In addition to Erciyes, another volcano has contributed to the formation of the Cappadocia region: the Hasandağ. It is 30 km (19 miles) south of Aksaray and on a clear day is also visible from Cappadocia.  The Hasandağ is 3268 meters high, and although looks younger, it was formed in the same geological period that Erciyes.

Son of Christians, St. George at early age served in the Roman army under Emperor Diocletian and was praised many times for his excellent service to the Empire. But soon appeared religious repression, for which the emperor summoned his top aides and made them engage in paganism. They all did, except for Saint George, who, according to history, stood in the middle of the room and confessed his devotion to Christianity, which cost him jail and continuous torture. It is said that the emperor himself subjected him to cruel tortures, asking the saint to sacrifice his beliefs for his life, but he was adamant and confessed to be willing to die for Christ, as his father did when he was little. After this reaffirmation of his faith, the story says that God spoke to him: “Do not fear, George, I’m with you” and since then, to no avail were tortures, or the sprocket, or the iron sandals or the water and lime well. Saint George unscathed from physical damage and surrounded by a sort of angelic aura.

In demand of one last big test of the existence of his God, Magnentios, one of the advisers of the Emperor, ordered him to perform a miracle. They passed near an ancient tomb and the Roman asked the Holy to resurrect the person buried there. After praying for a long time, the stone rolled away from and a man arose. The emperor asked him who he was and he said he had lived many years before Christ, but being an idolater, after his death he had being burning in the fires of hell for that long. According to the stories of St. George, after this great miracle many idolaters and pagans were converted to Christianity, including Athanasius, a famous magician, or the wife of the emperor. But nothing prevented that St. George was beheaded soon after.

Known for his miracles and great deeds to help people, there is a famous legend about St. George and a dragon. It is said that this dragon had threatened the idolaters of Athaliah, so that the inhabitants had been held behind the walls, leaving their homes, fields and crops and each year sacrificing a girl to appease the monster. When St. George came to this area, the king’s daughter was about to be sacrificed. After subjecting the dragon, St. George put a rope around his neck and handed it to the princess, who drove the beast back to the city, where many were baptized and converted to Christianity.

It is believed that this myth came from the Saint own icon, that represents the Equestrian murder of a fearsome dragon with a princess in the background. The first image-makers of St. George might have tried to show Satan as the dragon, and St. George overcoming evil, although other interpretations suggest that the figure of the dragon refers to the emperor Diocletian and the princess to his wife Alexandra, converted to Christianity after witnessed the miracles of St. George.

When the Crusaders traveled through the Byzantine Empire, they found this icon and from it recreated the legend. In fact, it is thought that this holy icon is miraculous itself, so St. George fame was spread throughout the East and the Crusaders devotion to the Saint was brought to Europe. Thus, St. George of Cappadocia, recreated in several of the frescoes of the caved churches of this magical region, became the patron of countries like England, Syria and Lebanon, among others, and is venerated by Anglican, Orthodox and Muslims.

In one of these cities, Derinkuyu, buried up to 85 feet deep, -as far as I have understood, the biggest of all-, I ended up almost inadvertently, accompanying a group of tourist friends. The Cappadocia region never ceases to amaze me. You think you’ve seen it all, the valley, the churches, the fairy chimneys, the amazing landscape, and soon you find a whole underground city, with rooms, bathrooms, kitchens, dining rooms, warehouses, stores, chapels, graves and really great air vent system.

Logic tells us that the inhabitants of the region created these cities to be protected against severe weather and enemy attacks. From the surface no one could imagine there was so many people down there. No doubts about it, it was an excellent hiding place. “The houses were built underground, and the entrances were like wells that widened below. They had tunnels dug for the animals, while people descend by stairs. Among the houses were goats, sheep, cattle and poultry, together with their young … “wrote Xenophon.

Derinkuyu, meaning “Deep Well” features eight levels, connected by stairs and 53 air ducts. The original vent system still works perfectly and it is estimated that the city could accommodate about 20 thousand people.

As a particular case, Derinkuyu, in his first two floors beneath the surface hosted a missionary school, with two long tables made of rock, baptismal font, kitchens, homes, warehouses and even stables. In the third and fourth floors remained the hideouts and the armory and in the deeper floors there were wells, hidden corridors, a small church, tombs and a confessional. As a measure of maximum security, from the inside of the city they could blocked all the multiple entries with large stones, independently on each level.

Due to its complexity and to adapt to changing conditions, the underground cities were perfected and extended over time. Appears that while there was no danger people were living on the surface, but before any abnormal situation they went down to their perfect retreat; thus, most of the houses above were connected also to the underground city.

In fact, thanks to these connections, the city was found and rescued in 1963, when a resident of the area, bringing down one of the walls of his house, excavated in the rock as is customary in the region, discovered a mysterious unknown room, which led to another and then to another … he had rediscovered Derinkuyu, the largest of the underground cities of Cappadocia.

