Cappadocia (Kapadokya)

Cappadocia is Persian for the "land of beautiful horses". It is an enchanting open-air museum and an unparalleled example of the common cultural heritage of humanity. Centered on the triangle of Nevsehir, Urgup and Avanos, Cappadocia is in the middle of a once active volcanic region.

At the time when Anatolia was completing its geographical evolution, these volcanic eruptions were so strong that the lava in some places was up to 100 meters thick. Over many millions of years, volcanoes, wind, rain and ice sculpted what we now know as Cappadocia. As the land eroded, the basalt stones remained and formed conical structures sometimes reaching as high as 45 meters. The local people called these unique rock formations "Fairy Chimneys", a name that has endured throughout the ages. If nature was the first artist to arrange the decor, it was Anatolian man who over the centuries carved the rocks and built houses, churches and over 120 underground cities. The largest of these, Ozkonak, once had a population of 60 thousand. The canyon formed by the Melendiz stream, which has pierced its way through the rocks, is called the Ihlara Valley. In this 14-km long valley there are 105 churches and 4535 houses. Cappadocia defies description. You have to go there and bathe in its atmosphere, colors and luminance.

These interesting rock formations with caps, known as "fairy chimneys" are mainly found in in Cappadocia, the vicinity of Urgup.

These have a conical shaped body and a boulder on top of them. The cone is constructed from tufa and volcanic ash, while the cap is of hard, more resistant rock such as lahar or ignimbrite. They are formed as the result of the erosion of the tufa layer, sculpted by wind and flood water, running down on the slopes of the valleys. Water has found its way through the valleys creating cracks and ruptures in the hard rock. The softer, easily erodable material underneath has been gradually swept away receding the slopes and in this way, conical formations protected with basalt caps have been created.

Various types of fairy chimneys are found in the valleys of the Uchisar- Ürgüp-Avanos triangle, between Urgup and Sahinefendi, around the town of Cat in Nevsehir, in the Sogani valley in Kayseri, and in the village of Selime in Aksaray.

Among these are those with caps, cones, mushroom like forms, columns and pointed rocks.