They were carved wherever space allowed, including abandoned cave houses and churches. In Cappadocia, pigeons have long been a source of food and fertilizer. The advent of chemical fertilizers has reduced the use of pigeon dung. However, some farmers still maintain their lofts because they insist that the reputation of Cappadocian fruits as the sweetest and most succulent in Turkey is entirely due to pigeon dung.

The first floor of the underground city is the stable. The small size of this area suggests that there could be other stables in sections that have not yet been opened. The passage to the left of the stable contains a millstone door and leads into the church. To the right of the corridor there are rooms which were used as living areas. The church on the 2nd floor has a single nave and two apses. In front of the apses is an altar, and on the sides are sitting platforms. There are also some living areas on this floor.

The most important areas of the underground city are on the 3rd floor. Besides numerous storage places, wineries and the kitchen, the block of andesite with relief-texture found on this floor is very interesting. Recent research has proved that this stone was used as a melting pot for copper. The stone was not brought here from the outside but was part of the andesite layer unearthed while hollowing. To be able to use it as a melting pot, 57 holes were carved into the surface of the stone. The copper ore, about 10 cm in length, would be put into one of those holes and would be hammered using a hard piece of rock. This technique has been known since the prehistoric periods. The copper brought to the Kaymakli underground city was probably dug from a quarry between Aksaray and Nevsehir.

The fact that there are a lot of storage rooms and places to put earthenware jars in the wineries on the 4th floor, indicates that the people living in this underground city were economically stable. The ventilation shaft can also be seen from the 4th floor. It is a vertical well and passes all floors down like on the elevator in an apartment. The depth of the ventilation shaft is about 80 meters in total.

Even though the whole city has not been completely opened, and since only 4 floors have been uncovered, it is certain that Kaymakli is one of the largest underground settlements in the region. It is accepted as the widest underground city of Cappadocia, among the explored ones. The number of the storage rooms in such a small area supports the idea that a great number of people resided here. Archaeologists think that this could have been up to 3500 people.

Many of the caves are used as intermediate stores for lemons. About 1 km from the town is the unspoiled Halas River Valley with its rock churches and a monastery for Armenian Christians.

Its most impressive structure is Ortahisar Castle which has been used as a cave castle by Hittite Empire with a height of 86 meters. The castle has been used strategically and for accommodation. At the outskirts of the castle, samples of the civil architecture characteristic to Cappadocia are available.

In almost entire valley, the stores of the rock caves had been used to store the agricultural products grown in the zone. It is an attractive and impressive town with its natural beauty and historical features.

Ortahisar is also well-known with its natural mineral water sources. The castle in the middle of town is a rock chimney. The foreigners call it a Chateau where the inside rooms and saloons are caved. Moreover, there are many churches around the town.

The natural beauties, old historic structures and interesting citrus gardens of Ortahisar, Cappadocia welcomes hundreds of thousands of people to that part of the world.

The hidden rock-cut churches in the valley surprise the visitors. You can also watch hot air balloons flying early in the morning in this beautiful valley and lots of options for hiking and horseback riding.

Watching sunset from a point near Ortahisar and hiking down through first in Red Valley and then continue on Rose Valley At the top of Red Valley you can stop for lunch or a cold drink. This must be the most pretty and serene place to give a break for lunch eat around the whole region. It’s right in the valley surrounded by flowers, cave churches and fields full of fruit trees and grape vines.

Red Valley, often considered to be Cappadocia’s most serene stretch of land, where people can walk for hours without seeing another soul.

In 4^th century, Cappadocia started to be known as the “Land of Three Saints” because of three remarkable theologians who are still collectively known as The Cappadocians; St. Basil the Great, his brother St. Gregory of Nyssa, and St. Gregory of Nazianzus who contributed a great deal to Christian doctrine in general and Eastern Orthodox belief in particular.

St. Basil was had a role in developing Christian monasticism of which these cave churches in his homeland are a product. The monastic complex in Goreme was carved out and decorated between 900 and 1200 AD. There are over 10 cave churches in Goreme Open Air Museum. Along with rectories, dwellings, and a religious school they form a large monastic complex carved out of a roughly ring-shaped rock formation in the fairy-tale landscape of Cappadocia. Entrance to the site is on the north side. The best way to explore the cave churches of Goreme is via the clearly marked path going counterclockwise. Each one has a modern Turkish name given by local villagers based on a prominent feature.

