FAIRY CHIMNEYS, CAVE HOUSES, AND UNDERGROUND CITIES?!?

Summers here! And you're looking for adventure?!?! But not just any adventure, something more off the beatten path?
Here's our suggestion: The Cappadocia region of Turkey!

Turkey's Cappadocia region is located in Central Anatolia and feels as if you walked right into a movie set (the original version of "The Planet of the Apes" was actually partially filmed here). At first, I was not convinced that the rock formations were even made by nature. This region is famous for its surreal landscapes of fairy chimneys and painted churches cut into the rock valleys. Cappadocia's unique rock formations is a result of thousands of years worth of erosion from the elements, including volcanic eruptions from the once active Erciyes Mountain. The small rock pieces that are hard and graveled remained on top of the larger rocks and formed the fairy chimneys you can see today. The best time to go is from April to September because if you plan to go hot air ballooning they only operate during those months.

You can fly to Cappadocia, or opt to take one of the many overnight buses leaving from Istanbul (like what we did). Sure the buses are less comfortable and takes much longer but it's a way cheaper alternative to flying.

We only regret 2 things about our trip: not staying here for at least 2-3 days, and not being able to spend a night in a cave hotel. So, if you only have a day like we did, I suggest you book a day tour (we booked with Musjara Travel Agency right when we arrived at the bus terminal in Goreme, it was so worth it). Musjara daily tours included a buffet lunch, transportation, a guide, and entrance fees. Here are a some of the places we were able to see:

Avanos is best known as a (terracotta) pottery center, you can watch the artists in action or take your own pottery class.

Çavuşin Village is home to the oldest church in the region, the Church of John the Baptist, which dates from the 5th century. Çavuşin mostly deserted due to rock falls.

Saint Simon moved to Pasabaglari in the 5th century to escape the people of Jerusalem who wouldn't leave him alone after a rumor spread that he could create miracles. He moved into a fairy chimney with three heads and which is now known as the Hermitage and Chapel of St. Simon. Fairy chimneys with multiple stems and caps are unique to this area. The town attracted many monks who were looking for a solitary place to live. Many of the locals thought the chimneys looked like giant monks running up the hill, and the area soon became known as Monk's Valley.

Göreme Town is one of the main tourist stops in Cappadocia. The town center's skyline consists of fairy chimney pinnacles and cave houses carved in the valley walls (which are still inhabited by modern troglodytes or "cave-dwellers"). Close by is The Göreme Open Air Museum, only about a 10-15 minute walk from the town. The museum is an Unesco World Heritage Site, and is the most famous site in Cappadocia. Medieval Orthodox Christian monks carved the caves in the soft tufa and painted Byzantine frescoes of different saints and of scenes of Jesus' life. Göreme open air museum has the the richest concentration of thousand-year-old painted cave churches, chapels, and monasteries. Unfortunately, many of the paintings in the churches have been damaged, and there is no flash photography allowed in the churches in order to preserve the remaining artwork. The best-preserved frescoes are in the Karanlık Kilise (Dark Church), which has an additional fee.

Tip: If you can time it right, go on a cave house tour! These tours are only offered a few days each year, and the number of places is very limited. If you are in Capppadocia on one of those days, take advantage of this rare opportunity to a peek into traditional cave houses, with all the modern comforts. Tours are usually in Göreme during the spring and fall but can vary. Proceeds go to the Old Göreme Restoration Fund.

Uchisar Rock Castle is the highest point of Cappadocia and offers a great panoramic view of the neighboring valleys. The castle's many rooms, steps, tunnels, galleries, and tombs are all connected; access is controlled by sliding stones. Dovecotes surround the castle; the doves were used as a means of communication with other settlements in the region.

Pigeon Valley got its name from the thousands of pigeon houses that have been carved in any available space; it has one of the largest collections of pigeon lofts in the world.

Ürgüp is one of the main tourism centers in Cappadocia (the other being Goreme). It's best known for its upscale cave hotels/houses, wineries and cave night clubs and bars.

Devrent Valley also known as Imagination Valley, has a variety of unique rock formations which form a "lunar landscape". If you look hard enough you can see that many of the formations resemble animals. I was able to see a camel, dolphin, and seal, and I'm sure there were many more if I had more time. It's a place where you can let your imagination run wild, there was even a rock pile that looked like the Virgin Mary, holding Jesus.

Kızılçukur is also known as Rose Valley because of the color of the rocks. The valley's colors change with the sunlight and is best viewed at sunset.

Çatalkaya is best known for The 3 Beauties (two big and one small chimney), which are the most famous of the "fairy chimneys" in Cappadocia.

Derinkuyu Underground City is the deepest and the one of the biggest underground cities in Cappadocia. Nobody knows exactly how many underground sites/settlements there are in Cappadocia, but it's been estimated to be around 300. Early Christians hid in these underground cities to escape persecution from the Romans. Because they had to live underground for long periods of time, they created sophisticated ways of adapting, including ventilation chimneys and traps/defenses if the soldiers were to get past the hidden gates. The extensive network of passages, tunnels, steps and pits were strategically linked to family rooms and communal spaces. The dwellers developed these complexes into functioning settlements by making provisions rooms, wine cellars, churches, stables, abbeys, water wells, toilets, and even a morge. The underground city at Derinkuyu has eight floors, with a depth of 85m. It's also the only complex that has a spacious room with a barrel vaulted ceiling (located on the second floor), that was used as a religious school.