DESTINATION CAPPADOCIA |
Cappadocia is located in the eastern of Turkey. Region has a altitude high over 1000 m which is made by volcanic peaks, with Mount Erciyes near Kayseri at a altitude of 3916 m. The boundaries of historical Cappadocia are particularly at the west. the Taurus Mountains form a boundary at the south and separate Cappadocia from the Mediterranean Sea. To the west, Cappadocia is bounded by the historical regions of Lycaonia to the southwest, and Galatia to the northwest. The Black Sea mountains separate Cappadocia from the Black Sea, while to the east Cappadocia is bounded by the upper Euphrates, before that river bends to the southeast to flow into Mesopotamia, and the Armenian Highland. Cappadocia has a markedly continental climate, with hot dry summers and cold snowy winters. Rainfall is sparse and the region is largely semi arid.
Cappadocia is a very popular tourist destination. It has many areas with geological, historic, and cultural features. The region is placed southwest of the city Kayseri, which has airline and railway service to Ankara and Istanbul. The most important towns and destinations in Cappadocia are Urgup, Goreme, Ihlara Valley, Selime, Guzelyurt, Uchisar, Avanos and Zelve. Among the underground cities worth seeing are Derinkuyu, Kaymakli, Gaziemir and Ozkanak. The best historic places and cave houses for tourist stays are in Urgup, Goreme, Guzelyurt and Uchisar. Hot-air ballooning is very popular in Cappadocia and is available in Goreme. Trekking is enjoyed in Ihlara Valley, Monastery Valley (Guzelyurt), Urgup and Goreme. Sedimentary rocks formed in lakes and streams and ignimbrite deposits that erupted from ancient volcanoes approximately 9 to 3 million years ago. The rocks of Cappadocia near Goreme eroded into hundreds of spectacular pillars and minaret-like forms. People of the villages at the heart of the Cappadocia Region carved out houses, churches and monasteries from the soft rocks of volcanic deposits. Göreme became a monastic centre in 300—1200 AD. The first period of settlement in Göreme goes back to the Roman period. The Göreme Open Air Museum is the most visited site of the monastic communities in Cappadocia and is one of the most famous sites in central Turkey. The complex contains more than 30 carved-from-rock churches and chapels, some having superb frescoes inside, dating from the 9th century to the 11th century.
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CAPPADOCCIA LOCATION |
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Cappadocia – a unique and phenomenal location originating through millions of years worth of volcanic eruptions.
Through centuries of wind and rainfall, the various erosion of the geographical landscape of Cappadocia has made this a place of magnificence. There is nowhere else in the world that can offer an experience quite like this location.
In an extraordinary meeting of nature's artistic splendor and humankind's resourcefulness, Cappadocia is one of those rare places that must be experienced at least once in a lifetime. With soaring rock formations, uniquely-rippled landscapes, splendid walking trails, mysterious underground cities and rock-cut churches, Cappadocia is the must-see destination in Turkey.
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Within Cappadocia are an array of underground cities, which were created by Christian civilians who at the time were trying to flee persecution from Romans. The surrounding underground is decorated with extraordinary frescoes and is engulfed by numerous cave dwellings.
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 our Anatolian tour, you can spend 3 days and 2 nights in this incredibly beautiful region filled with rich historical heritage!
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Cappadocia means the land of beautiful horses and has a unique historical and cultural background. The Cappadocia region is generally regarded as the plains and mountain regions of eastern central Anatolia, around the reaches of the River Kizlirmak (Red River), to the Black Sea. Several ancient roads ran through this area, allowing for cross cultural contact. It is this contact that caused the creation of many underground cities to help people forced into religious exile.
The underground cities of Cappadocia have several things in common, including; rooms for food storage, kitchens, stables, wine or oil presses and shafts for ventilation.
