Most probably the name Cappadocia is related to the word ‘Katpatuka’, which means ‘’the Land of Beautiful Horses’. According to some, the word is originally Iranian and it is called ‘Huwespa’ in their language. However, to some it is none above but something to do with the longest river in Turkey, which is called ‘The Red River.’ One branch of this river is called Delice in Turkish now and those days that used to be called ‘Kappadoks’ during ancient times. The presence of people in this region goes back to the Paleolithic age and today we call this beautiful place ‘Cappadocia’. Cappadocia is not a city but a region and there are 5 cities in it. They are Nevşehir, Kırşehir, Aksaray, Niğde and Kayseri.
The whole region is more than 5.000 km2 in area. In the first place there was nothing but water. The area was covered with water. Then eruptions occurred. There are 4 ex-volcanoes; Erciyes(The Argeus), Hasan (Argeus), Göllüdağ and Melendiz Mountains. Briefly, eruptions occurred, the area filled up with tuff, ashes and other minerals and then erosion started. Wind and water caused most of the erosion and amazing rock formations such as fairy Chimneys (hoodoos in America) came up.
Fairy Chimneys “Nature, History & Mystery”
There are different legends told from generation to generation. According to one of the legends , Cappadocis was previously home of the ill-mannered giants who were treating people harsh. When they got angry, they used to send fire balls from the top of the mountains to the people living at the bottom.
The head of the fairies was told about the situation, and he got all of his fairies and marched to the region. The fairies helped the locals extinguish the fire but still living on the ground would be too much trouble since the ugly giants did not stop attacking yet. That’s why those people under attack were helped to get down to the underground settlements to take refuge. And also according to some other myths, fairies also joined those people and carved some holes and openings inside the rocks and they lived together happily ever after.
Underground Cities
The number of underground cities we have in Cappadocia is not known for sure but roughly there are more than 40 of those. Kaymaklı, Derinkuyu, Tatlarin, Gelveri and Mazı are only some of them. They are mind-blowing and super mysterious.
In Cappadocia, you’ll travel with deep curiosity. But wait, there are also many surprising and mysterious underground cities. Some of them can accommodate people up to 5.000. It is said that it was the Hittites, who built the first floor without using any technological equipments, and it was further expanded during the Roman and Byzantine periods and became a bigger city. The more attacks those people got, the deeper they had to dig. Underground cities are connected by narrow tunnels and rooms. Moreover one can see defensive doors which are called ‘Millstone’ or ‘Stone door’ in English. Once you come and visit and underground city, you will definitely get mesmerised by the beauty of them.
Valleys
There are hundreds of valleys in Cappadocia and each has different natural beauties to show you. If what you are looking for is a perfect sunset point, then The Kızılcukur valley would be one of the best. Or you might want to get amazing instagram photos in a quiet, off-the-beaten trail, then Pancarlı valley walk is a good option to consider. What else to see; The Pigeon Valley, Ihlara Valley and Zemi Valley…