8 Places Certainly To Visit In Cappadocia

Cappadocia is a heavenly place which looks straight out of a fairytale with a lot to see and to do. Cappadocia’s beautiful and magical landscapes, traditional cuisine and various activities make Cappadocia, one of the favorites among all the visit places all around the World for travelers. We have listed the most beautiful and mesmerizing locations in Cappadocia for you, which certainly should be visited while on a Cappadocia visitation.

⇒ ⇒Göreme Open Air Museum

Göreme Open Air Museum is a settlement 2 kilometers away from Göreme. This area has been used as a monastery beginning from the 4th century to the 13th century. Churches, chapels, dining halls and sitting areas are visible almost in every rock formations. The current Göreme Open Air Museum is accepted to be the location where the monastic education system started. Soğanlı, Ihlara, Açıksaray are the locations where the same education system has been seen later on. The churches here have been painted with two painting techniques. The first technique, is direct painting on the rock which requires the rock surface to be polished first. The second technique is called secco also known as tempera. The topics that have been engraved in the churches are Torah, Bible and Jesus’ life. There are 11 churches in Göreme Open Air Museum, the name of these churches are St. Basil, Elmalı, St. Barbara, Yılanlı, Pantokrator, Malta Haçlı, St. Catherine, Karanlık, Çarklı and Tokalı, besides these churches there are also monasteries for girls and boys. UNESCO took Göreme Open Air Museum on World Heritage List as a natural and cultural legacy on 6th of December 1985.

⇒ ⇒Zelve Open Air Museum

Zelve Open Air Museum is a location which includes three valleys and is one of the oldest settlements. Zelve is 5 kilometers away from Avanos and 1 kilometer away from Paşabağları. The name “Zelve” comes from the hard and strong plowing sticks which are put around the necks of oxen. Zelve is believed to be the first location where Christians settled down, due to it is possible to see numerous churches and monasteries. Zelve is the location where the Fairy Chimneys are in the most density. Zelve Valley mostly attracts the visitors with its architecture made into rock formations. The most important churches in Zelve are Balıklı Church, Üzümlü Church and Geyikli Church. Dovecotes are quite remarkable at this location which have been utilized to get fertilizer for agriculture. Zelve was an example with churches in Cappadocia, also it has been a settlement and religious center for Christians between the 9th and 13th centuries. The first religious ceremonies were given in Zelve.

⇒ ⇒The Three Beauties

The Three Beauties are three Fairy Chimneys that are very close to each other at the entrance of Ürgüp. These three Fairy Chimneys remind of a family with two tall ones and a small one. The Three Beauties is the symbol of Cappadocia and is one of the visitor’s favorites. Visiting these three is like visiting a relative family. The Three Beauties are one of Cappadocia’s most photographed place which is in the Unesco World Heritage List.

⇒ ⇒Avanos Town

Avanos is a town 18 kilometers away from Nevşehir. The names of Avanos in the ancient periods were Venessa, Zuwinassa and Ouenasa. In the Ottoman records the name of Avanos were Enes and Evenez. Avanos has many Pottery Workshops, the tradition of making ceramics has been going on since the Hittites. In Avanos it is possible to see relics such from the Old Bronze Period, Late Roman Periods, and 13th Century Seljuk Period. It was affiliated to Kırşehir Province until 1954, its municipality was established in 1884. It became a town with the establishment of Nevşehir Province in 1954.

⇒ ⇒Uçhisar

Uçhisar the highest peak of Cappadocia, looks like a shattered rock with holes when viewed from afar, but up close it offers a truly mesmerizing ambient with its fairytale-like houses of all sizes, tiny streets, narrow passages and pathways that takes you on a journey through time. Uçhisar is 7 kilometers away from Nevşehir. It is one of the best places to watch the Sunset in Cappadocia. Uçhisar joined the “world’s extraordinarily beautiful natural and cultural heritage” by Unesco in 1985. Uçhisar was established on the Silk Road, which was the King’s Road of the Persians and the trade route of the Seljuks. Uçhisar has the magnificant Uçhisar Castle. Uçhisar Castle is the highest peak of Cappadocia also the largest Fairy Chimneys in Cappadocia. Uçhisar Castle lays Cappadocia under your feet for an amazing overview.

⇒ ⇒Kaymaklı Underground City

This Underground city is in Kaymaklı Town and is one of most important among 200 underground cities in Cappadocia. The distance between Kaymaklı and Nevşehir is 20 kilometers, and it has been on Unesco’s World Heritage List since 1984. Kaymaklı Underground City was opened to visitors in 1964, it is also known as Kaymaklı Castle. Local folk in a village called Enegüp(which is its ancient name) has made their houses around tunnels with a number close to one hundred. The locals still use the eligible rooms of this underground city through its tunnels as cellars, storage and stables. Kaymaklı Underground City has 8 layers, only 4 of them have been brought into open. Only these 4 layers can be visited and explored. Kaymaklı Underground City is very different from the other known underground cities in the area, as in plan and establishment. The chambers are made around ventilation shafts and the passages are very narrow, low and sloped. The first layer of this underground city has been used as a stable. The second layer was built with one nave and two apses, it was controlled by sliders and was used as a church with baptism stones, resting places around the chamber and it had tombs for the people who were in service for the church. The most important layer mostly is the third layer in many underground cities. The third layer has been used as supply storage, cellars, a winery and as a dining hall. The fourth layer also has been used as a storage and cellar.

⇒ ⇒Derinkuyu Underground City

Derinkuyu Underground City is in Derinkuyu which is 30 kilometers away from Nevşehir. Derinkuyu Underground City is also designed like Kaymaklı Underground City to inhabit a large population and to provide this population’s needs. Derinkuyu Underground City has a missionary school, confession chamber, baptism pool and an intriguing well unlike Kaymaklı Underground City. The first locals of Derinkuyu goes way back to the Assyrian Colonies. The first Christian Colonies fleed to Cappadocia over Antioch and Kayseri, from the tyranny of the Roman Empire in the 2nd Century. The Christians in the area have made the underground entrances inconspicuously so they can be well hidden from the Romans. Derinkuyu Underground City has every trait that an underground city must have from missionary schools, churches, cellars, storages, wineries and dining halls so the inhabiters can survive without having a need to come to the surface.

⇒ ⇒Sinasos- Mustafapaşa Town

The Mustafapaşa Town was a Greek Town called Sinasos. One of Cappadocia’s untouched natural and historical locations which is 6 kilometers away from Ürgüp and 25 kilometers away from Nevşehir. A historically rich place with a lot to explore. Sinasos was a village which has stone mansions close to 700, where Orthodox Greeks and Muslims lived together peacefully. The village residents mostly were wealthy Greek merchants who traded wine and medical products. With the population exchange in 1924, the Greeks were sent to Greece and the Turkish population were placed in the village. At the present time Sinasos is protected by the Ministry of Tourism and was opened to visitors in 1981. Mustafapaşa offers and visual historical feast with its 93 houses, almost 30 churches and chapels.