CAPPADOCIA
Welcome back to the next part in the Turkey series. In this blog, we will cover the center region of the country - mainly Cappadocia.
Cappadocia or Kapadokya (in Turkish) is a region in the center of Anatolia. If you are wondering what Anatolia is, it's the peninsula which represents the western most part of Asia. It covers almost 70% of modern-day Turkey. Anatolia was named by the Greeks. In Greek, Anatole means east, so, basically Anatolia is the land to the east of Greece. Cappadocia lies in the heartland of Turkey. Cappadocia is a region consisting of 5 towns majorly. Urgup, Goreme, Uchisar, Nevsehir and Avanos. There are other smaller towns in the region too. The region is surrounded by bigger cities like Kayseri and Aksaray.
Kapadokya means the land of beautiful horses. It is said that horses were bred here and were used by rulers across many empires. However, currently, there are very few horses that can be seen in the region.
(Modern day map depicting location of Cappadocia)
The region is said to have formed by deposits of volcanic eruption and due to erosion and uplift, the deposits are now in the form of 'fairy chimneys'. Cappadocia was ruled by Roman, Byzantine, Greeks and finally under Ottoman rulers.
The area is a popular tourist destination due to its historic and geological sites. Wanna have a look into these sites? Then go on reading this blog.
(Map of Cappadocia region with the towns)
Goreme Open Air Museum:
Goreme is a conglomerate of multiple rugged valleys. The Goreme open air museum is a part of the Goreme historical national park, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site. It is known for its fairy chimneys formed in the area due to volcanic deposits and erosions. These rock eruptions were carved out to form houses, churches and underground cities. The rocks are generally made up of basalt. Goreme is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the country. The carved-out places were used by the priests and priestess to teach and preach about Christianity. It is said that many missionaries were taught here who went out to preach about the religion across the globe. One can see many paintings about Christianity inside these carved out churches and it is believed to be one of the oldest paintings. There are hostels for priests and priestesses separately.
(Fairy chimneys are Goreme)
(Hostel for the priests)
(Carved out churches)
(The Dark church)
(Rock formations)
(Uchisar castle on the top - believed to be residence of the king)
Imagination valley:
Another valley near Goreme is the Imagination valley. True to its name, the valley has some abrupt rock eruptions which makes a person to imagine what he/she might be looking at. The most famous of them is the sitting camel rock. Some claim to have seen a dino rock, a dancing couple rock among others.
(Sitting camel rock)
(View at the imagination valley)
3 beauties:
The 3-beauties is a fairy chimney formation where there are 2 big chimneys and a small one adjoining one of the bigger one. There is a popular folklore regarding the 3 beauties. It is said that there was once a king who rules this region. The princess of the kingdom, fell in love with a shepherd. Against the wishes of the king, she eloped and married the shepherd. Soon, they had a child. Now that a grandchild to the king was born, the princess thought they would be forgiven, and she could be with her father. However, the king having learnt that the princess wanted to see him, ordered his men to kill all the three. The princess prayed to God and wished that even after death the three should stay together. And hence, they became the three beauties. Interesting, isn't it?
(The 3 beauties fairy chimenys)
(View from 3 beauties - Notice the snow laden hill)
Pigeon valley:
Another popular tourist spot is the Pigeon valley. Pigeons were very important for the people here. The poops of the pigeons were rich in nitrogen and were used as fertilizers by the farmers here. Due to high demand, pigeon farming was also practised here. Even today, a lot of pigeons (and sparrows) can be seen here.
(View from pigeon valley)
(Pigeons and pigeon homes in the background)
Underground City:
As I mentioned before, there are underground cities carved out of these rock structure. One can see almost 200 cities here. However, only a few of them are allowed for a visit. These underground cities are tiny home-like structures which were used by the priests and priestesses to save themselves from attacks undertaken by foreign kingdoms. These underground cities were built over 7-8 floors to provide shelter to thousands of people and animals. One can still see barnyards, fodder storage area, wine storage areas, ventilation vents, stone doors to close the entrances, huge cisterns etc. The navigation inside is via small tunnels. This place is another major attraction in the Cappadocia region.
(Tunnels in underground city)
(Pillars inside the city)
(Cistern for wine storage)
(Vent for ventilation)
(The city as seen from outside)
Pancarlik valley, Uzengi valley and Falcon valley:
Apart from the valleys mentioned above, there are a lot of them. However, these are not so popular and moreover, these are located far more interior. One needs to hire a jeep to visit these valleys. Here, there are churches and pigeon homes along with the fairy chimneys. These valleys offer good sunset points.
(View from Falcon valley)
(Falcon valley)
(Sunset at Uzengi valley)
(Pigeon homes at Uzengi valley)
(Uzengi valley)
(View from Pancharlik valley)
(Pancharlik valley)
Cave hotels:
Accommodation is not at all an issue in Cappadocia. Fashionable hotels known as cave hotels are an attraction for stay here. These are hotels carved out of existing caves. The rooms here provide an exotic vacation feel while many hotels provide great views of the valleys, especially during dining. So, when in Cappadocia, always book a cave hotel. Below are a few links to cave hotels:
(One of the cave hotels)
Food and how to reach:
Cappadocia has an Indian restaurant - Asoka Restaurant. The food here is delicious and the staff is courteous. At Goreme and Urgup, there are many other restaurants offering multiple cuisines.
Cappadocia can be reached via air or road. Kayseri and Nevsehir are the nearest airports. A lot of flights ply to Kayseri from Istanbul, Ankara, Antalya and Izmir. It is the fastest option to reach Cappadocia.
Istanbul is about 750 kms from Urgup. It takes about 8 hours to reach here. The route is via Ankara so one can plan in a way that Ankara can be used as a pitstop.
Cappadocia is a must visit when in Turkey. The above added pictures do not do justice to the experience felt here. As they say, experience cannot be explained. Not only these places, but there is also more in Cappadocia which will be covered in the next blog. So, do wait till the next one. Of course, there is more coming from other places in Turkey.
If you haven't read my previous blogs, here are the link for you:
