Check this out! Interesting Facts About Cappadocia

Cappadocia, Turkey

Cappadocia is derived from the ancient Hittite word "Katpatuka" is commonly believed to mean " Land of the Beautiful Horses peregrinating freely and It's a fitting tribute". Novadays Cappadocia is more celebrated for its lava-sculpted topography and down skyline dappled with hot air baloons than horses, but historically the region was renowned for its deep equine connections.
Fragment of another planet, a mirage of stone in the heart of Anatolia... There are parts of the earth which do not seem really belong to; Cappadocia is one of them, a strange and spectacular landscape from the pages of science fiction. It is an extraordinary region, unmatch in the world. A fascinating beauty. An incridible harmony of shapes and colors. An ideal landscape for history and art lovers.

now let's see the interesting facts about Cappadocia;

1. The uniqe landscape of Cappadocia was formed by the erosion of volcanic rocks. Ancient volcanic eruptions blanketed this region with thic ash, which solidified into a soft rock called tuff. Over time wind and water eroded these tuff rocks, turning them into mushroom-like pillars known as fairy chimneys.

   

   Cappadocia

2. The soft quality of tuff rocs in Cappadocia enabled the early inhabitans to carve dwellings, churches and hiding places both above and under the ground which make up one of the largest rock-cut complexes in the world.

underground city in Cappadocia

    3.   Cappadocia covers an area of aproximately 5,000 square kilometers and lies between three provinces in Central Anatolia; Nevşehir, Kayseri and Niğde, right in the heart of Turkey.

   4.   During the ancient times the Cappadocia region was famous for it's horses. It is believed that the name " Cappadocia " is derived from an ancient Persian word " Katpatukya " which means the land of beautiful horses.

   5.   Because of Cappadocia's dry an arid landscape, farmers used pigeon droppings to fertilize their land. Every able bodied male was expected to dig himself a pigeon house on top of formations away from predators and thieves.

   6.   The Christians, escaping the arab invasion, gave one town the name of Goreme which means " you cannot see here".

   7.   A monastic life in Cappadocia was established by Saint Basil the Great or Basil of Caesarea who encourage Christian monks to gather and pray toggether in a monastry.

   8.   Tokalı Kilise Church, also known as  the Buckle Church, is considered to be the main sanctuary of monastic life in Byzantine Cappadocia. The Frescoes in Tokali Kilise church representsome of the finest surviving paintings from the early Middle Ages.

   9.   There were two types of painting techniques used in churches of Cappadocia. The first technique is to paint directly on the bare rock using roots of vegetables for color. Later on these original paintings were covered with plaster and repainted with scenes from the bible.