Cappadocia is a world heritage site that is one-of-a-kind. The three mountains located in the region, were active volcanoes in the geologic ages. The lava spurted from these active volcanoes, along with many other large and small volcanoes, creating layers of tuff in varying stiffness. Years later, the flood waters and winds coming down from the valley slopes corroded the structure made of tuffs and the interesting formations called 'fairy chimneys' were created. With Christian priests moving there in the 8th century, the region became a religious center, and many churches as well as underground cities were built. The morning tour started with a visit to a Cappadocian town, Ortahisar, dominated by a 90m high fortress-like rock rising above winding roads. The present-day town is located at the foot of the "fortress," and a complicated network of paths leads to abandoned rock dwellings. In addition to cultivating the land, the inhabitants of Ortahisar earn their living by storing fruits yearlong in the caves cut from the volcanic rock. The next stop was at Çavusin, a lovely quiet village, with some amazing sites to visit. The ‘old’ village, now abandoned, was all carved into the hillside. I’m not really sure how old the settlement is, but it’s definitely been around for a long, long time. All the buildings and churches and homes of the village were within the hill and were probably connected internally via tunnels and such. In the afternoon, I visited the Goreme Open Air Museum, probably the most interesting of the groups of rock-hewn chapels. The frescoes in these chapels depict the lives of Christ and His followers and are described according to the beliefs of the Orthodox church. I visited three of the churches which involved a climb up the rocks to reach the entrances. In the evening I watched a local folk and belly-dance show...
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