Cappadocia

Picture a landscape of fairytale turrets crafted from rock, with winding chimneys and hidden cave dwellings. Add in some bobbing hot air balloons and striking blue skies and you’ve got the otherworldly landscape of Cappadocia, a region in Turkey’s Central Anatolia.

These bizarre rock formations emanate a magnetic, magical vibe, but are very much the work of humans, who carved into the Goreme Valley a complex underground network of cave dwellings, places of worship, store houses and entire towns of honeycombed magnificence from around 1800 to 1200 BC. The valley was also home to Byzantine monastic communities, whose frescoes are still visible in cave chapels today. A hot air balloon ride above this fantastical region is a rite of passage for world travellers, while tours of Derinkuyu underground city, the Selime Monastery, and Goreme National Park will reveal the true wizardry and craftsmanship of Cappadocia’s first settlers.

Hot air balloons over Cappadocia