Back in Turkey, Cappadocia

Dangling at dawn above this primitive lunar landscape, I imagine some massive prehistoric creature clawing its way across the Turkish countryside, leaving carved valleys, fanciful rock formations and towering stone outcroppings in its ragged path.
In fact, Cappadocia’s stunning scenery was created about 30 million years ago, when massive volcanic eruptions left Central Turkey flowing in lava and buried in ash (known locally as tufa).
“The lava and erosion left behind a labyrinth of valleys and cut through the softer tufa, creating these isolated stone pinnacles topped by caps of harder rock.”  The locals call them "fairy chimneys because they were once believed to be inhabited by fairies.
Human hands shaped similarly incredible works in the soft tufa stone, carving cave houses, rock-cut temples, colorful dovecotes and sprawling underground cities in this rugged region where traces of human settlement are said to date back to 6500 BC.
Today, some of the cave houses are still inhabited, while others are being converted into boutique hotels.
Let these pictures capture your imagination.

Thanks for stopping by. I'll try to get back with some other interesting things soon.