Cappadocia Landscape

Cappadocia is a small area in Central Turkey covering around 300 square kilometers which has a unique, almost surreal, landscape. It numbers among the most fascinating corners of the world. This veritable lunar landscape distinguishes itself by its extensive geological formations, which often have an unreal air to them. Volcanic activity formed a plateau of ash and the strange, rugged rock formations were created by the forces of erosion. The unusual structures were formed by the softer ash layers eroding faster than the harder layers of basalt and andesite which remained on top making the capped cone shapes.

The interesting rock formations, known as "fairy chimneys", have been formed as the result of the erosion of this tufa layer, sculpted by wind and flood water, running down on the slopes of the valleys. Water has found its way through the valleys creating cracks and ruptures in the hard rock. The softer, easily erodable material underneath has been gradually swept away receding the slopes and in this way, conical formations protected with basalt caps have been created. The geology of areas where fairy chimneys form typically comprises a thick layer of tuff (consolidated volcanic ash), covered by a thin layer of basalt or other volcanic rocks that are more resistant to erosion than the underlying tuff. Over time, cracks in the basalt allow the much softer tuff to be eroded and washed away. Fairy chimneys are formed where a small cap or boulder of the original basalt remains, and protects a cone of tuff beneath it from erosion. Eventually, the tuff will be undercut to the extent that the cap falls off, and the remaining cone is then quickly eroded.

Hoodoos are a tourist attraction in the Cappadocia region of Turkey where houses have been carved from these formations. The fairy chimneys with caps, mainly found in the vicinity of Urgup, have a conical shaped body and a boulder on top of it. The cone is constructed from tufa and volcanic ash, while the cap is of hard, more resistant rock such as lahar or ignimbrite. Various types of fairy chimneys are found in Cappadocia. Among these are those with caps, cones, mushroom like forms, columns and pointed rocks.

View of Cappadocia Landscape from hot air balloon

Lunch in a Cave Restaurant Uranos Sarikaya