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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It was interesting to see the holes in the rocks where in days gone past the pigeons would nest. Their droppings would be collected and spread over the very fertile ground around this area. Not used too much these days.
We went on a quiet day (which apparently is a must). It was magically snowy and the experience was amazing! Don't get the tape cassette guide because it just repeats what the signs say. We followed a group for a bit that had a guide – I wish we had hired one! You can't miss this if you go to…
Very interesting and informative introduction to the area. Captions in English so if you don't speak/read English you may not get full benefit.
Our second tour of this park and it was much improved with new lighting and the renovated Dark Church. The Dark Church is well worth the climb. Best done with a guide or the audio program.
It can get crowded so go early. Easy to navigate and walk around without a guide. The "dark church" was very cool and worth the extra Liras. We went in march ad it was very very cold and windy. I hear it warms up though.
Even though we visited early in the 'season' this attraction was crowded. We used an audio tour which was helpful, however, some of the sites described were closed off, and this was not apparent prior to commencing. Like many sites in Turkey, the sign posting and descriptions of how to find/see things is inadequate. It is also annoying that one…
Geographic beauty, people and food was amazing. The locals are warm and friendly and it was an awesome experience to be taken back centuries back and relive where those moements happened in history and geographic time line
After seeing a series of underground cities, cave churches and rock formations, i particularly enjoyed touring around Ihlara region.
It's pity that I didnt get a chance to walk through the valley as it was too cold to walk. But we drove around the region to see the surrounding.
My favorite thing about Cappadocia was the bookstore that had a million used books from all the backpackers that had come through, all sorted by language, as well as quality. There was a section for “fiction” and another for “literature,” which only included books that didn’t suck. It was great.
What a sense of history you will gain and what an unbelievable site.