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Cappadocia
is a picture drawn on the earth by nature. It is a poem.
Undoubtedly, Cappadocia offers one of the world's most
interesting sites. The triangle between Nevşehir, Nigde
Aksaray is called Cappadocia and is located in the
south of Ankara (the Capital). The word of
"Cappadocia" inherited from Persians, meaning Land
of Beautiful Horses. The violent eruptions of the volcanoes
Erciyeş and Hasan long ago covered the plateau with tuff, a
soft stone comprised of lava, ash and mud. The wind and rain
have eroded this brittle rock and created a spectacular
surrealistic landscape of rock cones, capped pinnacles and
fretted ravines. In colors that ranged from warm reds and
gold to cool greens and grays.
During
the early times of the spread of Christianity, the people
who needed to hide themselves from the Arab raids carved out
these tough rocks thus constructing churches and built
underground cities to defend themselves against the raids.
The
settlements in Cappadocia had come into existence, mostly in
the valleys of Goreme, Ihlara and Soganli. The people who
had settled here, worshipped in the churches that they
carved out of the rocks, and they dealt with agriculture to
meet their own needs. The water sources in the valleys made
this region productive. The most intensive settlement was in
the vicinity of the township of Goreme. It is possible to
see many churches together today in the locality made into
an open-air museum.
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