Cappadocia (Kapadokya)
Central Anatolia, Turkey 61 tours visit here
Cappadocia is a UNESCO World Heritage region in Central Anatolia, centred on Nevşehir province and extending into neighbouring Aksaray, Niğde and Kayseri. Ash from long-extinct volcanoes laid down thick beds of soft tuff, which wind and water then eroded into the ridges, canyons and tapering fairy chimneys that define the landscape. The stone cuts easily by hand, so people hollowed homes, churches, stables and entire underground cities into it. Early Christian communities left the most remarkable interiors: rock-cut chapels and monasteries painted with Byzantine frescoes, concentrated at the Göreme Open-Air Museum, and refuge cities such as Derinkuyu and Kaymaklı that descend several levels underground. Above ground the valleys around Göreme, Uçhisar, Ortahisar and Ürgüp are laced with walking paths, while Avanos on the Kızılırmak river is still a pottery town. Two or three days is the usual stay, generally from a cave hotel in Göreme or Ürgüp, with the sights split into a northern and a southern circuit. Hot-air balloons lift off at first light and depend entirely on wind and weather, so flights are called off at short notice when conditions turn. Spring and autumn are the mildest seasons; summer days are hot and dry, and winter can bring snow over the rock.
