the church. I was completely overwhelmed by this hidden world. The acoustics were amazing.We sang prayed and sat silently for a couple of hours as we marveled at this extraordinary place and what had gone into creating it.” Upon his return, Johnson contacted one of his musical collaborators, Phil Keaggy, and told him of the journey. Their conversation…
