Green tour in Cappadocia (South Cappadocia) visits the following places: Selim Monastery with its church, Ilhara valley, the valley of the pigeons, the onyx exhibition and of course the impressive underground city of Derinkuyu. Also, on this green tour in Cappadocia you have the opportunity to enjoy the views of Goreme, with its solidified lava rivers, rocks and volcanic remains dating from the Neogene period.
Cappadocia Green Tour (South Cappadocia)
The Underground City of Derinkuyu Cappadocia
The Underground City of Derinkuyu, whose name means “Deep Well” in Nevesehir province in central Anatolia, is the most famous of the 37 abandoned underground cities discovered to date. Later excavations have reached a depth of 40 meters, discovering an impressive 20 levels. However, only the first eight are open for exploration by tourists, as the remaining levels are reserved for archaeological research. It is believed that this city would have been inhabited since the 8th century; however, archaeological studies venture to affirm that the first level would have been built by the disappeared Hittite people around 1400 BC. This underground city was built mainly to use it as a refuge from the attacks of other invading peoples.
The special geological conditions of Goreme, with its different layers of volcanic substrates, allowed the excavation in this area to be easier, in this way it was possible to create different levels with all kinds of comforts for the time from: school; places of worship; stables; presses to make wine, kitchens, ventilation ducts, water tanks, traps to stop possible invaders, stables for animals, tunnels that communicated some sectors of the city with others, it is said that it would have come to house the incredible sum of 20,000 people. This city also has an incredible 8 km long tunnel, which is suspected to have served to communicate with the neighboring city, also underground, of Kaymaklı. With a constant 13 degrees Celsius, this underground city had the ideal conditions for the preservation of food and animals. Used by different civilizations throughout history, the Derinkuyu underground city is one of the must-see places of the green tour in cappadocia.
Ihlara Valley
(Cappadocia Green Tour)
Another important destination that the Green Tour in Cappadocia explores, is the Ihlara Valley, in the province of Aksaray. This valley was formed by the repeated volcanic eruptions of Mount Erciyes, which is the highest mountain in central Anatolia. This 14-kilometre valley, crossed by the Melendiz River, runs through the bottom of the valley at a depth of approximately 100 meters. In this valley of volcanic rock you can find up to 10 churches carved directly into the rock, some of them open for the visit of tourists and parishioners, beautifully decorated with frescoes dating from the earliest times of Christianity. Another option than this green tour in Cappadocia offers is to spend an afternoon at Belisirma, a restaurant located next to the Melendiz River where you can enjoy a delicious lunch, tasting traditional dishes of Turkish cuisine while enjoying the beautiful views of the river and the nature that surrounds the restaurant.
Cappadocia Selime Monastery
(South Cappadocia Tour)
Capadoccia was from the early Christianity a safe haven for early Christians, proof of this is the impressive display of churches, caves, underground cities and monasteries, which can be found in the region and explored by the cappadocia green tour. Among the most famous constructions in the region is the famous and impressive Selime monastery. Located 28 kilometers from Aksaray and at the end of the Ihlara valley, it is a massive construction, perhaps the largest in the Cappadocia region. Following the style of the constructions of that region, both the monastery and the cathedral were excavated directly into the volcanic rock. The church has 2 columns made of rock that serve to separate it into 3 sections. It also has stables, places where you could cook and the sections where the monks lived. Tradition affirms that this monastery was built between the 8th and 14th centuries and the frescoes that decorate this marvel of human engineering date from the 10th to 11th centuries. In addition to the monastery and its church, it is still possible to find traces of even more ancient civilizations such such as: Hittites, Persians, Romans, Byzantines, Ottomans, etc. All towns that once settled in these lands and that gave some use to what the geography of the place offered them. Such is the case of travelers and merchants, who during the times of the silk route, used this monastery as a refuge and place of rest, to later continue their journey along this ancestral route. However, it was only in the 16th century that this monastery began to be abandoned.
The Valley of the Pigeons
(Cappadocia South)
The pigeons have been very important for the inhabitants of Cappadocia, they used them as messengers and also as pets since ancient times, in which these people lived in the caves found throughout the region. Unlike the other sectors of Cappadocia, there are no churches here, however there are countless caves that used to be inhabited and that have housed the countless pigeons that inhabit this area, which has given the name to the valley of the pigeons. This is located near the Uchisar fortress. With white sands, the Valle de las Palomas is a beautiful labyrinth formed of volcanic material released by volcanic eruptions that occurred in ancient times.
Onix Exhibition
The green tour in Cappadocia is so diverse that it takes you from caves to underground cities, monasteries and churches volcanic valleys to the delicate art of local goldsmiths, famous for their mastery in the handling of Onyx, you can find various pieces of jewelry made by local artisans. The mines of Onyx from Cappadocia are of the highest quality. In the exhibition of the pieces, you can witness the manufacturing process of a jewel from its beginning, from when the stone is cut, it takes shape and then to be polished. The range is very wide, from Turkish rings made of silver, traditional Hittite style jewelry, gold, stone and silver jewelry in general. you can buy beautiful and traditional objects such as jewelry made of stone, silver and gold: pipes and handicrafts made of copper.
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