Cappadocia - Turkey

Fairy Chimneys

 Our goal is to make good use of our time here in Turkey and see as much of the country as we can (in between boat projects).  Our good friends from Canada are here as well so we all decided to take a trip inland to an area called Cappadocia.  The region is known for its unusual rock formations and is now a UNESCO World Heritage site.  Turkey is a very mountainous country with significant volcanic activity in  the very distant past.  As in 60 million years past!  That is when Cappadocia started to form.  Prior to that there were a series of volcanic eruptions with the ash and lava slowly falling down the Taurus mountains.  Eventually, over the years wind and water erosion carved out this ethereal region.  

Cave dwellings

 

 Early on troglodytes carved their homes in the stones.  And then later the area became a hidey hole for Christians trying to evade persecution.  There is one whole section that is just old "cave churches".  It begs the question as to why there was a need to put several churches right next to each other?

Drawings on side of cave dwelling

 

 

 

Something to ponder.  You could spend days just hiking all the trails running through the national park or you could do what most folks do and take a hot air balloon ride to get a birds eye view of the area.  

Balloons over Görme National Park

We opted for a little of both.  A sunrise hot air balloon ride and later in the day a hike through Red Valley.  Of course, we are in the middle of a pandemic but due to that our balloon ride was a bargain - as was the rate for the cave hotel (Azure Cave Suites).  

As I mentioned nowadays most folks live in houses and the only people in caves are tourists - for the most part that is true.  But there are still some cave dwellers.  I suppose they have always been there, before the area became known as a national park.

 

Cave House

 This place looks more like a "cave complex" rather than just a house.  Just grandfathered into the area I guess.  

Red Valley

 It is fascinating is seeing all the different types of rock.  All from different volcanoes, different lava.  It is like stepping onto a different planet, you are left to marvel at the force and beauty of Mother Nature.  

Cappadocia was never on our bucket list.  As a matter of fact we never even thought of visiting Turkey but fate put us here and we are loving this adventure.  We are so excited to see what else there is to see in Turkey - since we really did not plan this trip its all a nice surprise😊.