If you happen to be in Turkey, never say that you will visit Cappadocia if you have time. Instead, the Cappadocia is a must-see in your list! This is a lifetime experience to witness the incredible human works centuries ago and to cherish the art that has long been practiced by the Cappadocians that bring impact in today’s history. Why not take the chance to be one among thousands of people who have seen the true nature beauty of Turkey?
- Who lived there?
Kappadocians were used to stay in this place of Mount Taurus. Set between Armenian Highland and Euphrates, Kapadokya was full of Christians during Herodotus empire. The Turkish people are very proud to have such a nature wonder that the world acknowledge it as the one of the word’s heritage site.
Before it is Kapadokya, it was formerly known as Hatti. During the Bronze age, it was the homeland of many civilizations. The Hittite reign came to an end as the Lydian defeated. Afterward, the place was ruled by feudalism aristocrat that made them slaves.
The Cappadocians lived peacefully until Alexander The Great passed away. The region was then divided into many areas and had noted several rulers such as Eumenes and the son of Ariarathes. During the Ariarathes empire, the Cappadocians made contact with Rome as an ally.
The Roman had lots of contribution in the city development and had made several kings ruled the region. It was during Tiberius reign that Cappadocia was given to the Rome a few parts.
The neighboring country, Armenia, spread its wing to Cappadocia as many armies were fighting with the Romans during Byzantium era. The domination of large amount of Armenians has made Kapadokya the land of Armenians.
In 1071, the Turkish gradually replaced the Roman influence in Cappadocia. The Ottoman reign contributed in the development of the city as a modern state. The dialect had even transformed into Turkish language although the Roman slank still seen here. Today, the language is only found in the elder people.
- The rock houses
The rocks were sedimented for centuries and with spectacular forms, many villagers carved the places into multipurpose things for their lives.
Cappadocia is familiarly known as rocky mountain. This is a great example of Byzantium art that had lived here for decades. The ancient underground taught modern architecture about settlement below the land. If you take a look at the beautiful Cappadocia with your Turkey tours, you will witness the town called Goreme with chimneys in rock formation lining across the mountain. The valley near the town has a spectacular view!
Let your Turkey guided tour enjoy the unique sceneries as you walk through the place. The Kapadokya was used to have underground floors. It has a rich history behind those floors. Before Christian is admitted as a religion, the Christian people had to hide in the underground city to protect themselves.
The underground has many levels and these were made for traps to deceive enemies, the Romans. The rocks consist of doors made of stone blocks with many holes in ceiling. There was also tunnels that were purposely made for defeating Romans. Roman has the strategy of fighting in groups while they were in war, thus, these small tunnel systems unable the Romans to move in groups. Thus, it was easier to defeat them.
The incredible shapes of Goreme was initially crafted by the hands including the tunnel in the soft rock. It is amazing how an urban settlement can possibly lived underground (there are 8 different floors under the ground!) and made a beautiful landscape.
After the eruption and the wind blows, the rocks were formed even firmly in natural ways. In this civilization you can find:
– houses
– places for worship
– storehouse
– stable
All were dug in the soft stone.
As the site becomes the monastic communities, this open air museum is visited by thousands of tourists each years. With more than 20 rock churches, this is a superb place to witness the people living in the 9th century.
- To get here
Goreme town is easy to find as this is part of the tourist attraction center. Visitors can reach this town through
- Urgup
- Avanos
- Nevsehir
From Kayseri Airport, these three towns are accessible using public transport or if you travel with Istanbul tours, you can use private vehicles that has been prepared by you’re the travel agent. The long distance bus from Ankara and Istanbul also available to reach Cappadocia.
In the gateways, there should be lots of tour agencies that offer to highlight Cappadocia during your daily sightseeing tour. You might also rent scooters or bike to have different experience when visiting this place.
- The modern Turkey
As this place is geologically unique, it is a popular site for tourists. Its historical features have made the area as a modernize city with airlines and railways accessible from there. Visiting this area should include these places:
– Goreme
– Selime
– Urgup
– Zelve
– Uchisar
– Ihlara Valley
The cities such as Urgup and Goreme offer rock houses for tourists to stay and experience the Cappadocians civilization.
You can also take a ride in hot air balloon which is very iconic here. For those who need to jog around, you can visit the valley of Ihlara and Monastery.
Interesting facts:
Because of its unique topography, Cappadocia was seen in commercial for gum, First Ice. The area can be widely seen in the commercial.
Another appearance of the city was in 1983 when the Hunter From the future was taking scene there. In game console, you will see Cappadocia as the extinct place of vampires.
Assassin’s Creed: Revelations movie cited Cappadocia as the place for Templars and also a depiction of wind worshipper in Slipstream. Nicholas Cage’s Ghost Rider was also filming the scene in Cappadocia and said to be amazed by the city.
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