Cappadocia (Kapadokya)

Cappadocia is a fascinating destination in Nevsehir province of Turkey, which is located in Central Anatolia. The region has been formed 60 million years ago, as a result of eruptions of Hasan and Güllü volcanic mountains in the region. Cappadocia is a throughly magical place where you feel yourself like living in an another planet.

Apart from its natural beauty of volvanic landscape, the region had been the seat of several civilisations, and a silent witness to the cultural history of Anatolia. Cappadocia, which had been a major trade route of the historical Silk Road, was inhabited by Assyrians (3000-175 B.C.), Hittites (1750-700 B.C.), Persians, the Kingdom of Cappadocia (582-332 B.C.), Byzantine - Roman Empire (17-396 A.D.), Seljuq Empire (1071-1299) and the Ottomon Empire. Multicultural history of the region has led to cultural interactions and made the region a junction point of east and west, which makes it very unique and interesting to explore.

Soft texture formed with volcanic lava and tuff has been eroded by wind and climate events in time and created current land form in Cappadocia. Wind and water went to work on this once-volvanic, soft plateau, leaving only its harder elements behind to form a unique landscape of cones, pillars, pinnacles, mushrooms, and chimneys. Human hands performed not less than nature on the region, which has been inhabited since prehistoric times: Anatolian people carved the rock and built houses, churches and over 250 underground cities out of it over the centuries. Göreme was inhabited as early as the Hittite era, circa 1800 to 1200 B.C. and later sat uncomfortably on the boundary between rival empires; first the Greeks and Persians and later the Byzantine Greeks and a host of rivals. This precarious political position meant that residents needed hiding places - and found them by tunneling into the rock itself.

One of the most interesting historical artifacts in the region are ancient churches and chapels. It is said that there are around 500 churches and chapels in Cappadocia which sheds light on human history and early days of Christianity. In the early years of the first millennium, groups of Christians fleeing Roman persecution began moving into the inaccessible wilds of Cappadocia seeking refuge. One group which arrived from Jerusalem via Antioch (Antakya) and Caesarea (Kayseri) in the second century settled down in the area now known as Derinkuyu. Finding the soft volcanic tuff easy to carve, they began to expand the natural caves and link them together, creating dwellings, chapels, churches and monasteries through which these people found the peace and security they had so desperately sought.

A lot of historical artifacts including, underground cities, ancient chapels & churches and cave living habitat could be seen in Cappadocia. The region is described as having “outstanding Universal Value” by UNESCO and has been placed on the World Heritage List in 1985 as 7 parts: Göreme National Park, Derinkuyu Underground City, Kaymaklı Underground City, Karlı Church, Theodore Church, Karain Güvercinlikleri (Karain Columbaries) and Soganlı Archaeological Site.

Cappadocia is a magical place where you can see not only the incredible natural landscape but also mysteries of human history and civilizations. There are numerous sites to see including but not limited to Goreme Open Air Museum, Zelve Open Air Museum, Kaymakli Underground City, Derinkuyu Underground City, Pigeon Valley, Love Valley, Ihlara Valley, Uchisar, Ortahisar, Avanos, Caravanserais, many other Forgotten Cave Churches, museums and historical monuments.

Apart from visiting historical sites, you can also have a hot air baloon ride to see the landscape from the sky, which is the most popular touristic activity in Cappadocia. During my visit, i did not have a balloon ride, but i woke up to see the balloons going up in the air in the morning: i can truly say that it was a magical moment, so if you are not willing to have a balloon ride you can just watch the view of the balloons going up in the sunrise.

Cappadocia region is consisted of 7 main arreas: Uçhisar, Göreme, Avanos, Ürgüp, Derinkuyu, Kaymaklı, Ihlara. During my visit in Cappadocia i stayed in a cave hotel in Uçhisar region, near Pigeon valley and Uçhisar castle, it was more silent and less crowded ompared to Göreme; however it was a little bit far from the area where balloons take off, i could see the balloons from distance as you can see in the pictures, so if you would like to have a closer view of the balloons i would recommend you to pick a hotel close to Göreme or you can go to Love Valley early in the morning to have a closer view of the balloons from the top. I would also recommend you to stay in a cave hotel where you can feel the real atmosphere of ancient cave living. Hope you will enjoy your visit to Turkey and Cappadocia :) If you have any questions about my post or if you just would like to have advice from a local please feel free to contact me by e-mail or by filling out the contact form in the website.

Lots of love from Turkey.

Dilek

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