Cappadocia

One of the highlights of Turkey is certainly Cappadocia in Central Anatolia, roughly central Turkey. It has remarkable, mysterious conical outcrops called peri baclari (fairy chimneys). These are made from eroded tuff (hardened volcanic ash) and were formed around 30 million years ago. We had two nights here.

One of the two volcanic mountains that erupted and who's ash formed the outcrops. It was covered in snow.

The town of Goreme with some troglodyte homes.

The Goreme Open-air Museum, where there are 30 or more hidden Christian chapels carved into the rocks, mainly dating from the 9th Century onwards. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This is the Kizlar Monastery where monks lived and worked.

Some of the other churches.

One of the beautiful Byzantine frescoes inside one of the churches.

More frescoes.

Inside the dining room of one of the caves.

Enjoying the view and the sun.

A Turkish ice cream maker twirling his ice cream in the air. The ice creams don't drip and actually taste quite good.

The next stop was an underground city of Kaymakli. The homes were burried deep into the stone and are a rabbit warren of tunnels. The softness of the tuff makes them easy to excavate. This city was only discovered in 1964, but was believed to have housed 1000's of people from the 6th to 9th centuries. Five levels are open to the public, but it is believed there were eight levels.

A stone to roll to protect the city from enemies.

Wine storage racks.

They were shorter all those years ago.

Candle shape formations.

A camel and it's driver.

Cone shaped fairy chimneys.