Cappadocia - the outlandish land full of rich history

Have you seen those incredible pictures of hot air balloons flying over a rugged topography? Most of you know that this is Turkey, but how many of you know that it is an underground city in Turkey, Cappadocia? The incredible place that looks like a whole different planet is in Turkey’s Central Anatolia and is a historical place of great significance.
The site was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site back in 1985, and contains stunningly unique rock formations that are known as fairy chimneys. The area was once an active volcanic region, as experts say that millions of years ago, Erciyes, Hasandag, and Gulludag mountains were active volcanoes. The unique structure of Cappadocia formed because of the volcanoes, wind, rain, and ice. The eroding landscape caused basalt stones to be left behind, and this contributed to its current shape as we see them.

But its charm does not end here.

These rocks were then carved, and 250 underground cities were built over a long period of time, that contained houses, churches, and more. The region has been inhabited for centuries, in fact from prehistoric times, and experts have also found Cappadocian tablets, that are basically clay tablets with cuneiform writing inscribed on them. They talk of tax regulations, interest rates, marriage contracts, and trade disputes, among other things.

The imprints of existence were left behind by numerous empires and civilisations, that points to the fact that the Cappadocian region went through a lot of history. These include the Hattis, Hittites, Persians, Byzantines, Seljuks, and the Ottomans.

Also, due to its location, it was part of many important trade routes, and one of them is the famous Silk Route.