Richard AmmonIn the Cappadocia region, the rocks of near the town of Göreme have over millions of years eroded into hundreds of spectacular pillars and minaret-like forms. The volcanic deposits are soft rocks that the people of the villages carved out to form houses, churches, snd monasteries. Göreme became a monastic center between 300-1200 AD. The Göreme Open Air Museum (photos 20-51) is the most visited site of the monastic communities in Cappadocia and is one of the most famous sites in central Turkey. It is a complex comprising more than 30 rock-carved churches and chapels containing some superb frescoes, dating from the 9th to the 11th centuries.
The first 10 photos are of the village of Mustafapasa a short drive from Goreme.
Photos 10-19 are of the Soganli Valley where dolls are made and bread is baked.
Photos 64-68 are of the underground city of Derinkuyu, just south of Goreme.
Photos 69-78 were taken in the ‘sacred’ Soganli Valley with its many natural rock-formation painted churches.
