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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You don't realize of Capadocia until you're there standing by the castle foot. Nighttime walks are appealing for the proper lighting of it. A must.
They are all over Cappadocia, don't get stuck seeing them all, it can be too much of a good thing. We thoroughly enjoyed the ones we saw.
Absolute stunning frescoes in the dark church… Well worth the extra 8 lira, A must see in goreme and an easy walk from the towns center
The hike down into the valley was refreshing, but in my opinion could have been done in a better way. Walking down into the Ihlara Valley, for me, was quite an interesting trip from a historical point of view. Please make sure that you know that the hike is over 7 km long and be prepared for it.
Great outing. The history of the area was well explained. A guide helps but a good guide book would suffice.
2000 year old history of how it was set up and a great tour of various churches. Its amazing to see so much of work, so old & beautiful. If you would like to see some old stuff and connect back to what the region was like, a great place to spend a couple of hours.
Firstly, as far as cave churches go, Selime is by far the most impressive setting and well worth the entrance fee to explore.
The main attraction though is what is thought to have been the inspiration for The Star Wars set, which although on a neighbouring hill, is best photographed from the monastery.
We took several hikes in the Goreme area, and while our sneakers sufficed, we all agreed that we would have felt more secure in actual hiking shoes with some traction. You walk through a fair amount of scree where footing is dicey on all the trails.
It was an unusual museum.However it consists mostly of churches and there is alot of walking and climbing up stairs so if you are tired and not very mobile I wouldn't recommend it.
Don't bother with the audio guide -the plaques give an explanation which the audio guide simply repeats.It also gives a detailed analysis of the frescoes in the…
The caves are not only beautiful outside, but also inside. The afrescos are quite interesting and the history behind the caves is something else.