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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This is definitely one of the highlights of Turkey and Cappadocia — the fairy chimneys are pretty well known by the travellers. Do not miss it.
Many agencies include this place in their daily tours but try to go there by your own, so you'll explore everywhere on your pace.
Best site to view colorful sunsets over Rose, and Pigeon valleys.also lots of little walks through the amazing fairy chimneys which are not too crowded with tourists at sunset. Special !!
Caves, Cave Churches, Housing, & kitchens for mostly Monastic Life Style. Crowded mid-day and noon time. Well worth the visit, but no photography allowed of the Frescos in the Churches – they want you to buy the book. By the way – "World Heritage Sites in Cappadocia" is an excellent book on the area.
The Ortahisar Castle the biggest fairy chimney in the Cappadocia region, is open to visits after nine years and has attracted 4,000 tourists in 23 days.
The 110-meter-long historic Ortahisar Castle, known as the biggest fairy chimney in the Cappadocia region and closed to visits nine years ago because of the danger of collapse, has been reopened to visitors following restoration works.
Ortahisar district our guide said that they had been working to open the castle to visits for two years, and experts from the Middle East Technical University had carried out seismic measurements for six months in the castle and cracks had been filled with a special material the Ortahisar Castle had been used by various civilizations as a shelter, adding, “The castle, which is a typical example of unique formations in Cappadocia, is the longest fairy chimney in the region. The castle is overlooking the whole region thanks to its location. There is also the opportunity to photograph the Uçhisar Castle, valleys, fairy chimneys and Mount Erciyes from this point.”
He said that with the opening of the castle, the tourism share of Ortahisar would be greater as it would become an alternative visiting area. The mayor said that 4,000 tourists had visited the castle in 23 days after the opening, adding, “This is above what we expected.
We believe that it will increase more. We also have started work to open the Ishak Pasa Castle to tourism in our district. Because of rock falls from the castle, historic settlements next to it were also remaining idle. Now this danger has been removed and touristic places will open there since there is high demand.”
If you are doing other tours in the area I really don't think it's worth the 15TYL. Furthermore it's a bit annoying that to see the dark church it's an additional 8TYL (something that you don't know till you enter). It was bizarre that they didnt let you take photos inside of the frescos (without flash obviously) and yelled at…
We were amazed by the cave dwellings, the churches, and the long history associated with this region. Unlike anyplace in the world! We were lucky to be able to explore the area. The only difficulty was the heat – 106 degrees. Probably more pleasant in June or September!
We only got to see the panoramic view, but it looked only okay compared to other values. It was narrow and had lots of birds. Other valleys have more paths you can go through and less bird problems.
The churches and houses are in caves. They are perfectly preserved and give one the feeling of what it was like to be there many centuries ago.
This is the Church of the Evil Eye and it is a quiet, infrequently visited site only 10 minutes walk from the main road to the museum from Goreme. Simply follow the signs. We appreciated the opportunity to have an unhindered look around at a place under restoration, and even though the frescoes are not up to the standard of…
Enjoyed a three hour walk through this amazing landscape. Was quite hot, but not unbearable. Various (ubiquitous) small outlets along the way to purchase water and food and drinks, plus the odd souvenier! Worth taking the time to appreciate this unique landscape.