When the Turks started to arrive in the region after immigrating from their homeland in Central Asia around the 11th century, they found the area largely uninhabited. Seeing the strange, upheld rock formations drilled inside out as they were, they concluded that these should have been the chimneys of the homes of the otherkin, thus providing the popular name for the “fairy chimneys” (a direct translation of Turkish peri bacası).

Human settlements in Cappadocia started as early as Bronze Age. It is sight of fairy chimneys full of history and cultural heritage.

Cappadocia has been called similar names in many other languages, some of which are Haspaduya (Old Persian, meaning “the land of beautiful horses”), Kat-patuka (Luwian language, meaning “Low Country”), and Katta-Peda (Hititie, meaning “place below”). The area was formed about 60 million years ago through the weathering of extrusive igneous rocks from mounts Erciyes, Hasan, and Güllü. Today the area is a popular tourist destination.

We might often come to think of Nevşehir as its location, but the Touristic Cappadocia includes four cities which are Nevşehir, Kayseri, Aksaray, and Niğde. Hot-air ballooning and trekking are some of the favorite activities. There are museums and more than 30 carved-from-rock churches and chapels in the area.

Cappadocia, central Turkey dotted with a dreamy slice of ‘fairy chimneys’ (rock formations), has a history every bit as remarkable as its landscape. Volcanic Eruptions created this surreal moonscape: lava flows formed the tuff rock, which sinuous valleys with wind and rain sculpted into curvy, cliff faces and pointy fairy chimneys. Cappadocians chiselled homes in the soft rock, paving the way for cave-dwelling fairy-chimney Hippies and today’s boutique hotels.

The area’s most extraordinary phase was during the medieval era, when the valleys were a refuge for Byzantine Christians. The Monastic settlements established religious troglodytes, cave churches and Their add a biblical solemnity to the Flintstones-like region. The Goreme Open-Air Museum , a World Heritage site, has the best collection of chapels and living quarters, most dating to around the 11th century.

Hiking – Following the paths along the valleys is an amazing (and free) option. Check with your hotel owner or the tourist office for a map of the area with suggested walks and trails. There are several nice loops on packed dirt, sand and rock, that maintain a constant elevation and pass through the scenic valleys.

Güvercinlik (Pigeon) Valley – You can hike the Pigeon Valley between Göreme and Uçhisar. The 4-km trail starts from the road near the Ataman Hotel on the south side of Göreme or on the paved road on the north side of the hill where Uçhisar Castle sits in Uçhisar. Both trailheads are signed. Stick to the more traveled trails and you will have no trouble finding your way on this moderately hilly hike. The path through the valley offers spectacular views of the natural cliffs and the man-made caves and passes through a few tunnels carved into the rock.

Rose Valley (From Çavuşin, Ortahisar and Kızılçukur). Beautiful green valley.

Rose Valley

From Kale Church in Rose Valley

Organized tours – Every travel agency offers the “red”, “green” and “blue” tour, and the itinerary is essentially the same no matter who you purchase the tour from. Tours will include transportation, but verify whether lunch and entrance fees are also included. Names and itineraries change occasionally, but expect that whatever name and itinerary is used at one agency will be the same at the others. However private tours are not the same so is the experience.

The Red Tour is the most basic, visiting sites in the immediate vicinity of Göreme including the open-air museum, the castle at Uçhisar, and the pottery shops at Avanos.

The Green Tour is a bit more adventurous, visiting the Pigeon Valley and then going farther afield to visit Derinkuyu Underground City, Nar Lake, Ihlara Valley and Selime.

The Blue Tour is the most off-the-beaten path of the three tours, taking visitors to the former Greek town of Mustafapasa, the monastery at Soganli.

Hot Air Balloon Tours are one of the most popular activities in Göreme. Typically lifting off at sunrise, these rides last about an hour in the air and literally go wherever the wind may blow in the Cappadocia Valley. The balloon baskets hold around 20 people with the pilot riding air currents much like a boat, floating down the valleys, often below the ridge line and quite close to the chimney rocks. It’s a fantastic ride and if you’ve ever had the urge to splurge on a balloon ride, this would be the place to do it. There are 25 balloon companies in the region.

Cross Golf. Cappadocia is a national park and its natural environment must be protected for everyone to enjoy today and in the future. Cross Golf uses the natural features of the landscape to challenge even the most experienced golfer. The fairy chimneys, fascinating rock formations and flora and fauna in the unique environment of Cappadocia remain unaffected by Cross Golf Cappadox2016. Cappadox 2016 sets out with the theme “Let us cultivate our garden” and considers Cappadocia as a collective heritage in which new “seeds” have been planted through art, culture, and experience based activities.

