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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Planning to spend several days on the region, thought I would get some background first. Museum is about 1 km (.6 mile) from downtown. Lots of tour buses mid-morning and mid-afternoon, but it's a very easy walk from town,'assuming you can spend more than five minutes outside a car. Audio tour doesn't add much, as there are signposts with most…
The best open-air national park I have ever seen.. During the visit, you go back in time and experience how the Cappadocians were living 1000 years ago. One should not miss this experience!
This is a great start to a visit in this area. You see alot without having to drive very far. Gives you a great history of the area and how and why the caves were developed. A must for this area.
This is a must stop…. many cave churches and lots of history! It's very hard to digest all the information
Amazing but dont bother with extra fee for church must visit one outside open air museum near car park as lovely.
Ortahisar’s most obvious attraction is the nearly 90 meter high rock castle that dominates the village below. In Byzantine times, the rock was used as a fortress and once the whole town lived here. Now, it can be visited for great views over the surrounding valley. It costs 2 lira to visit between 7:30am and 8:30pm.
This is adjacent to Monk's Valley and you should insist that your tour include this along with the Goreme Open-air Museum and Monk's Valley. At Monk's Valley make sure to climb the hill to the right of the fairy chimmeys to get a completely different view of the scene. Hang out up there for a while; it's a little awe-inspiring.
Beautiful place, but its the same you get everywere in Goreme for free.
We rented the audio tour (well worth it) and spent an hour or so visiting the churches. Each has its own distinct flavor. What a range of different frescoes – unique place! It was a hot afternoon, so we enjoyed soft drinks before walking back to town – fresh squeezed pomagranite juice for me, a lime slushy for my friend!
Goreme Open Air Museum is a group of cave churches and monasteries from the 11th-13thcentury. it is another world and really something to see.