Cappadocia and the Fairy Chimneys of Turkey

Turkey's Fairy Chimney rock formations are located in Cappadocia on the Anatolian plateau. Formed by volcanic eruptions, their distinctive shapes were carved over a million years of elemental weathering. The Fairy Chimney's served as shelter for ancient Turkish people, with whole towns contained within the hand-drilled rocks.

Picture


Videos of The Fairy Chimneys



Underground Cities. Cappadocia. Turkey

The underground city of Derinkuyu was the hiding place for the first Christians who were escaping from the persecution of the Roman empire.The number of the underground settlements, generally used for taking refuge and for religious reasons.

The Christian communities in the region took refuge closing millstone doors when they were subjected to the Arab raids, The enemy, unaware of the dangers waiting them inside, usually tried to make the local people leave their shelters by poisoning the wells.

had a number of features in common: rooms for food storage, kitchens, churches, stables, wine or oil presses, and shafts for ventilation. The underground city in Derinkuyu, which covers eight levels and extends to a depth of 85 meters, was large enough to shelter thousands of people together with their livestock and food stores.


The underground cities



Peace and thanks for stopping by sugarcookie1

OMG i have been to cappadocia and it was an amazing experience seeing these rock formation. as for the underground caves the rocks was brittle and could easily be chipped away by my nail. also very claustrophobic at times going through tunnels. there were also many safety features inside the caves. few spooky thing were wax still there from burnt candles long ago at the mini churches.

the area has a few active volcanoes as well. i would also like to correct you that these caves are much older than arab/muslim raids going back to the 3-4th century. turkey is very historical as well as in terms of Christianity. i been to Ephesus where the RCC says Mary had a house and died in. apparently st. john passed through Ephesus and cappadocia as well.

if its allowed i don't mind posting a few pics!

reply to post by ZarbeMomin


Please DO!

I would love to see some!

Probe

Originally posted by ZarbeMomin
OMG i have been to cappadocia and it was an amazing experience seeing these rock formation. as for the underground caves the rocks was brittle and could easily be chipped away by my nail. also very claustrophobic at times going through tunnels. there were also many safety features inside the caves. few spooky thing were wax still there from burnt candles long ago at the mini churches.

the area has a few active volcanoes as well. i would also like to correct you that these caves are much older than arab/muslim raids going back to the 3-4th century. turkey is very historical as well as in terms of Christianity. i been to Ephesus where the RCC says Mary had a house and died in. apparently st. john passed through Ephesus and cappadocia as well.

if its allowed i don't mind posting a few pics!

Originally posted by ZarbeMomin
OMG i have been to cappadocia and it was an amazing experience seeing these rock formation. as for the underground caves the rocks was brittle and could easily be chipped away by my nail. also very claustrophobic at times going through tunnels. there were also many safety features inside the caves. few spooky thing were wax still there from burnt candles long ago at the mini churches.

the area has a few active volcanoes as well. i would also like to correct you that these caves are much older than arab/muslim raids going back to the 3-4th century. turkey is very historical as well as in terms of Christianity. i been to Ephesus where the RCC says Mary had a house and died in. apparently st. john passed through Ephesus and cappadocia as well.

if its allowed i don't mind posting a few pics!

wow id love to go there and thanks for post and the info.. also sure post some pics id love to see them!

reply to post by sugarcookie1


A thoroughly enjoyable tour that leaves me with so many questions about the construction, the need to hide, everyday life, etc. One would think that the ventilation shafts would alert the enemy, especially if smoke were to come from the shaft or delicious aromas.

I don't quite follow about the well poisoning, however. Was there not an aquifer underground for the caves?

Not only did 10,000 people manage to keep a secret, not only did they not betray their cities by smoke, smell or noise but they also, apparently, managed to hide their above-ground homes at the same time, otherwise the armies would surely have noticed something amiss, a bit like the Three Bears did when Goldilocks broke and entered their house.