HISTORY
Cappadocia’s history dates back to the Bronze age and was the Hittite power centre of Hattusa. There were several exchanges of power, from the Mushki, Assyrians, Phrygians, Lydians and finally the Roman Empire took control of the area. During the Roman and Byzantine rule, Cappadocia became a refuge place for Christians. It is for this reason that Cappadocia contains several underground cities. These cities flourished throughout the 4th and 11th century, when Cappadocia came under attack from Turkmenistan, Arabs, Mongolia, Seljuks and the Ottomans.
Cappadocia slowly lost its importance in Anatolia, until a French Priest rediscovered the churches in 1907. There are many must see locations in Cappadocia including;
cappadocia
Its otherworldly landscapes may be familiar from photograhps, TV and Turkey travel guides , but nothing can truly prepare visitors for their first travel to Cappadocia. Deep in the heart of Anatolia, this amazing area offers surreal scenery, plenty of opportunities for adventure activities and the chance for visitors to step back in time.
What is Fairy Chimney?
Fairy Chimneys were created as a result of wind and water erosion when small harder pieces of rock remained on top of larger and softer rock columns. Located in a spectacular valley between towns of Nevsehir and Urgup there are very different and really interesting. Some of them have been inhabited for many years, with rooms, windows and staircases being laboriously curved inside creating up to 5-storey structures inside. Today some of these are also providing services to tourism as pensions. This out-of-this-world landscape impressed George Lucas so much that his original plan was to shoot some Star Wars’ episodes in this area.
The region’s valleys, canyons, hills and rock formations were created by erosion of lavacovered plains between volcanic mountains over the course of thousands of years. The result is Cappadocia ; a landscape quite unlike any other on planet !
The area’s geological quirks , plus the wealth of caves and hideways, have made it a place of refuge since biblical times,when it was popular with Christians fleeings persecution. Their legacy İncludes the underground cities at Derinkuyu and Kaymaklı as well as the painted cave churches found in the Goreme and Zelve valleys.
When is the best time to go Cappadocia?
Cappadocia has a steppe climate, there is a great temperature difference between day and night. The average temperature is +23 deg.C (73 F) in summer and -2 deg.C (28 F) in winter. It is cooler and drier than in the popular tourist areas of the Mediterranean and the Aegean coasts. April to middle of June and September-October are the best months to visit.
Where to stay in Cappadocia?
There are 3 main areas to stay in Cappadocia; Urgup, Goreme or Avanos town. Wherever you choose to stay, you can be sure that you will really enjoy it. Because Cadocia has all sorts of hotels, from simple modern pensions to deluxe five-stars, but the real character of the region shows in its cave hotels, those in which you can actually sleep in a cave room. Among many, you can find the Top 5 list of our specialist chosen for you.
Cappadocia Cave Resort Hotel ; A calming resort and spa retreat nestled among the Rock carved dwellings of Uchisar.
Yusuf Yigitoglu Konagi : A 19th century residence in Urgup which is a combination of cave rooms and suites.
Sacred House Hotel ; A luxury boutique inn in Urgup, Cappadocia, Turkey, filled with Armenian art and artifacts.
Gamirasu Cave Hotel : Combination of an exquisitely restored 30 rooms troglodyte cave house opened in 1999, in Ayvali Village near Urgup.
Buket Cave Hotel : Established in a beautiful area of Uchisar, came into existence after the restoration of old ruins.
Goreme is a small village set amongst ‘fairy chimney’ rock formations in the historical region of Cappadocia in Turkey. 2000 years ago Mount Erciyeserupted, leaving these soft rock formations, covering a 20,000 km² area. In 1985 the Goreme National Park was added to the UESCO World Heritage List. The softer rocks eroded away with the combination of water and wind, leaving only the hard rock on the top. It is these hard capped rocks that have become known as the ‘fairy chimneys.’ The locals soon realised that the softer rocks could easily be carved and began building houses, churches, monasteries and religious sanctuaries. Goreme is a great place to visit and base yourself when exploring the ancient underground cities and rock cut Byzantine Churches of Cappadocia.
