Cappadocia is a historical region in Central Anatolia in Turkey best known for its unique moon-like landscape, underground cities, cave churches and houses carved in the rocks.
Cappadocia is known for its distinctive “fairy chimneys,” tall, cone-shaped rock formations clustered in Monks Valley, Göreme and elsewhere. Other notable sites include Bronze Age homes carved into valley walls by troglodytes (cave dwellers) and later used as refuges by early Christians. The 100m-deep Ihlara Canyon houses numerous rock-face churches. The best way to see Cappadocia by far is to catch an early-morning hot-air balloon flight!
The village of Göreme serves as the region’s main tourist center and is also one of the few Cappadocian settlements still inhabited today. Some parts of Cappadocia are still inhabited today, and it’s a great place to purchase carpets (something Turkey is famous for) and for mountain biking and hiking.
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