Highlights of Cappadocia With Kaymaklı Underground City

The region of Cappadocia is located in the middle of a once-active volcanic area of central Anatolia. Millions of years ago three of its mountains - Erciyes, Hasandağ and Güllüdağ - were active volcanoes; indeed this activity persisted intermittently at least into the Neolithic period according to the prehistoric paintings.

The volcanic eruptions were so strong that in some places the lava was up to 150m in thickness. Over many millions of years, volcanoes, wind, rain and ice sculpted the region which we now know as Cappadocia. As the landscape was eroded, basalt stones remained and formed conical structures with some reaching as high as 45m.

The local people referred to these unique rock formations "fairy chimneys", a name that has endured throughout the ages. If nature was the first artist to arrange the decor, it was Anatolian man who carved the rock and built houses, churches and over 250 underground cities out of it over the centuries.

Unlike other valleys, Devrent Valley has neither cave churches nor Roman palaces or tombs. It was never actually inhabited. What makes this lovely area is different from its lunar surface. Therefore we call moonscape Cappadocia. The Devrent Valley is only a 10-minute drive from Goreme, revealing many different rock formations. By their strange looks, the small fairy chimneys in the valley create a lunar scenery. There are also numerous animal rocks in the valley. It looks like a natural zoo of sculptures. Camel, snake, seal and dolphin are some of the most significant forms of animals if you like. Let your imagination free and you'll find many others. You may even spot a pillar of rock formation that tells you the Virgin Mary holds Jesus Christ.

Goreme, known in Roman times as Cappadocia, is one of those rare regions in the world where the works of man blend unobtrusively into the natural surroundings. Dwellings have been hewn from the rock as far back as 4,000 B.C. During Byzantine times chapels and monasteries were hollowed out of the rock, their ochre toned frescoes reflecting the hues of the surrounding landscape. Even today troglodyte dwellings in rock cones and village houses of volcanic tuff merge harmoniously into the landscape. The town of Goreme itself is set right in the middle of a valley of cones and fairy chimneys. Some of the cafes, restaurants and guest houses are carved into the rock. For shoppers, rugs and kilims are plentiful. Continuing on the road out of Goreme, you enter one of the most beautiful valleys in the area. Rock formations seemingly out of a fantasy rise up before you at every turn and entice you to look longer and wonder at their creation.

The Goreme open-air Museum, a monastic complex of rock churches and chapels covered with frescoes, is one of the best-known sites in central Turkey. Most of the chapels date from the 10th to the 13th century, the Byzantine and Seljuk periods, and many of them are built on an inscribed cross plan with a central cupola supported by four columns. In the narthexes of several churches are rock cut tombs. Among the most famous of the Goreme churches are the Elmali Kilise, the smallest and newest of the group; the Yilanli Kilise with fascinating frescoes of the damned in serpent coils; the Barbara Kilisesi; and the Carikli Kilise. A short way from the main group, the Tokali Kilise, or Buckle Church, has beautiful frescoes depicting scenes from the New Testament.

Kaymakli, one the largest and most important underground cities in Cappadocia, has all the accommodation needed for a community to live underground. The multipurpose rooms and halls are connected to one another by narrow corridors. Turkey's Cappadocia region is famous for its subterranean safe cities carved from soft tuff. These underground cities, which are among the most interesting cultural richness of Cappadocia, take tourists from all over the world on a mysterious journey every year. The underground cities in Cappadocia, interconnected by corridors, were used as hiding places by Christians in the 7th century. These subterranean cities were self-sufficient cities with granaries, stables, rooms, kitchens and ventilation systems. The most famous underground cities uncovered until now around Cappadocia are found in Derinkuyu, Kaymakli, Tatlarin, Ozkonak, Mazi and Ozluce. Derinkuyu Underground City and Kaymakli Underground City were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1985.