Cappadocia troglodyte villages

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Cappadocia region is famous for its troglodyte villages, subterranean churches and fortresses have been hewn from the soft, porous, rock. The rock formation has been formed by both wind and rain eroding softer rock creating a surreal landscape that look like fairy chimneys

Underground dwelling were built into the remaining rock by Greek Christians trying to escape the Muslim onslaught and persecution. They used them as hiding places in times of war and contained underground churches, wine cellars, food storage, sleeping quarters and even places for animals. For defence they have large stones that could be rolled crossed certain passage ways. The underground villages are a complex multi storey structures with a series of interconnection passages ways at different levels.

For air circulation a series of ventilation shifts were used which allowed fresh cool air to reached five levels down. During our tour underground, this still working vent was a welcome relief for our tour group to have some cool fresh air when so far underground.

The passage ways are narrow in places and some crawling on all fours is required, this really tested the taller, less mobile and those who had a little bit of claustrophobia I was OK so long as we did not have to stop while crawling in a passage way. I took every opportunity to stand upright and stretch when I could and used my little light in the dark passages. No one in our group panicked underground, we all enjoyed the adventure but were equally glad to reach the surface again, and were in amazement how people could stay underground for weeks on end. The Go also created a series of cave churches, built during the byzantine period and continued to be used by the Greek Orthodox who remain after the ottoman conquest. These were an amazing collection of building and images being in the countryside some were used by hermits others by monks in communities, they also became a place for pilgrimage.

After the Greek exodus from turkey during the 1920's a number of these churches and religious works of arts were vandalized.

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