Wouldn’t it be great if I told you to imagine a place with lots of hot air balloons, a wonderful atmosphere with fairy chimneys and horses running around in the valley? There is a region in Türkiye that includes all of these, called Cappadocia. The Cappadocia Region, which is a region that Türkiye attaches importance to, is the geographical area consisting of the provinces of Nevşehir, Aksaray, Kayseri, Niğde and Kırşehir and has natural beauties that attract many tourists for a years. These beauties present a lot of activities and a unique landscape experience for people who visited this region. According to the narrations, in the wars between the Roman Empire and the Persians, those second were victorious and took over the Cappadocia region, taking the very strong and beautiful horses bred in this region as booty. Because of these horses, the region in question was called “Katpa Tuka”, which means “Land of Beautiful Horses”. Cappadocia, with its natural beauties has also attracted the attention of UNESCO. For this reason, the Göreme Open Air Museum and the Rock Churches in Cappadocia were added to the World Heritage List in 1985.

How was Cappadocia formed?

Cappadocia is a unique geographical region formed over millions of years through volcanic activity and natural erosion processes. Around 60 million years ago, tectonic movements began shaping the Anatolian Plateau as the Taurus Mountains rose. During this time, major volcanoes in the region, such as Mount Erciyes, Mount Hasan, and Mount Göllü, became active and erupted, spewing large amounts of lava and volcanic ash known as “tuff”. Over time, these materials accumulated and formed a soft, easily erodible landscape.

However, the magical and surreal appearance of today’s Cappadocia was not shaped by only volcanic activity. For hundreds of thousands of years, natural forces like wind, rain, snow and flooding gradually eroded the soft tuff layers. This erosion carved out valleys, hollows, rocky formations and the famous ‘’fairy chimneys’’. In many cases, harder layers of basalt remained on top of the softer tuff, forming protective caps that helped shape the fairy chimneys.

Because the tuff rock is soft and easy to carve, people have taken advantage of this natural feature for thousands of years. They carved homes, churches, monasteries, and even entire underground cities into the rocks. As a result, Cappadocia is not only known for its stunning natural beauty but also for its rich historical and cultural heritage.

Adventure of the Hot Air Balloons and Mysterious Underground Caves

Cappadocia contains the feeling of unique landscape and the smell of the history of civilizations. Hot air balloons, which work with fire heat, offer the opportunity to watch all the valleys from the range of tree-height levels to several thousand feet. You can usually experience this in the early morning hours or you can take a drink and sit in the viewing areas when the lots of balloons fly together. You can have fun with your friends by riding a balloon and spending a romantic moment with your darling. As an advice, it is one of the best places to arrange marriage proposals in the world. About the underground caves, it occurred because of protection first. Because there were many attacks in the past of Cappadocia’s history from the old civilizations. Nowadays, it has become a great place to visit. If you are there, you can exactly feel and smell the history of the ancient civilizations that lived there and see the writings written on the rocks with their own alphabet at that time.

So what else should we do here?

This region is the leader in pottery making. Especially in Avanos, you can learn pottery making in workshops, design one for yourself and take it to your country. In this way, you will have added a significant development to your collection. Then, you can watch the sunset in the Kızılçukur Valley. I say sunset especially because the color the sun gives to the rocks as it sets will make you happy. And I recommend you not only watch the valleys, but also take an ATV or horse tour in them. Devrent Valley is another place to visit for tourists when they step into Cappadocia. It attracts everyone’s attention with its camel-like shape. The Göreme Open Air Museum area, where monastic life was kept alive from the 4th century AD to the 13th century, contains dining halls, churches and sitting areas remaining from those years and is one of the places that people should visit.

Anyway, regional cuisine is important!

Testi kebab is a traditional dish prepared in a closed pot, containing meat and vegetables. It is cooked over a flame and when it is ready, the pot is broken and served. It is as enjoyable to watch as it is to taste. It is served like a theater play and the first choice of tourists in terms of cuisine. Also, the Cappadocia region, which has made significant progress in winemaking since the early 1980s, is one of the oldest wine production centers in Central Anatolia.

Now you have all the important information and are ready for a unique experience!

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