Trip to Turkey #4 Cappadocia
Cappadocia
The gigantic sandstone monolith of Uluru in Australia or the petrified forest in the desert of Arizona, United States, are examples of geological weirdness that let your imagination run wild.
Cappadocia is one of these magical places.
The shape of some of the rocks in the area is often compared to fairies. Personally I can not understand this metaphor that is used to describe the capricious shapes of rocks in this area of the Anatolian plain. But in any case, it emphasizes the atypical beauty that rocks have acquired over the centuries.
This is one of the most visited areas of the country, therefore we can find all the comforts that we may be looking for, including live music and a wide range of restaurants.
Göreme
Göreme in one of the best located towns to visit the rock formations of Cappadocia. In fact, its name was modified by the current one when the nearby Göreme valley became the important tourist destination it is today. The valley of Göreme is a protected National Park and a World Heritage Site by Unesco.
At nightfall the muezzin will call to prayer, a moment that can be really exciting regardless of your religiosity.
One of the unforgettable experiences when we visit Cappadocia is to sleep in one of the cave-hotels.
Göreme Open-Air Museum
The churches of the Göreme open-air museum decorated with frescoes is undoubtedly one of the most visited places in the area. To be outdoors does not mean that it is freely accessible, you have to pay an entrance to access the "museum".
Bearing in mind that the religious sites excavated in the rock are innumerable in the Göreme valley, the main attraction of the Göreme open-air museum consists in the conservation of these enclosures, which is not without merit considering that most of the "Churches" date from the eleventh century.
In 2018, the entrance to the Göreme Open Air Museum is 30 Turkish lira plus an additional ₺10 entrance fee if you want to visit the Karanlık Kilise (the best conserved church).
Therefore, the visitor must decide if it is worth visiting the Museum or prefer to freely explore the area.
We did both, visited the museum and visited the area freely. Below I share some photos so that they can help you decide for yourselves if it is worth or not worth the visit to the Göreme Open Air Museum.
Option A: What did we see in the Göreme Open Air Museum:
Inside one of the churches at the Göreme Open Air Museum.
Love is in the air.
Paintings inside a cave at the Göreme Open Air Museum.
Option B: What we saw exploring the area on our own:
If you choose this option, you must take into account that it is easy to get disoriented in the area. You should as well take a look at the schedules of scarce public transport, in case of not having your own vehicle.
Inside one of the churches in the surrounding areas of Göreme Open Air Museum.
This kid offered to guide us in the area.
Paintings inside an abandoned "Church" in the surrounding areas of Göreme Open Air Museum.
photos & videos by @jduarte
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what beautifull images, and great places you visit, i imagenated inside of this rocks specially the big rocks that have a holes.
best regard, by the way, the draw in the rupester are very extrange for me in the wall.
outside the museum, it is not known if the drawing is 500 years old or if a child from the village did it. It's part of the mystery 😊
Muchas gracias por pasarte por mi blog @galberto!
As for the shape of some of the rocks and its comparison with the fairies (a point that also attracted my attention), I was able to summarize the following information: "Cappadocia is the land of beautiful horses and whimsical fairy chimneys formed by the lava of five volcanoes that millions of years ago covered its surface and, after the passage of time, modeled on enormous conical rocks and landscapes that seem to come from a story "... Note how they refer to exactly" fairy chimneys .
"The Turkish legends tell that Cappadocia was inhabited by men and fairies, until one day two of them fell in love, causing the anger of the fairy queen, who turned them all into pigeons and locked them in stone structures, while punished humans to take care of them."...We already see how there is a legend behind the famous name.
"The pigeons still populate the Cappadocia and its stone mountains are filled with small holes like dovecotes where the men, to whom they provide their manure used in agriculture, continue to take care of them in places like the valley of the pigeons, between Goreme and Uchisar ."
(https://www.practicaespanol.com/las-hadas-de-capadocia-en-turquia/)
Honestly, Cappadocia is spectacular ... for me, now, would be one of the sites that I would like to visit ... the simple fact of observing how time and nature have shaped such an impressive landscape, is one of the main reasons to want to visit it ... A trip like this is priceless.
Greetings @jduarte
Muchas gracias por tu comentario como siempre @cjao20.
Al final tendré que poner una reseña en el post diciendo que eres el coautor! 😎
Un saludo!
My dream is to go on hot air balloon ride - it must look so amazing from above.
It's clear that you're a "professional traveller" !
The next time I go I want to do it too!
We def. made a lot of experiences but I'd still not call us a pro, we still make some silly mistakes and get in funny situations ... Do you have plans to go back?
Silly mistakes is usually what is most remembered from the trip!
Of course I'll be back, that's why I'm saving for hot air balloon ride 😉
spectacular images, what beautiful places.
Turkey is a beautiful country!
Thanks for commenting @donrito7597!
Can't wait to visit this place one day too! Your shots made me crave to be there right now :)
Hiya, just swinging by to let you know that this post made the Honorable mentions list in the Travel Digest #222. Please drop by to check out all the rest of today's great posts and consider upvoting the Travel Digest if you like what we're doing.
Hiya, just swinging by to let you know that this post made the Honorable mentions list in the Travel Digest #222. Please drop by to check out all the rest of today's great posts and consider upvoting the Travel Digest if you like what we're doing.