Must see Places: Cappadocia in Turkey

Cappadocia, with it's curios and amazing landscapes, is probably a sight not many tourists have seen yet. Most travel no further into Turkey than it's west cost. Enjoying the bustling life of Istanbul and the lovely sea and historic sights from Gallipoli all the way down to Marmaris. If you are interested in the history of WW1 and WW2, Gallipoli and the Dardanelles are of course names you know. BUT today where are not talking about that area. This post is about Cappadocia - which is way more east, in the inland of Turkey.

Here you find these wonderful stone formations. Within them a rich history of the underground cities. The people of that period carved vast networks of tunnels, living quarters and defense systems into the stone. A almost unbeatable strategy against any enemies and a save space for hiding.

You also find christian churches carved into the stone. The history buffs among you know that Turkey was for a long time christian land. Especially during the ages of Constantinopel - the capital of the eastern roman empire. Even today the main seat of the christian orthodox church or Greece is located in Istanbul, the former Constantinopel.

Yet, of course, times have changed since then and Islam is the main religion in Turkey today. Bringing us not only a rich culture and past, that was among other factors, very influential to european history & culture. It also created these wonderful and artistic ornaments. Many of them based on geometrical structures that follow very specific rules. A reason why these ornaments are so elaborate and elegant, is because of the picture ban in islam, that spawned a deep interest into ornaments instead of pictures. Fascinating!