Ihlara Valley. A place lost in the mountains, where people still live and graze livestock on the museum grounds.
Remains of rock-cut churches. Ihlara Valley.
No one knows who first took a liking to as dwellings the natural cone-shaped formations that locals call "peribadzharaly." But it is known for certain that the early Christians hid here from the persecutions of the Roman Empire.
Every valley in Cappadocia is unique. In one you will find cone-shaped peribadzharaly, in another phallus-shaped ones. This natural tunnel was created by spring streams.
Viewpoint in the valley leading to Cavusin.
Hacli Church, or the Church of the Cross.
Stunning sunsets at the Uchisar viewpoint.
Morning. The hot-air balloon is being prepared for ascent. We were lucky. There were only 12 people in our basket.
The hot-air balloon is flown by two pilots.
An expensive pleasure, but certainly worth it.
You can control a hot-air balloon only by raising or lowering it through heating the air, or by rotating the balloon around its axis. So balloon flights are not only an expensive pleasure, but also a dangerous one, especially for those who like to be in control.
A must-do dive into the local cuisine.
Deverent Valley, or Imaginary Valley.
The local attraction in Imaginary Valley is a natural hill in the shape of a two-humped camel.
And... Love Valley. Men pine with envy, and women with admiration.
The town of Goreme from a bird's-eye view. Interestingly, most hotels in town, the so-called cave-hotel, are carved into the rocks.
To my personal sorrow, most of the thousand-year-old frescoes have been damaged by the local population.
Open expanses on the way to Ihlara Valley. My personal recommendation is to rent a car for a day and head to the valley on your own.
A village on the descent into Ihlara Valley. The photo does not clearly show that it was taken at the edge of a canyon, with a mountain stream running below.
The valley's most famous fresco is "The Three Sinners." This is how Christian artists vividly illustrated exactly where venomous snakes would bite women for not breastfeeding their children, gossiping, and committing adultery. The last sin, as the most serious one, threatens them with bites from head to toe.
Gumusler Monastery. Soganli.
View from the highest point, Uchisar Fortress.
View of the town from Uchisar Fortress.
Pigeon Valley. Morning. Pink mountains.
Do we really need to repeat the part about envy and delight again?
Goreme Open-Air Museum.
Nunnery on the grounds of the Goreme Open-Air Museum.
Goreme Open-Air Museum.
Pigeon Valley. The beginning.
Sunsets in Uchisar.
Boutique cave hotels. At the foot of Uchisar Fortress.
Winter Uchisar.
Little gnomes' houses? Uchisar. The road toward Pigeon Valley.
Uchisar Fortress.
What ill fate brought this poor hot-air balloon here. Companies usually choose completely different routes.
Uchisar Fortress at sunset.
