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Cappadocia-Historical Places of Turkey
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Turkish Culture and Arts
Turkey Attractions
- Halicarnassus of Turkey
- Harput of Turkey
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- Corum-Alacahoyuk of Turkey
- Anavarza of Turkey
- Aspendos of Turkey
- Zeugma-Zeugma City of Turkey
- Kars- Ruins of Ani of Turkey
- Archaeological Site of Perge of Turkey
- Bodrum Telmissos of turkey
- Burdur Archaeological Site of Sagalassos of Turkey
- Hattusha Open-Air Museum of Turkey
- Kalamaki of Turkey
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- Cappadocia-Historical Places of Turkey
- Beyoğlu – Taksim in Turkey
- Cumalikizik in Turkey
- Damlatas Caves in Turkey
- Demre in Turkey
- Karain Cave in Turkey
- Uludag in Turkey
- The Princes’ Islands in Turkey
- Tortum Waterfall in Turkey
- Belek in Turkey
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- Gocek in Turkey
- Historical Peninsula in Turkey
- Alanya in Turkey
- The Blue Mosque (Sultan Ahmed Mosque)
- Turkish Bath Experience in Istanbul
- Grand Bazaar Istanbul and Spice Bazaar
- Istanbul Aquarium
- Christmas in Turkey: Tourist places and a unique experience for Christmas
Religious Sites
- Bursa Great Mosque
- St. Paul’s Church
- Eshab Kehf Cave of the Seven Sleepers
- Eyüp Sultan Mosque
- Süleymaniye Mosque and Complex
- The Church of Virgin Mary
- The Basilica of St. John
- Haci Bektas-ı Veli Complex
- Church of Saint Pierre
- Ahlat
- Sanli Urfa Rizvaniye Mosque And Halil Ul Rahman Lake
- Van-Akdamar
- Ağrı-Mount Ararat-Noah's Ark
- Amasya -Sultan Bayezıd II. Mosque Complex
- Ankara - Hacı Bayram Veli Complex Ankara
- Antalya - St. Nicolas
- Bitlis - Seljuk Mausoleums and Tombstones ( Ahlat)
- Bursa - Green Mosque
- Cappadocia- Hacı Bektaşi Veli Complex
- Erzurum -Çifte (Twin ) Minaret Medrese
- Eskişehir
- Hatay - Cradle of the Saints
- Hatay - St. Peters Grotto (Antakya)
- Hatay - Habib-Un Naccar Mosque And Tomb ( Antakya )
- İsparta St Pauls Basilica ( Yalvaç )
- Istanbul - Holy Tourism
- Konya - Mevlana Museum
- Konya - Mevlana Complex
- Manisa-Sardis ( Sart )
- Mardin-Deyrulzafaran Monastery ( Mardin )
- St. Paul Church and Well
- Pamukkale-ST Philli Martyriun Hierapolis ( Pamukkale )
- Şanlıurfa - Harran of Turkey
- Siirt-Tombs of Ibrahim Hakkı Efendi and HZ.Fakirullah
- Veysel Karani Complex (Siirt-Baykan)
- Sivas - Great Mosque and Hospital of Divrigi of Turkey
- Trabzon-Maçka Sumela Monastery of Turkey
- Pamukkale - Hierapolis
Museums
- Asclepeion Ancient City in Pergamon of Turkey
- Hatay Antakya Archeology Museum of Turkey
- Aphrodisias Museum of Turkey
- Antalya Archaeological Museum of Turkey
- Burdur Archaeology Museum of Turkey
- Denizli Hierapolis Archeology Museum: Your full guide
- Hacı Bektaş Veli Museum of Turkey
- Istanbul Galata Mawlawi House Museum of Turkey
- Rahmi Koc Museum Turkey
- Miniatürk of Turkey
- The Archeology and Mummy Museum of Amasya of Turkey
- Iznik Ayasofya Museum (Hagia Sophia Museum in Nicaea)
- Alacahoyuk Historic Site and Museum of Turkey
- Istanbul Military Museum of Turkey
- Yildiz Palace Museum of Turkey
- Ataturk Congress and Ethnography Museum of Turkey
- The Museum of Anatolian Civilizations of Turkey
- Trabzon Ayasofya (Hagia Sophia) Museum of Turkey
- Didyma Historic Site of Turkey
- Miletus Historic Site of Turkey
- Assos Historic Site of Turkey
- Troia Historic Site of Turkey
- Gaziantep - Zeugma Mosaics Museum of Turkey
- Bodrum Museum of Underwater Archaeology of Turkey
- Mausoleum at Halicarnassus (Tomb of Mausolus) of Turkey
- Derinkuyu Underground City of Turkey
- Zelve Open Air Museum of Turkey
- Pergamon Acropolis Archeological Site of Turkey
- Ephesus Archeological Museum of Turkey
- Hagia Sophia Museum of Turkey
- Istanbul Archeology Museum
- Chora Museum in Turkey
- Great Palace Mosaic Museum in Turkey
- Istanbul Topkapi Palace Museum
- Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum
- Mevlana (Rumi) Museum
- Ataturk and the War of Independence Museum
- Ankara Etnography Museum
- Hatay Archaeology Museum in Turkey
Top Destinations and Attractions
- Troy of Turkey
- Konya Attractions
- Antalya Attractions
- Bursa Attractions
- Fethiye in Turkey
- Nemrut in Turkey
- Zeugma in Turkey
- Side in Turkey
- Sumela Monastery in Turkey
- Cesme in Turkey
- Bodrum in Turkey
- Cappadocia in Turkey
- Kusadasi in Turkey
- Marmaris in Turkey
- Dalaman in Turkey
- Pamukkale (Hierapolis) in Turkey
- Dalyan in Turkey
- Ephesus in Turkey | The Ancient Ruins of Ephesus
- Turkey Vacations: The best of Turkey
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Göreme
Göreme, in which there are many fairy chimneys and churches, is declared as an open-air museum. Tokalı Church, the Priestesses and Priests Monastery, Saint Basil Chapel, Elmalı Church, Saint Barbara Chapel, Yılanlı (Saint Onuphrius) Church, Karanlık Church, Çarıklı Church, El Nazar Church, Saklı Church, Mother Mary (Kılıçlar Kuşluk) Church, Saint Eustathios Church and the Durmuş Kadir Churches, all of which are found within its territories, are valuable places to visit.