The majority of the churches are fully painted inside with beautiful and historically important Byzantine murals dating from 900 and 1200 AD. Most of them are in remarkably good condition, although nearly all the eyes of the painted figures have been gouged out by superstitious locals afraid of the Evil Eye. One notable exception is the Dark Church, the walls of which were long protected by pigeon droppings. One of the recurring themes in these and other Cappadocian churches is St. George slaying the dragon. According to local tradition the event occurred on the summit of Mount Erciyes.

Nunnery is a remarkable rock-carved convent with six floors of tunnels, corridors, stairways and chambers situated left of the entrance to the museum. It housed as many as 300 nuns at one time. The dining hall, kitchen and some rooms on the first floor, together with the ruined chapel on the second floor used to be open to public recently but now the complex can only be admired from the outside.

St. Basil’s Church has a rectangular nave shape with niches and three apses separated from a narthex by arches. The narthex has tombs in the floor which are open but covered with metal grating. The decoration is typical of the iconoclastic period, when images were outlawed – red ochre was painted on the stone without any images of people or animals. Subjects in this church include Christ, St. George, St. Basil and St. Theodore. The three Maltese crosses on the vault of the nave are believed to represent the Holy Trinity.

Apple Church is also one of the most prominent buildings in the area with its vivid colors. The church is a groin-vaulted structure with cross-in-square plan having four columns and a central dome. The frescoes of the Apple Church mostly date from the 11^th century. In places they have fallen off and simple red-painted ornaments from the iconoclastic period can be seen. The frescoes are narrating scenes from the Bible and the life of Christ, hospitality of Abraham and three Hebrew youths. The building probably got its name from a red orb held by St. Michael the Archangel in a fresco near the entrance but an alternative theory is, it got its name from an apple orchard which used to be in front of the main entrance a long time ago.

St. Barbara Chapel is situated behind the rock housing Apple Church. This cruciform chapel with three apses is mostly decorated with simple figures and symbols in red paint on white plaster, making a sharp contrast with the colorful figures of most Goreme churches. They may have been painted shortly after the 8^th century iconoclastic controversy. A giant locust symbolizing evil on one wall opposes two crosses on the other while a rooster representing the devil is battled with bricks representing the Church. Other strange creatures and shapes are more difficult to interpret. The figurative frescoes include Christ Pantocrator, St. George and the dragon, St Theodore, and St Barbara.

Snake Church has a long nave with a low, barrel-vaulted ceiling. Among the paintings are portraits of St. Theodore, St. George slaying the dragon again. It looks like a snake, which gave the chapel its name.  Emperor Constantine and his mother St. Helena, and St. Onuphrius. The last saint was an Egyptian hermit who lived near Thebes. In medieval art, including in this example, he is usually depicted with a long gray beard, wearing nothing but a fig leaf.

Dark Church called so because it gets very little light, was used as a pigeon house until the 1950’s. It took 14 years to scrape pigeon droppings off the walls, but underneath were beautifully preserved 11^th century frescoes. Recently restored, the paintings of New Testament scenes and other subjects are considered the best-preserved frescoes in Cappadocia.

St. Catherine’s Chapel, built by a donor named Anna. The chapel of St. Catherine dates from the 11^th century. It has a Greek-cross-shaped nave with a dome over the center and barrel-vaulted cross arms. The narthex has nine floor tombs and two burial niches. The frescoes depict: a Deesis (in the apse); Doctors of the Church: Gregory, Basil the Great and John Chrysostom; St. George, St. Theodore, and St. Catherine.

Sandals Church is named because of two footprints inside the entrance, the last imprints left by Jesus just before he ascended to heaven. A fresco of the Ascension can be seen directly above. The narthex of the church has collapsed; the nave has a cross plan with barrel vaults and well-preserved frescoes. The fresco subjects are New Testament scenes such as the Nativity, Adoration of the Magi, and the Baptism of Christ. The scenes of the way of the cross and the descent from the cross make this church different from the others. The main cupola has a Christ Pantocrator with the four Evangelists below; the other three cupolas show angels Michael, Gabriel and Uriel. In the apse is a Deesis (Christ with Mary and John the Baptist), with an inscription next to Christ reading “I am the light of the world, who follows me will not be left in the dark”. Around the altar are saints; Blaise, Gregory of Nazianzus, Basil, Chrysostom and Hypatius. The church dates back to the end of the 12^th and the beginning of the 13^th centuries.

Buckle Church is located on the other side of the road outside the museum and it is the largest cave church in Goreme. It can be entered with the same ticket as the main complex and should not be missed. The frescoes are also the finest in Goreme with the richest colors and the most detail. It dates from 10^th and 11^th centuries and was restored in the 1960’s.

