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.
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This is a must-see in Goreme. In ancient times Christians used the caves for churches, burial and living quarters. You can walk all over the grounds, go inside of the caves and see where people used to cook, store food, worship, etc. It is really fascinating.
We started in Goreme and headed down the Rose Valley to the next town (Cavusin – pronounced chavushin) where we had lunch and saw the amazing cliff town structure, then we crossed the road and made our way across a field to the Love Valley entrance (which is not very well indicated except that there is a gravel road leading…
We hiked 4 km through this valley with our guide and tour group. We started down a long staircase until we reached the river, then it was a fairly steady hike to the nearest village. The hiking trail was so scenic and beautiful. Take bug spray with you and try to go with a group.
Had never thought of the cave dwellings , the fairy chimneys, the underground cities, all a amazing experience .
That's an amazing big valley with very special rock formation that I think you'll never see in any other place!
Busy place so think through when you go. Give yourself lots of time. Take a flashlight to see in caves better and watch the floor as there are holes. Six year old fell and hurt himself.
In spite of the hot weather, the walk through this park was truly memorable.
We'd read that you needed a couple of hours here, half an hour underground was more than enough.
Fortunately we arrived towards the end of the day – I certainly wouldn't have wanted to be fighting crowds in the confined spaces.
Whilst I'm pleased that I visited Derinkuyu Underground City and found it interesting, there is so much more to…
We had a wonderful time at the Open-Air Museum. The art in the caves is amazing, and it definitely offers a more complete view of Cappadocia and the history. I would NOT recommend getting the audio tour, as it is basically the same information you can find at each stop on plaques.
The landscape is amazing. I was as told that the depth of the valley is around 150 meters. There are a river and churches down there. I didn't try to go down there, although it was possible. We only see it from above. It has been a hidden place for Christians, during the Arab raids to Cappadocia. I rate it…