The valleys, which are composed of stuff rocks, between Göreme Valley and Aktepe, are known as Büyük and Küçük Kılıçlar. Kılıçlar Church is found in this valley, which has an impressive appearance with tunnels, fairy chimneys, and curiously shaped rocks.
Pembe Valley
The most stunning examples of the local landscape and the Fairy Chimneys can be seen along the route to Avanos. Many of these rock formations resemble an animal (camels and rabbits can be seen frequently).
Kızılçukur
As a center of grape and wine production, Kizilcukur, a couple of kilometers northwest of Ürgüp, contains churches cut into the strange rock formations and decorated with grape figures. The rocks are adorned with different colors, making them a spectacular sight at sunset.
Mustafapaşa
Located 5km from Ürgüp, the small village of Mustafapasa has old stone houses with attractively carved facades dating back to the end of the 19th century, as well as a cluster of small churches.
Once known as Sinasos, while it was a thriving Greek community before World War I, it makes an interesting trip from Ürgüp, although it is not easily accessible by public transport. Places of interest include a 19th-century medrese, the Ayios Vasilios Church, and the Church of Sts Constantine and Helena. There are several small guest-houses and restaurants.
Sarıhan
Sarıhan (Yellow Caravanserai), about 10km north of Ürgüp, was constructed by the Seljuk Sultan Alaattin Keykubat in 1217. It has a huge courtyard with an elaborate gateway and was used for the loading of animals and as a resting place for travelers.
It is also a unique example of the Seljuk-Turkish architecture. The road was re-laid and the building was restored in the late 1980s and is now functioning as a museum and a cultural center for the performances of whirling dervishes in the summer. There is rarely public transport to Sarıhan.
Halacdere
Engraved in the tuffs, these basilica-type churches were thought to have been used as hospital buildings by the Christians, and are now almost destroyed. Similar structures can also be seen in Ortahisar, such as St Peter and St Paul Churches.
Fıratkan
Firatkan is a small complex of churches, located on the road to the Göreme Open Air Museum. They have two storeys, consisting of a dormitory, dining hall, kitchen and storerooms. The storeys are connected to each other through tunnels.
Ortahisar
This village, 3 km southeast of the Goreme Valley, is most famous for its 50m high rock-castle, which is visible from the main road. It is possible to climb the rock, which offers stunning views of the surrounding area.
This attractive farming village also exhibits the traces of the monastery lifestyle and is a prominent cultural and commercial center. Other places of interest in this area include the Harim Church, Santa Church, and Cambazlı Church.
Zelve
About 5 km from Avanos and 1 km from Paşabağlari, Zelve was founded on the steep northern slopes of Aktepe. Consisting of three separate valleys, the ruins of Zelve is the area with the most 'fairy chimneys' - a famous sight special to Cappadocia - which here has sharp points and thick trunks.
It is not known exactly when people began living in the dwellings carved into the rock, found in places like Uçhisar, Göreme, Çavuşin, and Zelve. What is known is that Zelve sheltered a Christian community and became a religious center in the 9th and 13th centuries, where, the first religious seminars for priests were held in the vicinity.
Çavuşin (Nicephorus Phocas) Church
This ancient city is found beside the Göreme-Avanos road, 2.5 km out of Göreme. The narthex of this church has fallen down. It has tunnel vaults, a high nave, and 3 apses. It dates back to 964-965 A.D.
Güllüdere (St. Agathangelus) Church
This ancient city is located in the far left draw of the Güllüdere valley, about 2 km from the village of Çavuşin. It was founded at the mouth of the draw on top of a steep slope.
The shape of the nave is square, with a flat ceiling, and it has a single broad apse.
The apse was added in the 9th or 10th century to the main structure dating back to the 6th - 7th century. There are 2 or 3 layers of frescoes in the apse which indicates that it was painted regularly. Symbols of Gospel authors are drawn symmetrically and are sitting on the right and left of an enthroned Jesus.
In the middle of the flat ceiling is the relief of a cross in the middle of a circle surrounded by palm leaves and garlands. This sort of relief, most probably, belongs to the Iconoclastic period. The people of the area had a great love for the cross and it continued to be used as a motif after the Iconoclastic era because it symbolized the "Holy Cross" in Jerusalem.
Özkonak Underground City
Located 14 km northeast of Avanos, this underground city was built on the northern slopes of Mt. Idis, in an area with strata made up of volcanic granite. The extensive galleries of the city are spread out over a large area and connected to each other by tunnels.
The underground cities in Kaymakli and Derinkuyu, are very narrow (5 cm) and there are long holes between the different levels of the city that were used to provide communication between the different levels of the city. The ventilation of these neatly carved out rooms was provided by these holes when the city was sealed up against enemies.
The city was discovered in 1972 by the local muezzin and farmer Latif Acar when he was trying to find out where the water disappeared, which was supposed to run towards his crops.
Similar to Kaymakli and Derinkuyu, Ozkonak has a ventilation system, a water well, a winery and rolling stone doors.
Opening hours: Summer 08.00 - 19.00; winter 08.00 - 17.00
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