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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Wonderfully weird place great views of other wonderfully weird places around the hill side stop.
Nice view. You can see the man made and bird made pigeon holes (or houses). Not sure why they would not let the birds make their own – thus why the man made. Although it is nice and was part of the tour it is not I would have gone out of the way to see. The walk from Goreme…
The open-air museum is a great way to get initiated to Cappadocia as you'll get a historical, cultural context of the landscape. It's a good 2-hour excursion of exploring all the dwellings and churches. Try to go either in the beginning/end of the day as the sun is quite harsh. Bring lots of sunscreen/water and wear comfortable shoes. Hold on…
Don't forget your camera and bring an infra-red flashlight. This is a must-see, the most memorable "museum" you'll see in Turkey. It's not really a museum in the conventional way. It's a series of outdoor caves filed with exquisite intact paintings dating back centuries to the time of Romans and Greeks. If you can't find a spot on the serviceable…
To be honest I didn't really rate this but I'm not religious and into churches. It was hot, it was crammed, the tour guides/groups are pushy and rude (no camera flashes but they zip their pen lights all over and distract). You sort of duck into the room, take a few quick glances and then have to get out the…
We visited in the late afternoon which was best, after the tour buses had departed. Cannot imagine enjoying this experience in the crowds. It was pleasant just pottering among the various caves and churches at our leisure in a lovely photographic light. If your pension offers you a lift, take it. We didn't and it was a 45 minute walk…
View rock churches from different civilizations–Can get crowded-wear good -comfortable shoes for walking
Many things I read suggested that Zelve Open Air Museum was just a worse version of the Goreme Open Air Museum, but they are quite different. Zelve may not be as well preserved, but you can climb the rocks and explore many cave dwellings on your own; it is definitely worth visiting.
We visited the open air museum ourselves. We were staying in Goreme and it was a pleasant 30 min walk to the entrance. We arrived about 11 am and it was busy with coach parties, so go either earlier or later in the day if you can. We had a lonely planet guide book with us and it guided us…
Church inside caves are interesting, nice view.
Convenience to go comparing with other church in Goreme