CAPPADOCIA

The ethereal landscape of Cappadocia is one of Turkey’s top attractions, and the fields of naturally-hewn “fairy chimneys” and mysterious rock caves here have intrigued visitors for years.

These days, however, there’s only one way to take in Cappadocia’s unusual formations – from the air. On still days at dawn, a swarm of hot-air balloons slowly ascends as the sun rises, offering a new perspective on these oft-photographed wonders.

History

The prehistoric settlements of the area are Koskhoyuk (Kosk Mound) in Nigde, Aksaray Asikli Mound, Nevsehir Civelek cave and, in the southeast, Kultepe, Kanis and Alisar in the environs of Kayseri. This area with unusual topographic characteristics was regarded as sacred and called, in the Scythian/Khatti language, as Khepatukha, meaning “the country of the people of the chief god Hepat”, although there are more poetic claims on the origin of the region’s name, such as the Old Persian Katpatuka, which is said to mean “the land of beautiful horses”. The tablets called Cappadocian Tablets and the Hittite works of art in Alisar are of the important remains dating from the 2000s BC. After the 1200s BC, the Tabal principality, of the Khatti Branches of Scythians, became strong and founded the Kingdom of Tabal. Following the Late Hittite and Persian aras, the Cappadocian Kingdom was established in 332 BC. During the Roman era the area served as a shelter for the early escaping Christians. There are also several underground cities used by early Christians as hideouts in Cappadocia.

Cappadocia Balloon Tours

Everybody wants fly like a bird everytime. That is a big dream of human. Now you can realize your own dream with cappadocia balloon tour. Don’t omit join to balloon tour if you planning to go to cappadocia. You can see the deep canyons, valleys and fairy chimneys from the air. Cappadocia balloon tour begins every day at sunrise.

Here are some must-see and must-dos while you’re in the area:

Byzantine frescoes

Despite centuries of weathering and vandalism, many of the frescoes (or more accurately seccos, painted on dry rather than wet plaster) are glorious, colorful sights. The Dark Church has the best examples: the pillars and vaulted ceilings multicoloured cover Angels, along with the scenes such as the birth of Jesus, with an ox and ass Their noses poking into the manger. Suggests as the church’s name, the lack of light has Preserved the representations, which still look fresh and vivid after a millennium.

Other Monastic complexes nestle in the valleys, many backdrops recalling Star Wars (Chewbacca claims but who do not believe was ever mischievous guides here). The most popular is for a stroll Ihlara Valley – filled with riverside greenery, Birdsong and a string of churches cut into the base of towering cliffs.

Explore underground cities

The local Christians were persecuted, first by the Romans and then raiding Muslims, and they’ve often had to hide from hostile forces. Hoof beats when they’re heard, they would abandon the cave churches and go underground – quite literally. Cappadocia’s rock formations beneath Subterranean is a network of cities, which housed up to 10.000 people each. The largest are discovered almost ten levels deep, with narrow passages like the hamster tunnels connecting the floors.

Touring the cities, you pass the handles used to tether the animals with stables, churches with altars and baptism pools, walls with holes, air circulation, grindstones and granaries with Blackened kitchens with ovens. The ventilation shafts were disguised as the wells, and chunky rolling-stone served as the last lines of defense doors. Note many artefacts remain – the Inhabitants took Their possessions when they’re returned to the surface – but the cities give a sense of continuing life in tough conditions.

Staying in Cappadocia today does not involve any hardship or Subterranean Chambers. Cave Dwellings and fairy-chimney Many chapels have been converted into boutique hotels, where you can try the Troglodyte in the luxury lifestyle. Features include cave hamams (Turkish baths), rock-cut arches, patterned walls and panoramic terraces with surveying the volcanic valleys color-banding. Quickly you’ll discover what the locals have known for centuries: the tuff rock keeps rooms cool in summer and warm in winter.

The allure of tourist dollars away from agriculture has tempted many Cappadocians. The pigeon houses riddling the rock faces – traditionally used to collect the birds’ droppings for use as fertilizer – mostly empty stands. Nonetheless, vestiges of village life and of the fabulous Continues past remain – including the local wine. Cappadocia has one of the world’s oldest wine industries, which stretches back some 4000 years to the Hittites – the first to recognize the volcanic soil’s viticultural qualities, and to carve rock cellars. As you sample the Anatolian grape, there’s certainly a great deal of history to reflect on in this land of fairy chimneys and Byzantine remains.