The valley is the result of the collapse of rocks following several eruptions of Mount Erciyes. Inhabited by monks from the 4th to the 14th centuries, the entire canyon is filled with rock-cut underground dwellings and churches from the Byzantine period.
I enjoy gazing at the beautiful views of the canyon from various vantage points.
The picturesque Melendiz Stream flows through the valley.
We spent a few hours hiking through this gorge and visited a couple of churches and this was one of them. Most of the churches were dug into the walls of the canyon.
The paintings inside are primitive, but resembles those in modern churches.
Every trail offers a unique hiking experience. There's so much to explore and trek around the valley.
Pigeon holes and cave temples can be seen on either side of the valley.
The journey for this hike is quite easy but there are a few short paths where we have to scramble over the rocks as we followed the stream. I strongly recommend good walking shoes which have good traction to prevent you from slipping on the rocks.
After a few hours of hiking and exploring we made our way out of the canyon and then headed back towards town. I'd like to go back again some day and do the challenging full-day hike, as we missed some of the more spectacular spots in the north side of the valley past Belisirma. It really is a beautiful spot to visit. It’s refreshing and a nice change to the more touristy spots we have been visiting.
Interesting post and great pictures.Greetings Andrzej.
ReplyDeleteIncredible!!!!! This is my favorite post you have done.... George and I would LOVE that place... It is awesome... Thanks so much for sharing.
ReplyDeleteHugs,
Betsy
What a fantastic place! And your photos are superb! Definitely a place I would love to visit. Hope your week is off to a great start! Enjoy!
ReplyDeleteSylvia
Beautiful! It must be tiring to hike through this terrain.... but it's worth it.
ReplyDeleteThis looks like a beautiful and interesting place for a hike. It's not often that such natural beauty is combined with so much history. Thanks for taking us along with you.
ReplyDeleteVery good photos! I was this September in Cappadocia and I blogged about it. I even took a trip by baloon. We were a larger international group and only made the usual tours, I think. But it was an amazing experience. Thank you for reminding me.
ReplyDeleteOh my these are incredible. What a fantastic trip to take. I am so happy for you!!
ReplyDeleteJackie
A canyon filled with underground churches and dwellings is intriguing, indeed! Looks like a very peaceful and awe-inspiring hiking (and hiding) area. :)
ReplyDeleteWow, what a neat looking place. It does look like a great place for hiking. Wonderful photos, thanks for sharing yoru trip to Turkey.
ReplyDeletea fascinating post. i love waiting for your travel posts. it feels like i've been there myself.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful shots of the place. Never knew about this before.
ReplyDeleteWhat an awesome site and what an amazing experience for you to hike there. :)
ReplyDeleteGreat photos. That looks like an amazing place, another added to my list of places that I'd love to visit.
ReplyDeletei never heard of this place either. on the outside, it looked roughly like a place in china that i visited before.
ReplyDeleteA most imposing place indeed! The monks must have worked very hard to hew out the churches and dwellings from solid rock. Hope you get to go back some day.
ReplyDeleteUtterly astounding. Thank you for sharing this.
ReplyDeleteThat's a fantastic view of the canyon with the Melendiz stream running through it. It would have taken many years of back breaking work to dig out those churches. I've always liked primitive cave paitings they tell the story of what the lifestyle was like back then, good stuff.
ReplyDeleteOh what a wonderful place to explore!! Love the temples and such - were you able to go up to them?
ReplyDeleteHi LR! Smaller version of Grand Canyon? Wow that's really cool!
ReplyDeleteI bet u had a great time here cause u do enjoy the scenic side of vacation right?
ReplyDeleteHappy holiday tomo! I will be heading to my parents' place for some Raya food, how abt you?
ReplyDeleteVery nice place to make your vacation. Good series!
ReplyDeleteInteresante blog te sigo, gracias por la visitar mi blog. Saludos
ReplyDeleteLovely post, thanks.
ReplyDeleteIn my list of must-see places, I have Cappadocia too, and while there intend to add a hot air balloon ride and viewing of 'fairy chimneys'.
wow nice place LR! but i'm not a big fan of hiking :P
ReplyDeleteOhhh..this is fantastic!!))))
ReplyDeleteWhat a travel!!)))
Nice photoes!!