Where to Visit
Zelve
About 5 km from Avanos and 1 km from Pasabaglari, Zelve was founded on the steep northern slopes of Aktepe. Consisting of three separate valleys, the ruins of Zelve is the area with the most ‘fairy chimneys’ - a famous sight special to Cappadocia - which here have sharp points and thick trunks. It is not known exactly when people began living in the dwellings carved into the rock, found in places like Uchisar, Goreme, Cavusin and Zelve. What is known is that Zelve was an important Christian community and religious centre in the 9th and 13th centuries, where, the first religious seminars for priests were held in the vicinity.
Çavuşin (Nicephorus Phocas) Church
It is beside the Göreme-Avanos road 2.5 km out of Göreme. The narthex of this church has fallen down. It has tunnel vaults, a high nave and 3 apses. It dates back to 964-965 AD.
Güllüdere (St. Agathangelus) Church
It is located in the far left draw of the Güllüdere valley about 2 km from the village of Çavuşin. It was founded at the mouth of the draw on top of a steep slope.
The design of the nave is square with a flat ceiling and it has a single broad apse. The apse was added in the 9th or 10th century to the main structure dating back to the 6th - 7th century. There are 2 or 3 layers of frescoes in the apse which indicates that it was painted regularly. Symbols of Gospel authors are drawn symmetrically and are sitting on the right and left of an enthroned Jesus.
In the middle of the flat ceiling is the relief of a cross in the middle of a circle surrounded with palm leaves and garlands. This sort of relief most likely belongs to the Iconoclastic period. The people of the area had a great love for the cross and it continued to be used as a motif after the Iconoclastic era because it symbolized the “Holy Cross” in Jerusalem.
Özkonak Underground City
Located 14 km northeast of Avanos, this underground city was built on the northern slopes of Mt. Idis in an area with lots of strata made up of volcanic granite. The extensive galleries of the city are spread out over a large area and connected to each another by tunnels. The underground cities in Kaymakli and Derinkuyu, are very narrow (5 cm) and there are long holes between the different levels of the city that used to provide communication between the different levels of the city. The ventilation of these neatly carved out rooms was provided by these holes when the city was sealed up against enemies.
The city was discovered in 1972 by the local muezzin and farmer Latif Acar, when he was trying to find out where the water disappeared, which was tending to his crops. First of all, he found an underground room which, , was revealed a whole city housed with an incredible 60,000 people for up to three months, after excaveted. A total of 10 floors were discovered, to a depth 40m, although now only four are open.
It is unlikely that the other underground cities in this area, besides the rolling stone doors, there were holes above the tunnels used for dumping hot oil on the enemy. Similar to Kaymakli and Derinkuyu, Ozkonak has a ventilation system, a water well, a winery and rolling stone doors.
Opening hours: Summer 08.00 - 19.00; winter 08.00 - 17.00
Many people come to Istanbul for the shopping alone. The Kapali Carsisi, or Covered Market, is the logical place to start as the area and variety is immense.
Göreme, in which there are lots of fairy chimneys and churches, is declared as an open air museum. Tokalı Church, Priestesses and Priests Monastery, Saint Basil Chapel, Elmalı Church, Saint Barbara Chapel, Yılanlı (Saint Onuphrius) Church, Karanlık Church, Çarıklı Church, El Nazar Church, Saklı Church, Mother Mary (Kılıçlar Kuşluk) Church, Saint Eustathios Church and Durmuş Kadir Churches within its territories are valuable to visit places.
Göreme is a wide open air museum, which is under protection with Fairy Chimneys and lots of very interesting churches. The region was one of the most important centers of Christianity.