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Cappadocia

 

This region of Anatolia, the Asian part of Turkey, is one of the places in the world that you must have visited. It is an astonishing place both for its geographical configuration and for the richness of its history.

Cappadocia certainly owes a lot to its geological history, which dates back millions of years. Several volcanoes that were very active in this region spewed ash and mud for millions of years before calming down two million years ago.

The layers of lava, ash and mud have had time to accumulate and the various volcanic periods have left various kinds of rock on this territory. These 6 million years of accumulation have been followed by 2 million erosion and disintegration of the most friable rocks, leaving this magical, sometimes lunar landscape from which rocky peaks emerge here and there that seem covered with a stone lid. These rock formations have been given the pretty poetic name of "fairy chimneys".

This slow erosion is not over today, and it is not uncommon to see collapsing cliffs and other rock formations in the area. Today, there are still many of these friable rocks that served as shelter for centuries for local people. Which makes it one of the most interesting troglodyte sites on the planet.

 

History of Cappadocia

 

But geology alone is not enough to explain the unspeakable charm of this region. Because if the "fairy chimneys", natural phenomena, attract the eye of tourism, Cappadocia still has many other things to show, things due to the hand of man. Like these underground cities, about forty of which have been identified on the territory.

 

antiquity

 

The history of Cappadocia is very old. Already in the 2nd millennium BC, this region was extremely prosperous thanks in part to the fertility of its soil. This is another gift from nature. But the volcanoes have not left only fertile land. The basement of Cappadocia is also full of minerals such as gold, silver and copper.

Cappadocia grew rich thanks to the flourishing trade of its natural resources with the Assyrians. At that time, Cappadocia was part of the Hittite Empire. But already at that time, the natural riches excited the appetites of less well-off neighbors and Cappadocia was invaded and enslaved by various other regional powers for several centuries.

Shortly before the beginning of our era, Rome included Cappadocia in its empire, the most powerful of all at that time.

The Roman period of Cappadocia was to last until the end of the Roman Empire. It was also this period that saw the rise of Christianity in the region, explaining the monasteries and churches that proliferated in the region.

 

the Middle Age

 

The beginning of the Middle Ages is characterized by the rise to power of Islam and in particular that of the Arab caliphate of the Umayyads. Raids by Muslims were quite frequent in this region, which remained mainly Christian, and it was around this time that the inhabitants began to dig real underground cities in the friable rock. About forty of them have been identified today.

Remaining in the bosom of the Romans throughout this period, Cappadocia faced, like other Christian regions, the iconoclasts, sorts of religious fundamentalists attacking images and statues to prevent the faithful from falling into idolatry. This period also had only one time since it was declared heretical in 843, favoring again the rise of marvelous works of religious art in troglodyte churches and monasteries, some of which are still visible today.

A new era of prosperity opened for Cappadocia.

In the 11th century, Cappadocia was conquered by the Seljuk Turks. This conquest would give birth to new cities and many mosques were erected. Turkey being on the Silk Road, we also saw caravanserai emerging from the ground every 30 kilometers in the region.

 

After the Middle Ages

 

A period of intense drought in the 16th century dried up most of the underground springs and forced the population, a large part of which had remained Christian, to leave the region. This marked the end of Christianity in the region, especially since a good number of Christians converted to Islam to escape a special tax and to prevent their sons from being forcibly conscripted into the army to form the elite corps of Janissaries (army of Christian slaves).

It was at the end of the 18th century that the last troglodyte monasteries were abandoned. It was also at this time that Cappadocia was seen to be home to many Dervish communities

fairy chimneys 

 

Cappadocia Fairy Chimneys are unique rock formations located in the Cappadocia region of Turkey. These hoodoos are stone columns sculpted by erosion, which rise up from the landscape like towers, chimneys and cones. 

These geological formations were created millions of years ago by volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, and wind and river erosion. Hoodoos are mostly made of tuff, a porous volcanic rock, which is easily eroded by water and wind. 

The fairy chimneys of Cappadocia have become famous all over the world due to their strange shape and natural beauty. Some of the tallest fairy chimneys reach a height of 40 meters, and many of them are hollowed out from the inside to serve as houses, chapels, monasteries, hotels and restaurants. 

The Cappadocia region is also famous for its underground cities, cave churches and frescoes, which testify to the region's rich and complex history. The underground cities of Cappadocia were built by the local inhabitants thousands of years ago to protect themselves from foreign invasions and bad weather. 

Nowadays, the Cappadocia region is a popular tourist destination in Turkey, offering breathtaking views, fascinating history and unique culture. Visitors can explore fairy chimneys, underground cities, cave churches, as well as traditional villages, markets and craft workshops.

 

about the place, Cappadoce:

Cappadocia owes its very particular landscapes to ancient volcanoes which were very active for nearly 8 million years depositing ashes and mud which were superimposed on this territory. Depending on the era, these basaltic lavas were more or less hard and the layers of sediment more or less dense. This volcanic activity subsided about 2 million years ago and a period of glaciation succeeded it, cracking the basalt crust and disintegrating the soil, facilitating the erosion of the softer layers. These crumbly rocks turned into a dusty plain as the harder rocks resisted, forming this strange landscape of fairy chimneys and canyons.

 

Spoken comments in the film: 

Cappadocia, in Anatolia, the Asian part of Turkey, is a region with amazing landscapes, mixing fairy chimneys, cave dwellings and churches and limestone cliffs. A landscape inherited from very old volcanic eruptions and the millennial erosion that followed.