The primary function of these cities was defense. Cappadocia was a crossroads of every major trade route in the ancient world..all i know about the wells are they installed fake water wells so that invaders would poison these waters and then be on their way so they seemed to have everything covered they were very smart people..

so here are some pictures i uploaded on flikr:


the house of mary:

located near Ephesus, supposed house of Mary the mother of Jesus. supposedly lived her last years here. French priest, the Abbé Julien Gouyet discovered it after vision described by Anne Catherine Emmerich. to this day the germans and french are in charge of maintenance . the site is revered by both muslims and christians. Pope Paul VI and Pope John Paul II both have visisted this site. there is an american-armenian foundation in charge of donations. also this is a place you dont want to fool around in, there are armed soldiers patrolling the area and forest around, more info: en.wikipedia.org...





the caves:








the mini church, you can see the small seat and the altar


the altar, you can see residue of oil/wax




the stone door, one of the many safety mechanisms:




this is the kitchen, you can see the exhaust as well ontop of the stone slab. the holes in the slab of rocks were made on purpose, but i forgot for what reason, it was to create a certain type of bread




this place is few kms away from the underground caves, home and churches were built into these mountains. and there were tons of mini churches each for a specic saint:








this is one of the activr volcanoes in the region


i hope you enjoy these pictures, because i truly enjoyed photographing it. i just went back to turkey this past winter holiday but only stayed in istanbul but it is truly an amazing city

reply to post by ZarbeMomin


Thank you so much for posting all the pics that must have been a wonderful vacation..and thanks again for takeing the time to do this i enjoyed looking at all the pictures!

great thread, I didnt know about the fairy chimneys

second line.

Originally posted by lifecitizen

great thread, I didnt know about the fairy chimneys

second line.

Thank you im glad you liked it ..I had no idea they were around either till i read about them on the net

reply to post by ZarbeMomin


Thanks so much for sharing the photos and the Wikipedia article!

For those who don't have the time to sit through a lot of videos, here's some more information!

The "Fairy Chimneys" are a type of rock formation known as a "hoodoo" and occur naturally around the world (the "Garden of the Gods" in Colorado has lots of them) Wikipedia on hoodoos

Wikipedia article about this region in Turkey (I'll have to ask my Turkish friends about this!) and map showing where it is: cappidocia

A 2008 touristy article on what it's like from SFGate

Quick article about the rock they were carving (called "tuff") and how it forms

Cappadocia itself has a website that has links to other underground cities

Ah, I think I want to go on an adventure there! RealSoon! (alas, I can't afford it.)

Originally posted by Byrd
reply to post by ZarbeMomin

 

Thanks so much for sharing the photos and the Wikipedia article!

For those who don't have the time to sit through a lot of videos, here's some more information!

The "Fairy Chimneys" are a type of rock formation known as a "hoodoo" and occur naturally around the world (the "Garden of the Gods" in Colorado has lots of them) Wikipedia on hoodoos

Wikipedia article about this region in Turkey (I'll have to ask my Turkish friends about this!) and map showing where it is: cappidocia

A 2008 touristy article on what it's like from SFGate

Quick article about the rock they were carving (called "tuff") and how it forms

Cappadocia itself has a website that has links to other underground cities

Ah, I think I want to go on an adventure there! RealSoon! (alas, I can't afford it.)

The pics from ZarbeMomin were amazing and it was nice of her to post them for all to see..and Byrd thank you for the links many kudos

Cappadocia such a magical place!! The Byzantine fresco's inside the "underground cathedrals" are lovely, You can wander for days around the area. Sadly erosion is going to destroy the place one day
Byrd, take a balloon ride over the vineyards and fairy chimeys (their vines grow and creep along the ground it looks quite unique) one of the most spectacular things you can do.

Z

Originally posted by zazzafrazz
Cappadocia such a magical place!! The Byzantine fresco's inside the "underground cathedrals" are lovely, You can wander for days around the area. Sadly erosion is going to destroy the place one day

Byrd, take a balloon ride over the vineyards and fairy chimeys

(their vines grow and creep along the ground it looks quite unique) one of the most spectacular things you can do.

Z

Hello zazzafrazz, I bet Cappadocia is a magical place id love to go there someday but i never can seem to get any money together to take a trip..to bad about the erosion i suppose over time that happens and a balloon ride that would be so much fun and a great way to view it all Thank you so much for your reply..