Cappadocia

The Cappadocia region is the place where nature and history are best integrated in the world. While the geographical events formed the Fairy Chimneys, in the historical process, people carved houses and churches into these fairy chimneys, decorated them with frescoes and brought the traces of thousands of years old civilizations to the present day that’s why it is known as cradle of civilizations.

Due to its location Cappadocia has been a critical and strategic region throughout the years. Important trade routes, including the illustrious Silk Road, traversed it both east and west and north and south. As a result of this heavy traffic, the region has been a complex web of historical and cultural influences, a region where different faiths and philosophies have met and influenced one another. Cappadocia’s trade and resources were tempting and so the region was frequently invaded, raided and looted.

To protect themselves from such incursions, the locals took to living in the region’s caves and grottos whose entrances could be concealed so as not to be noticed by trouble-making outsiders. Since it might be necessary to lie low for extended periods of time, these troglodytic dwellings eventually became subterranean cities that included sources of water, places to store food and had wineries and even temples. Some of these subterranean cities date back to pre-Christian era.