Cappadocia

Melting pot of cultures…abode of civilizations…just a couple of well-deserved definitions pronounced for the region Cappadocia. The volcanic ash that was blown millions of years ago from today’s inactive volcanoes, Mount Erciyes and Mount Hasan, got sculptured by erosions of wind and water to form, what is today called as, Fairy Chimneys. Located in the center of today’s Turkey, Cappadocia has been the destination for the Journey of Man, where Man came and dwelled in caves, creating timeless civilizations from Hittite to Greeks, Romans to Turks. Occupying the cave dwellings of Cappadocia around 6th century BC, it was first the Persians that called this portion of Mother Earth, Katpatuka, meaning the Land of Beautiful Horses. In the centuries to follow, the name Katpatuka was latinized as Cappadocia by the new occupants, the Romans. During early Christian period, Cappadocia developed to be the land of early pilgrims and became a monastic destination where most important monastic centers of early Christian Era were founded by famous Saints including Saint Basil and Saint George. Today, Cappadocia enchants its visitors with its nature-sculptured valleys and pinnacles, rock-hewn churches, underground cave cities, and its folk arts including ceramic ware and weaving arts. In 1985 Cappadocia was pronounced as national park and UNESCO World Heritage Site.