Although for me it was amazing, I would not recommend this tour to claustrophobics. Such labyrinthine shelters were built precisely for closure, for the fact of being buried away from danger and enemy invasions. There took over, for example, the early Christians persecuted by the Romans, and lived there for some time, so they were gradually accommodating site conditions to their needs.

Traveling through different levels of Derinkuyu, I could not think of anything else than hundreds of Cappadocian digging their tunnels, just with a ray of light, working to exhaustion to create a safer life underground.

Open- Air Museum

To the first canyon, you can access to the right by a path between the other two, through the Geyikli Kilise (the Church of the Deer), with paintings of a cross, fishes and deer. Particularly, fish paintings are very common in Cappadocia, and symbolize the faithful (called pisiculis), who became members of the church being baptized in the pool (L-shaped pond). The acrostic for the Greek word “Peces” (Fishes), formed the phrase Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior. A cross in a circle with fishes on both sides, symbolizes the faithful who believed in Jesus Christ.

In the first canyon, to the left, there is a mosque, built from an old church. Towards the end of the canyon, two sides of rock embedded in a honeycomb of caves, houses, lofts, a monastery, storage rooms, chapels and tunnels that lead to the second canyon. It is recommended that visitors do not climb to the caves nor pass through tunnels.

The Uzumlu Kilise (Church of the grapes) and a living room with storage compartments and stone wheels to grind the beans are in the third canyon. Here, the grape juice is represented as the blood of Christ.

Nobody knows for sure when the underground cities of Cappadocia were built. Maybe in Hittite times or perhaps some of them as late as the sixth century A.D. It is a fact that there were already underground cities in the V century B.C., according to the Athenian historian Xenophon, in his “Anabasis”. So far 36 underground cities have been discovered, some of them recently. It is also estimated that, in most cases, they are all connected, but archeologists has not been able yet to locate these links.

The base of the cities consisted of tuff itself. The Cappadocians created large cities that were not noted from ground level. For vent pipes, they carved up to 85 meters (300 feet) into the rock and then made side holes at different levels and in all directions. They also carved a complex system of stairways and tunnels to connect all the layers to the surface.

They dug homes, bathrooms, kitchens, dining rooms, warehouses, cellars, chapels, tombs and so on. In dangerous times they were allowed to block the ways with large and solid stones in the strategic tunnels and camouflaged the entries from the surface.

Today, even in some modern houses, there are artificial holes leading to underground passages, most of them used as warehouses.

Yeralti Kaymakli Kenti (Kaymaklı Underground City)

With eight floors and an area of ​​approximately four square kilometers (1.5 square miles), this is one of the largest underground cities of Cappadocia. Visitors can watch only 10 percent of it, down to five floors. It is believed that it could accommodate about 3000 inhabitants and that it was connected with the nearby Derinkuyu. It was opened to the public in 1964.

Kenti Yeralti Derinkuyu (Derinkuyu Underground City)

Derinkuyu Underground City, which means “water well”; like Kaymakli, is one of the largest in Cappadocia. It was inaugurated in 1965. It is 70-85 meters (230-300 feet) deep and has 53 air ducts. The original ventilation system still works very well. This tour is not recommended for visitors who suffer from claustrophobia or restricted movement aversion, as there are many passages where you have to squat.

The first two floors below the surface hosted a missionary school with two long tables in the rock, a baptism place, kitchens, warehouses, rooms, wineries and stables. The third and fourth floors were for tunnels, hideouts and armories and the lower floors had water wells, hidden corridors, a church, graves and a place of confession.

Guludere and Kizilcukur Valleys, also known as the Rose and Red valleys, for their colors, are close to Çavuşin and not far from Goreme. These two valleys were formed by the erosion of Mount Bozdag. You can walk along them through a lovely path, where you will find 12 churches, some of which really worth a visit:

Kilise Uzumlu Church (Grapes)

It is located at the entrance to Red Valley, to the west of the city of Ortahisar, within 1 mile of the road. The fairy chimney in which was excavated is fully hollowed and contains a complex that was inhabited by monks. The lower level is occupied by the church and the upper is a camera with a cross on the roof that you can see from the outside, due to a partial collapse of its walls. The Church of the grapes has an apse and a single, square nave. The surface, in orange, is decorated with a cross made of geometric figures and bunches of grapes, from which its name came from.

Hacli Kilise (Church of the Cross)

It is located in the Red Valley and is often confused with the Church of the Three Crosses, in the Rose Valley. This church, located at the top of the hill can be reached by a narrow road with beautiful views of the valley. It has a single nave and apse and is distinguished for its perfect acoustic. Among his frescoes there is a Christ Pantocrator in the altar area, over a row of apostles and saints. Descending from the top we will find the Dort Sutunlu Kilise, or Church of the Four Columns.

Gulludere Church (San Agathangelous)

It is located to the left of Gulludere Valley, at about 2 miles from Cavusin. The church was built in the beginning of a slope, with a square design, flat roof and a large apse, added between ninth and tenth centuries to the original structure, which dates from the sixth or seventh centuries. The apse contains 2 or 3 layers of frescoes, indicating that it was painted regularly.

