Guzelyurt in a Day: Cappadocia's Wonders from the Sky

The Ehraj Gorge was once one of the preferred retreats for monks in the Byzantine period, leaving behind many painted grotto churches. The vegetation in the valley is prosperous and the sound of birds is melodious, which is very suitable for hiking along the banks of the stream, which is very pleasant. The hiking route open to tourists in the canyon is about 7 kilometers one way, and you can decide the hiking distance according to your own physical strength. The best time to visit is non-weekends from May to September, with fewer tourists and beautiful scenery. After steep steps into the canyon, you can walk along the MelendizSuyu stream. In addition to the natural beauty, there are many churches to visit along the way, including Fragrant Church, Snake Church, etc. The end of the hike is the Selime Monastery, a grotto complex that is very impressive and worth seeing.

The unique karst landforms radiate the soul-stirring beauty, which makes countless travelers dream about. This is Cappadocia, which was once selected as one of the "Top Ten Beautiful Views of the Earth" by the American "National Geographic" magazine. As early as the Persian Empire period, because the Cappadocias paid tribute to the Persians with robust horses and skilled gold and silver craftsmen, the Persians called this place "Cappadocia", which means a beautiful horse town. 3 million years ago, two huge volcanic eruptions, Mount Erciyes (3916M) and Mount Hassan (3268M), left the plateau around Naoussehir covered with soft stones containing limestone, lava, ash and covered with mud. This fragile rock formation is eroded by wind and rain, creating conical and mushroom-shaped rocks in red, gold, green, and grey, as well as spectacular surreal landscapes such as canyons with caverns. Today, Cappadocia, known as the "surface of the moon", has become another tourist hotspot in Turkey after Istanbul, and the hot air balloon sightseeing project that has emerged in the Grim area is an exciting experience that tourists cannot miss.

The Goreme Open Air Museum is located in the Goreme Valley, with more than 30 rock cave churches decorated with exquisite frescoes, some of which are well preserved and colorful. Cave paintings The murals of cave churches are all painted with lime on the walls. When the lime is wet, they are painted with well-tuned pigments. Most of the content tells the stories of the Bible, and some churches only have simple cross patterns. These famous frescoes are generally painted in the 12th-13th centuries. The Church of Slippers (Çarıklı Kilise) is named after the figure in the fresco wearing slippers. The frescoes in the Church of the Serpent (Yilanlı Kilise) depict the scene of St. George repelling the snake. Because the dark church is isolated from light, the frescoes in the church are very well preserved. The scenes of the conception announcement, the trip to Bethlehem, the last supper and other scenes still retain bright colors, which are amazing.

The town of Goreme is one of the very old villages in the Cappadocia region and a very important base for tourists in Kappa. The town is centered on the Roman castle complex, surrounded by natural volcanic rocks and fairy chimney rocks. Tourist Base Camp The whole town is the tourist base of the Kapa region, and most of the long-distance buses from major cities such as Istanbul, Ankara, and Antalya stop here. Most tourists choose to stay here and travel from here to all parts of Kapa. The town is not big, and it takes less than half an hour to walk from almost any hotel to the town center. There are many very distinctive cave hotels in the town. These hotels hidden among the rocks are divided into rooms according to the structure of the mountain. Each room is different in size, with different styles and characteristics, and some can also enjoy Byzantine caves. Murals, full of fun. Choose a quiet place to live and experience the idyllic life of the Kappa region. The location of the rock church town has formed a settlement since ancient Roman times, when Christianity was popular in the area, and many rock churches built at that time can still be seen today, such as the Button Church (Tokali Kilise), Apple Church (Elmalı Kilise), Santa Barbara Church (Azize Barbara Kilisesi), Serpent Church (Yilanlı Kilise), Dark Church (Karanlık Kilise), Slipper Church (Çarıklı Kilise), etc. There are also many residences and dove houses carved into the rock formations, and the decoration is very ornate. Goreme, the hot air balloon travel destination, is also one of the most fun hot air balloon travel destinations in the world. It not only has excellent flying conditions, but also overlooks the spectacular landforms of the Kapa region from the air. The hot air balloon activity is usually held from April to the end of November. Although it will start at four or five in the morning, when you rise with the sun in the hot air balloon and enjoy the morning sun shining on the fairy chimney rocks with different shapes, you will be shocked. The sight is sure to be unforgettable for a lifetime. Even if you don't have a hot air balloon experience, you can stand on the ring volcano around the town, or watch the hot air balloons fly in unison from a high-lying hotel!