The Turkish region of Cappadocia, a region of exceptional natural wonders, in particular characterized by fairy chimneys and a unique historical and cultural heritage, boasts one of the most dramatic sights in the world.
Visiting Cappadocia is such a change from visiting many other busy bustling sights all over Turkey. It is a great pleasure to wander in the vast open space filled with captivating natural attractions which have seen human history dated back in the Bronze Age.
While in Goreme Open Air Museum , the conical formations resulting from the volcanic eruptions that took place millions of years ago, just follow the path up to the top of one of the ridges where a spectacular view of the fairy chimneys awaits you. The natural cone formations contain caves and labyrinths. As early as the third century, those chimneys became a hiding place for early Christians who fled persecution from the Romans, and then later from raiding Muslims. In modern tourism, many caves have been turned into cave houses for tourist stays and the lunar-like setting of Goreme Valley has become popular for hot-air ballooning.
Many say the extremely unique landscape of Cappadocia resembles some scene in a Star Wars movie and yet you may be surprised to discover that no major commercial movies have been filmed there. It would be a perfect setting for movies such as Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter series.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
We didn't hike here. Our tour van stopped at the top as the last stop of our south tour of Cappadocia. We had already hiked a great deal all around so I'm not sure I would have welcomed a hike here at the time. The view from the top of the hill was amazing. We managed to get some awesome…
You must visit the open air museum when you go to Cappadocia. There are chapels carved out of the soft volcanic rock and these are decorated inside with frescoes and icons representing biblical scenes. A lot of these have worn off but there are still some in beautiful condition with lots of bright colours. The museum is sited in an…
The square and the castle is awesome especially during the sunset… The village is wonderful with lots of little shops…
Other than the Dark Church, most of what you'll see at the Göreme Open-Air Museum you'll see everywhere else (and closer-up, without getting shoved around by tourists and tour guides). If you have some time to kill and you're in the area, it's fine for a visit, but if you don't like hordes of tourists, you'd be better off going…
A visit to Cappadocia really should include a couple of hours at this World Heritage Site. A short walk from Goreme, you can rent an audio guide or follow a guidebook to climb around the amazing landscape where there are dozens of churches created in the 10th and 12th centuries. Many reveal frescoes and paintings from the Old and New…
i visited the park but unfortunately didn't have time to stay that much but it was lovey though, the rock formation is beautiful, you can't help but admiring it. a walk through the park is really nice, i totally enjoyed it
The views were spectacular. We took about 4 hours to do this hike with our 2 kids (ages 8 and 9). They loved climbing into the caves. Well worth it. The entry to this trail starts after you pass the Open Air Museum.
Luckily I got a ride from my hotel to get here in the morning (8h30) and what looked like a 10minutes walk, ended up to be about 20minutes (slow pace, down hill back to Göreme center).
I advise you to get there as early as possible (opens at 8am) or after 4pm (when all the tour groups are leaving) so…
This is a really interesting monastic settlement with many churches cut out of the bare rock. All date from 10th-11th century some are plain and some are highly decorated with Byzantine airings. It is really good if you like that sort of thing. Ignore all the comments that suggest that it is a bit Walt Disnified – it isn't.
The cave churches are worth it! Take an audio guide and give yourself 2 hours to see everything. Pay the extra 8TL to see the churches, it's quite amazing. In the summer, go really early or at 5pm since there is no shade. Museum closes at 7pm, at 5pm there are no crowds either.