In the center of the ceiling it shows the relief of a cross in a circle, surrounded by palm leaves and garlands that should belong to the iconoclastic period. The locals had a great love of the cross, a symbol that they have used for a long time.

Church of the Three Crosses

It is in the Rose Valley. It was carved out of the cliff’s walls and named after the three crosses carved in relief on the ceiling. After the iconoclastic period several frescoes were added. One of the crosses is lying between two palms and another has an equal arm design, Maltese style.

The oldest known settlement in this area was located in the foothills of Mount Avla, at the north of the river Damsa. However, Roman tombs, belonging to a later period, are the main findings and traces of its antiquity. During the Byzantine period Urgup was an important religious center, who became the rector bishopric of all the monasteries and churches carved into the rocks of the villages, towns and surrounding valleys.

In the eleventh century, Urgup was an important fortress connecting to Nigde and Konya, the main cities of the Seljuks. The two most significant buildings of this period are the Tombs of the Temenni Tepesi (The Hill of Desire) and Altikapili (Six Doors).

Urgup became part of the Ottoman Empire on 1515 and it was not until the eighteenth century that the Great Ottoman Mizir Ybrahim Pasha Damat moved the Governorship to Nevsehir (Muskara), from which it started to belong, losing its own prominence.

Pancarlik Church

Pancarlik Valley is at the south of Ortahisar, to the right side of the road between Ürgüp and Mustafapasa. Pancarlik, the church, has a single nave, an apse and a flat roof. The frescoes in this church are well preserved, and most of them are painted on a green background. At first glance, it looks like two different artists were responsible for the works, but after a closer inspection, experts said that it was the same person.

These frescoes represented sequential Bible passages, surrounded by portraits of saints and other details. The origins of the church dates back to the eleventh century.

Tagar Church (Church of San Theodore)

The town of Yesiloz, harboring the Tagar Church or Church of San Theodore, is located to the right of the road between Urgup and Kayseri, at about 8.5 kilometers from Urgup. Its T-shaped dome is covered with glass, since the original collapsed.

You can access the upper gallery by a ladder. In general, this is the only example of this type of religious building in Cappadocia. Its frescoes remain well preserved and were painted by three artists, all in their own style. This church, dedicated to St. Theodore, dated between the eleventh and thirteenth centuries.

Mustafapaşa (Sinasos)

The town of Mustafapaşa (Sinasos), at 6 kilometers south from Urgup, was inhabited by Greek Orthodox families until the early 20th century. The current houses, which date from the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, are excellent examples of stone work in apartment buildings.

The Gomede Valley, at the west of Mustafapaşa, resembles a small version of Ihlara Valley and as in there, the walls and slopes harbor churches and shelters dug into the rocks. Just as in Ilhara, a river runs through the valley.

The most important churches and monasteries around Mustafapaşa are the Church of Aios Vasilos, the Church of Constantine-Helena, the churches in the Valley of the Monastery and Church of St. Basil, in Gomede valley. There is also a caravanserai or inn, built in the Ottoman period that shows excellent examples of their works in masonry and wood.

Uchisar is the name of a city, derived from its own fortress. Uc is “tip” and hisar is “fortress”, making its name in Turkish means “fortress of the tip”.

This building, the fortress, is 60 meters (200 feet) high and was not built but carved, sculpted on a natural hill that dominates the area with a breathtaking view of all surrounding formations of Cappadocia. In the village, just below the fortress, there are dozens of tuff cones, inside of which there are excavated rooms that remain in use as homes.

With the 33%, is one of the world’s lakes with higher salinity, so is impossible to farm in the surroundings. Thus, the Tuz Golu salt is one of the richest in the world. It gives 300 thousand tons of salt per year, 60% of the total production in Turkey. This salt can only be collected in the months of July and August when the lake dries. To ensure that it would be clean, the salt is collected only from the areas in which layer are more than 6 centimeters thick. Once excavated it, the rag layer is removed and they separate clean mounds, loaded manually to the mini-trains wagons conveyors.

Location: 120 km (75 miles) south of Ankara, on the way to Cappadocia.

Size: Second largest lake in Turkey, with 1,500 kilometers (580 miles) square. In summer, the surface can be reduced to a thousand kilometers (386 miles) square.

Width: 48 kilometers (30 miles).

Length: 80 km (50 miles).

Depth: 1.2 meters (3.6 feet). More than two million years it is estimated that the water level was about 100 meters higher. In times of severe drought, the surface is covered by salt blocks up to 20 inches thick.

Elevation: 905 meters (2970 feet).

Training: Tectonics.

Water: Salt water.

Extension: Ranks 62 between the cities of Turkey.

Altitude: 1260 meters (4133 feet) above sea level.

Industry: Textiles, flour, wine and fruit juice factories, carpet weaving, pottery

Agriculture: Grains (80%), sugar beet, potatoes, chickpeas, apples, grapes

Animals: Sheeps

History: Byzantine, Seljuk, Ottoman Turkish Republic.