Cappadocia occupies the centre of Turkey, the region between the
Black Sea in the north and the Taurus Mountains, between the
capital Ankara and the city of Malatya to the east. Famous for its
spectacular natural rock formations and valleys, Goreme National
Park, as it is known today, is strewn with underground cities,
stone chapels, monasteries, and dwellings that were hewn out of the
eroded volcanic rock as early as 400 BC.
Thousands of years of wind and rain erosion on a landscape of
soft, volcanic stone, topped with hardened larva caps has created a
fascinating landscape of rock cones and pinnacles that are known as
'fairy chimneys'. The Valley of Fairy Chimneys is the most popular
area, roughly within the triangle formed by the three main towns of
the region, Avanos, Urgup, and the main transport hub of
Nevsehir.
Outside the triangle to the south are the remarkable underground
cities of Derinkuyu and Kaymakli, where layers of tunnels and an
intricate system of caves hid generations of settlers and sheltered
early Christians fleeing persecution. The Ilhara Canyon is another
religious hideaway with more than 100 painted churches and about
4,000 dwellings carved into the rock walls or concealed within the
cliffs; its river bed and lush vegetation stand in stark contrast
to the dusty, seemingly barren land above.
Cave dwellings, ancient monasteries and painted chapels are well
camouflaged, with entranceways that are barely noticeable among a
landscape of perforated cliff walls and rock fissures. Houses of
volcanic stone blend unobtrusively into the natural surroundings,
pigmented in natural shades of ochre and yellow, to pinks, greys
and greens, and many people still inhabit the cones and chimney
formations. In tourist towns such as Goreme, delightful little
hotels and pensions are built partially into the rock or are housed
within a rock cone and offer cave-style rooms.