Cappadocia is a land locked region and comprises of several provinces in a relatively small area of around 300 sq kilometers. The most popular areas are Nevshir, Ürgüp, Avanos and Göreme-the open air museum. The other provinces are Aksaray, Nigde, Kayseri and Kirsehir. The moon-like landscapes of Cappadocia are in fact the result of the erosion of the different layers of the lava spat in the distant past by the Erciyes, Hasandag and Gulludag, the three active volcanoes of the region. The erosion by wind and rain still continues today and makes some parts collapse and others stand out. Small rivers meander in surprisingly beautiful wild canyons lined by the so-called ‘fairy chimneys’. You will be overwhelmed by the astoundingly beautiful array of colours which continuously change according to the time of the day and changing light.

The ancient town of Ürgüp is built at the slope of a rocky hill and you have several cave hotels where you can live in. The hill is made of volcanic tuff and most of the houses were carved out of this soft rock formation. Ürgüp is a fine tourist resort with the town having a beige earth colour which blends well with the rest of the carved rock houses in the region. The entire area is covered with unique land formations and the sudden slopes of colourful gorges, the fairy chimney formations along with natural and man-made human made caves gives the place a unique character.

The volcanic eruptions millions of years ago has made this a rich fertile areas for agriculture and you find grapes, apricots, cherries as well as chick peas and sugar beets grown in this region. The region of Cappadocia is also famous for its wine and at Avanos which is 18 kilometers from Nevshir, there is a tradition of pottery-making which has been in existence for more than 8000 years.

The following morning we did a day long tour starting with the Imagination Valley after which we visited the region of Pasabag which has some of the most amazing forms of chimney in volcanic rock which is synonymous to the region of Cappadocia. Some of these chimneys have twin as well as a triple rock caps and the sight is simply amazing. The other name of this valley is Monks Valley as it is believed that in the 8th century there were many saints who lived here and we visited the house of one such saint - St. Simon.

The house which is in the form of a cave is one of the popular sites to visit in this region as St. Simon was an important Saint during the period of Christianity. Avanos is a lively town with a shopping centre on one side and a beautiful maze of old stone houses on the other, some restored and some simply abandoned by fate. The Kizilirmak or the Red River separates Avanos from the rest of Cappadocia and is supposedly the longest river in Turkey. It is from this river that you find the red pottery clay in the region. In some of the houses at Avanos you can also find the murals and motifs of the Ottoman era.

Pottery has been produced in the Avanos area for several centuries and some of the techniques still used date back to Hittite times. Avanos is a mass of family run potteries, most of which are only too pleased to let visitors have a go on the potters wheel and give them a full history of the many and various pottery goods on offer. Avanos pots make wonderful souvenirs and are available at a wide range of prices, from simple ashtrays and mugs to ornate plates and chess sets. It is quite common to find these souvenirs and also a few handicraft shops in this region.

However, the main attraction of the region is the great concentration of rock-cut chapels and monastries. Many of the churches here feature Byzantine frescoes which depicts various scenes from the life of Christ. Several caves have been restored in this area and some of churches amongst many are the Barbara Church, the Tokali Church and the Yilanli Church. You can also do a camel ride around the region and also climb up to the Kizlar Monastery.

The Apple Church is one of the smaller churches in the area, carved in the sign of a Greek cross with four irregular pillars supporting a central dome. The church was restored in the early 1990s, but the frescoes continue to chip off, revealing a layer of earlier paintings underneath. Paintings depict scenes of the saints, bishops, and martyrs, and to the right of the altar, a Last Supper with the symbolic fish (the letters of the word fish in Greek stand for "Jesus Christ, Son of God, the Saviour"). The name of the church is believed to refer to a reddish orb in the left hand of the Archangel Michael in the dome of the main apse, although there's also speculation that there used to be an apple tree at the entrance to the church and hence it got the name of the Apple Church

The Snake Church is a simple barrel-vaulted church with a low ceiling and long nave. One fresco represents Saints Theodore and George slaying the dragon (looking suspiciously like a snake), with Emperor Constantine the Great and his mother Helena depicted holding the "True Cross." Legend has it that she discovered the cross upon which Jesus was crucified after seeing it in a dream, and that a piece of the cross is still buried in the foundations of the Ayasofya in Istanbul.

After having spent a couple of hours at Göreme, it was time to head back to Ürgüp The following day I took the flight from Kayseri to Izmir for the last leg of my journey to Turkey where I would be visiting the exciting region of the Aegean Sea starting with Kusadasi and then moving on to Ephesus and also to Hierapolis and Pammukale which also is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site.
(to be continued)