In many countries of the world there are unique objects of art, culture or architecture. Everyone knows the Pyramids of Giza, the Greek Meteora, the Angkor Wat complex, the Taj Mahal and other wonders created by the imagination and skill of man.

Thanks to modern technologies that allow you to overcome any distance, today you can see with your own eyes the most interesting objects of cultural heritage. This article will discuss the main attraction of Turkey — Cappadocia.

Cappadocia is the main tourist center of Turkey due to its unique sights.

The traveler will see both man-made objects, for example, volcanic landscapes and canyons, and those created by human labor — caves and underground cities.

  • For tourists who prefer to carefully and slowly explore the places they visit, Cappadocia will offer excellent tourist services. There are both family hotels and special cave hotels to choose from.
  • The center of attraction for travelers from all over the world are the underground cities of Cappadocia. The unique complex combines underground cities and cave monasteries carved into the rock.
  • Due to the peculiarities of the landscape of the Goreme valley and the presence of a specific building material, tuff, formed by solidified lava and compressed volcanic ash, it was easy for people who first settled in this isolated part of Asia Minor to destroy their homes. and cellars in piles of stones.

The appearance of the first monasteries dates back to the distant 4th century, when Christian monks began to flow from the Roman Empire, attracted by the abandonment of the caves. Hermits considered them an ideal place to serve God and create a parody.

The material of the rocks was easy to process; living and utility rooms were arranged in it without much difficulty, connected with each other by branched passages.

The monks worked hard, and modest cells and a church decorated with polychrome frescoes were built in the caves for the brothers. Their vivid paintings have survived to this day due to the dry and cool climate. The shapes and sizes of buildings differed from each other and were limited only by the imagination of the builders.

Underground cities are much older than monasteries. According to studies, the beginning of their construction dates back to the second millennium BC. Cities and monasteries served as an excellent defense against attack, and the safety of the inhabitants always came first.

  • The entrances to the buildings were carefully camouflaged, the passages between the buildings were camouflaged with stone blocks. Chimneys and ventilation were arranged so that the uninitiated could not detect them.
  • Some cities could give shelter to several thousand people at once. For example, the city of Derinkuyu, thanks to eight underground levels, reaches a depth of 85 meters.
  • A network of branching passages sometimes connected the cave cities, which allowed their inhabitants to fight together with enemies.

After the fall of the Byzantine Empire, the gradual decline of Christian monasteries began. There are currently no active churches in Cappadocia.

  • But the list of pre-existing ones is very impressive, many of them are available for tourists to visit. Archaeologists are still actively excavating and while 6 underground cities have been discovered, it is possible that there will be more in the future.

Lunar and incredible landscapes and amazing historical monuments of Cappadocia itself will make your visit to Turkey unforgettable and give pleasant memories for a long time.