The Buckle Church is comprised of four chambers, which are known as the Old Church, New Church, Paracclesion and Lower Church. The Old Church from 10^th century has a single nave with a barrel vault. The frescoes give a comprehensive account of the life of Christ, from the Annunciation through the Baptism and Miracles and ending with the Passion, Resurrection and Ascension. The Transfiguration is painted over the entrance and the vault has portraits of saints. The Old Church now acts as a narthex for the New Church which was added to the former’s east side around 990 and 1010 AD. Its barrel-vaulted nave tells the story of Christ in deep red and blue hues. The transverse nave has frescoes of saints scenes from the life of St. Basil, and the miracles of Christ.

Most rooms in the castle are connected to each other with stairs, tunnels and passages. At the entrances of many rooms, there are millstone doors, just like the ones in the underground settlements, used to control access to these places. Due to erosion it is unfortunately not possible to reach all the rooms. Most of the rooms located on the north side of the castle are still in use as pigeon houses (dovecotes) today. Farmers used these pigeon houses to collect the droppings of pigeons which is an excellent natural fertilizer for the orchards and vineyards. A secret tunnel from the castle to the river bed 100 m below hewn out in order to provide the water supply in the event of siege has been recently discovered.

The fairy chimneys to the west, east and north of Uchisar were hollowed out and used as graves during the Roman period. Inside these rock-cut tombs, the entrances of which generally face west, are stone slabs on which the bodies were laid.

The most famous historical feature of Avanos, which is still relevant and very visible today, is its production of earthenware pottery; it is also the most economic activity in the town. The ceramic trade in this district and its countless pottery factories date right back to the Hittites, and the ceramic clay from the red silt of the Kizilirmak has always been used. It is a popular destination because of its attractive old town with cobbled streets, and views over the river.

The most famous historical feature of Avanos, which is still relevant and very visible today, is its production of earthenware pottery; it is also the most economic activity in the town. The ceramic trade in this district and its countless pottery factories date right back to the Hittites, and the ceramic clay from the red silt of the Kizilirmak has always been used. It is a popular destination because of its attractive old town with cobbled streets, and views over the river.

It’s amazing to think that located in the heart of the otherworldly landscape of Cappadocia is an area that local residents consider to be even more out of this world. Pasabagi is known in English as the Valley of the Monks. Pasabagi means “Pasha’s Vineyard”, a name it received after the Byzantine Greek population left the region which is located in the middle of a vineyard. As you wander Pasabagi, there will be vineyards in sight.

Pasabagi contains some of the most striking fairy chimneys in Cappadocia with twin and even triple rock caps – formations that are unique even for Cappadocia! Locals refer to them as the mushroom-shaped fairy chimneys.

Like the cave hotels in modern day Cappadocia, the fairy chimneys of Pasabagi harbor a number of cave dwellings as well as chapels once used by Christian hermits, the most prominent of which is a tri-level chapel dedicated to St. Simeon (Simon) and a hermit’s shelter, built into one of the fairy chimneys with three conical heads.

Pasabagi is located just a few kilometers outside of the village of Goreme and just a handful of kilometers further from the town of Urgup.

That’s not to say the chimneys aren’t magical. The history that took place around these formations and the ingenious ways humans have used them for centuries are stories worthy of any fairy tale.
The chimneys are located in a region once known as Cappadocia, which ran through the historic Silk Road trading route. Century after century, the area was raided and invaded by a who’s who of European empire builders. The Hittites, the Persians, Alexander the Great, the Romans, the Byzantines, and the Ottomans all laid claim to the land at one time or another.

During the Roman period, persecuted Christians fled in droves to Goreme, a town in Cappadocia. There, they learned that the soft tuff could easily be excavated and built homes and churches in the chimneys. They expanded ancient caves into underground cities like Kaymakli and Derinkuyu massive refuges that could shelter thousands. Now designated a World Heritage Site, the rock sites of Cappadocia and Goreme National Park are described by UNESCO as “one of the world’s most striking and largest cave-dwelling complexes.”
For centuries, locals would flee into these tunnels under threat of invasion, shielding themselves from outsiders with heavy stone doors and intricately designed traps. Today, these hand-dug artifacts create a remarkable bond with Cappadocia’s natural wonders. (Tourists can even sleep in certain caves and chimneys, which have been remodeled into uncommon hotels.) The fairy chimney is a product of its many environments, a miracle millions of years in the making. Within a relative blink in time, humans transformed that miracle into a home, burrowing into the magic and making it their own.