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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Interesting and most unusual…amazing that people actually lived in these caves.
This is a fascinating place with well-to-decently restored early Christian churches. Don't forget to check out the most important and elaborate of the churches which is on the way into the main complex. It's on the way back down to the parking lot and buses. Many people miss it or don't leave enough time for it, but it is the…
Gonul Cebeci was an excellent guide for this amazing area. She knew a lot about the history of the area, had lots of information and presented it all in a way that was very entertaining and interesting. She is highly recommended if you need a guide for the Cappodoccia region.
We hiked from Uchisar back to Goreme, and it was a very pleasant hike. There are very cool natural tunnels in the rock, and the highlight for us was bumping into a local man from Uchisar, who took us to have tea at a small tea house at the bottom of the valley.
It is possibly the top sight see location in Goreme. It's better to go there early in the morning to avoid big tourist groups. The Dark Church was the highlight and really worth every penny of the ticket. You do have to pay extra 8 TL to get in. But the beautiful fresco was fantastic!
I am glad we visited, but the huge tours really took away from the overall experience. IF you go, get there early. IT gets very very hot in July and August.
This is a must see if you are going to Cappadocia. Make sure you see the Apple Church and ABSOLUTELY pay extra to see the Black/Dark Church; these are the highlights of the park.
Good open air museum. Some of the caves were crowded but very interesting to see.
The sites at this museum were very worth while visiting and the dark church is definitely worth the extra 8 Lira to visit. If you want to avoid the tourists, get there at opening, or get your hotelier to take you on a private trip to imagination valley.
I was told that Cappadocia was enjoyable and nice to see… I think the same but in an augmented view. Goreme areais extraordinary, nature is untainted and all the places are good for excursions, especially with a quad bike: amazing!