Go Travel Turkey offers guided tours of Cappadocia and sightseeing tours including visits to must seen places and museums in Cappadocia listed below.
Underground Cities : You should not miss a visit to Derinkuyu which is the largest of 36 underground cities in the area. Derinkuyu underground city is located under a hill, was found by chance and opened to the public in 1965. It covers a 4 square km area and was calculated as able to shelter 2,000 households on 7 floors beneath the surface, reaching a depth of 70 to 85 meters. Archeologists tend to believe that the Hittites were the starters of the underground communities which in the 6th and 7th were expanded by early Christians into a very extensive complexes with air shafts, kitchens, living quarters, churches, water wells, horse stables and wine cellars. These elaborate subterranean systems were used by the people who had accepted Christianity against their enemies both as a shelter and as a safe place to carry out their worship. Next largest underground city is at Kaymakly, 20 km from Nevsehir. Despite of the fact that only four underground levels have been excavated, there are speculations that there can be as many as 11 in total. There is also a tunnel that connects the underground cities of Kaymakli and Derinkuyu (9 km long!) that has a width of of over 2 meters, but unfortunatley it is not opened to the public as parts of the tunnel have collapsed.
Rock Cut Christian Churches: It is estimated that over 400 Christian churches, chapels and monasteries were built in Cappadocia during the Byzantine period until the 13th century. Most of them were hollowed out in fairy chimneys, hills and in underground caves.
The Tokali church is the largest one in the region, it was built in the beginning of the 10th century. Decorated with a cycle containing the life of Jesus, it is located right in the town of Goreme.
The Karanlik church, also located in Goreme is among best preserved in Cappadocia with lively paintings depicting the consecration of Jesus, the Last Supper, the Crucifixion and the apostles.
The Eskigumus rock cut monastery (close to the town of Nigde) is the only one where you can see a frescoe with smiling Virgin Mary. Recent discovery of the monastery in 1963 allowed it to escape vandalism to which many of the Cappadocian churches and monasteries were subjected. Well-preserved wall paintings decorate the spacious main church are known to be one of the best examples of the Byzantine art in all of Cappadocia.
Plan ahead to spend at least two full days in the area. You can check out our Cappadocia Explorer Tour to see a sample tour itinerary.
VISIT CAVE CHURCHES IN THE GOREME OPEN AIR MUSEUM
There is more to Cappadocia’s other-worldly landscape than meets the eye. Take a closer book and you’ll discover Cappadocia a world of hidden dwellings and subterranean churches, for it was here that early Christians escaping from persecution lived and worshipped. There are estimated to be something in the region of 3,000 churches in the area. Some open to the public, the most impressive oof which are located in the Goreme Open Air Museum , and many boast dazzling wall paintings. Explore, too, the seventh- century underground city of Derinkuyu, an eight-level labyrinth reaching down to depth of 55 meters. Our 3 Days Cappadocia Tour package departs from Istanbul includes visits to these amazing cave churches as well as experience of staying in a cave hotel in Cappadocia.
TAKE A HOT BALLOON RIDE IN CAPPADOCIA OVER THE STUNNING LUNAR LANDSCAPE
Weird and wonderful Cappadocia, with its unique lunar landscape and strange rock formations-including the romantically named ’fairy chimneys’- can only truly be appreciated from above. A fascinating freak of nature, the strangely shaped rocks are the result of eruptions of long- extinct volcanoes that have been eroded by thousands of year’ exposure to the elements. The region can be explored on foot, but to experience the sheer scale and breathtaking beauty of this remarkable area, take a hot- air balloon flight in Cappadocia at sunrise.
Sacred House Restaurant (Cappadocia) ; Dinner menu accompanied by old forgotten and traditional cuisines which are served in an medieval athmosphere supported by antique silverware, chandeliers and chevalier tables felt you like in an Medieval castle. (Address:Dutlucami Mah. Barbaros Hayrettin Sok No:25 Urgup Phone: 0 384 341 7102)
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