Cappadocia... The ancient city of caves and mountain chimneys in Turkey

In the east of the Anatolian Plateau in present-day central Turkey, specifically in the Nevsehir region, the historical region of Cappadocia is located on the rugged plateau north of the Taurus Mountains. The boundaries of Cappadocia changed through the ages, but retained picturesque landscapes and large expanses of soft volcanic rocks, towers, valleys and caves. Carved rock-cut churches with numerous underground tunnels from the Byzantine and Islamic eras are scattered throughout rural Cappadocia, giving it a special distinction as a tourist destination rarely found in the world, especially the natural mountain chimneys that have been teeming with the region since ancient times.

The oldest human monuments in Cappadocia

Neolithic pottery and tools found in Cappadocia testify to an early human presence in the area. Excavations in the modern town of Kultepi have uncovered the remains of the Assyrian Hittite city of Kanesh, dating back to the third millennium BC. Tens of thousands of clay tablets found from the remains of an Assyrian trading colony in Kanesh are among the earliest written documents discovered in Turkey.

The first appearance of the name Cappadocia in history

The earliest appearance of the name Cappadocia dates back to the sixth century BC, when the Persians dominated the nobility of Cappadocia and spread Zoroastrianism in the region, where Zoroastrian temple priests were widespread. Due to Cappadocia's rugged terrain and modest agricultural production, the region remained little changed in ancient times, with few important cities built.

Cappadocia between the Persians - Macedonians and Romans

Alexander the Great overtook Cappadocia but sent troops under his general Perdiccas (322 BC). After a power struggle after Alexander's death, Cappadocia fell into the dynastic orbit of the Seleucids, although the local aristocracy descended from the Persian rule period continued to rule and Persian religious practices continued. Cappadocia transferred its allegiance to Rome after the Roman victory at Magnesia (190 BC) and remained faithful despite Pontian and Armenian attacks in the first century BC. Cappadocia was retained as a province of the Roman state until it was annexed by Emperor Tiberius in 17 AD to lead it on the strategic passes of the Taurus Mountains.

Arab rule of Cappadocia

In 611, the Sassanid army destroyed the Cappadocian capital of Caesarea (modern Kayseri), and a few years later the Arab-Muslim conquests began in Cappadocia and lasted until the tenth century. During that period Cappadocia's large complexes of man-made caves and tunnels were built or expanded from existing structures to be used as shelters. However, it has proved difficult to determine specific dates for their construction.

Seljuk rule of the Cappadoca region

Cappadocia enjoyed a period of prosperity in the tenth and eleventh centuries under Islamic rule and some rock-cut churches and monasteries were added. Many surviving churches from this period are richly decorated. The Byzantine Empire permanently lost Cappadocia when it came under the control of the Seljuk Turks as they defeated the Byzantine army at the Battle of Manzikert in 1071, marking the end of Byzantine rule over Cappadocia.

Tourist fame of the Cappadocia region

The name Cappadocia is now widely known in the tourism industry to refer to the area that stretches roughly from Kayseri in the west to Aksaray where there are the largest number of monuments. The most visited attractions include the sprawling underground tunnels of Derinkuyu, Kaymakli and Goreme National Park, where there are a large number of churches and rock-cut dwellings. In 1985, Goreme National Park and other rock sites in the region were classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which increased its fame and the demand of tourists from everywhere, and there were famous hotels designed in the form of caves or rooms carved into rocks similar to the famous design of the Cappadocia area, which made these modern buildings perfectly consistent with the heritage of the region.