Of the many places we visited in Turkey when we lived here, one we did notsee was Cappadocia (propounced Kapa-do-kee-ah). Sharon and I both were anxious to see this region of the country, which as it turns out, looks a lot like the American southwest. It is a high desert region, with dry scrub plains bordered by huge mesas. This region gets a lot of snow in the winter because of its elevation. The snowmelt caused erosion of the mesas which produces the unique carved topography. The mesas were formed millions of years ago by a volcanic eruption which left layers of soil that compacted into semi-soft, carvable rock. It is this rock that allowed the creation of hundreds of underground cities. We visited one which has been made into a museum, safe for visitor access.
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