Welcome To Göreme

Rich in history going back to Hittite times (+4000 years) and once a province of the Roman Empire, Cappadocia is now the sprawling area of central Turkey which lies between Aksaray in the west, Kayseri in the east and Nigde in the south. Modern Cappadocia is an incredible place, criss-crossed with valleys and dotted with dramatic rock formations.

How Cappadocia Was Shaped.

Thousands of years ago a group of ancient volcanoes, Mount Erciyes, Mount Hasan and Mount Melendiz, spewed out layer upon layer of thick tuff which blanketed the countryside for miles around. Over the centuries the wind and rain worked their magic on the soft rock, carving out spectacular gorges and leaving behind the dramatic pinnacles of rock - the 'fairy chimneys' - that have created the Cappadocian moonscape.

But Cappadocia has always been much more than its dramatic scenery. Humans, too, have left their unique mark on the region, carving cave storerooms, cave stables, cave houses and even entire underground cities out of the rock. To this day many of the soaring pinnacles are still inhabited and many of the rock-cut storerooms are still stuffed with grapes, lemons, potatoes and flat bread waiting for the winter.

Long, long ago Cappadocia was inhabited by Christians who also carved thousands of cave churches, chapels and monasteries out of the rock. Many of these churches were decorated with frescoes of medieval saints whose ghostly images still gaze down from the walls. In the 21st century these ancient churches make some of the most remarkable sights for visitors.

The Fairy Chimneys

In the days before tourism local people called the strange rock cones that surrounded them kales, or 'castles'. Nowadays these amazing structures are usually called peribacalari, or 'fairy chimneys'. They come in an extraordinary range of shapes and sizes but most are tall and phallic-shaped with a cap of harder stone that protects the softer rock underneath from erosion. Eventually these caps fall off, whereupon the wind and rain start to whittle away the cone until eventually it, too, collapses.

Places of Interest.

There are so many fascinating things to see in Cappadocia that you could spend a lifetime here and still discover new places. The main 'must-see' attractions are the two large open-air museums and the best of the underground cities. However, there are also many small, all-but-forgotten rock-cut churches and monasteries, splendid hiking trails, several spectacular caravanserais and many dramatic rock formations well worth going out of your way to visit.

• Goreme Open Air Museum: cave churches with frescoes

• Zelve Open Air Museum: an empty cave town with churches

• Kaymakli Underground City: the largest underground city

• Derinkuyu Underground City: the deepest underground city

• Ihlara Valley: the deepest gorge of Anatolia

• Uchisar: Roman rock-cut castle

• Ortahisar: Roman rock-cut castle

• Avanos: center of pottery since the Hittites

• Pasabag: mushroom-shaped fairy chimneys, monks valley

• Devrent: animal-shaped fairy chimneys, imagination valley

• Hacibektas: center of Bektasi sect of Islam

• Gulsehir: first settlements in Cappadocia

• Forgotten Cave Churches: churches located in the valleys

• Caravanserais: 13th century hotels on the silk road