Fairy Chimneys
Hot air ballons over Appadocia
A head of a statue in Mount Nemrut
Mount Nemrut statues
Ancient cave cities
Inside one of the caves
Click images to enlarge
Cappadocia - Turkey
Ancient volcanic eruptions between 9 to 3 million years ago, the erosion and winds formed the numerous Hoodoos “chimney rocks” found here which have become a wonder of nature, as the rock below the top layer of basalt is extremely soft, it can be easily carved, communities took advantage of this to make their home in the rock pillars and under the ground. The underground cities were built to escape from the attacks of wild animals and hard winter conditions, over time they grew larger to accommodate their daily needs, years later the first Christians used them to escape from the persecution of the Roman soldiers, they caved in even more making them underground cities, capable of sheltering 50,000 people, they had wine cellars, churches, produce storage rooms, kitchens, meeting rooms, toilets, ventilation chimneys, water wells, schools, animal housing rooms, every amenity needed to survive hidden for long periods of time, they were connected by tunnels and labyrinths so they could easily escape and had moving stone doors so they could quickly block the passage from intruders. There are many underground sites in the region, 200-300 known with several open to the public, the largest which has 8 levels and as many as 12 levels yet to be excavated.
Below some of the many cave hotels in the area.
Below more pictures of Cappadocia
Non-linked images are from Google search and couldn’t find their author, the rest are linked to their owners, if you are the owner and want it removed please contact me and I will take it down immediately.
