The “fairy chimneys” of Turkey are naturally occurring, but bizarre-appearing spires that can reach heights of up to 130 feet (40 meters), sculpted over millions of years by the elements from soft volcanic rock. Sprinkling the Love Valley in Göreme National Park are thousands of these spindly chimneys, creating a rocky wonderland that has served as a haven for human civilizations for almost 4,000 years.
Approximately 14 million years ago, volcanic activity commenced, laying the groundwork for the current rocky terrain. Ash was dumped on what is now Central Anatolia by a series of eruptions, and the ash consolidated into thick layers of tuff, a light-colored, porous rock. Lava from later eruptions covered the tuff, hardening into a crust of basalt. The chimneys, which are officially known as “hoodoos,” developed over ages as wind and water worked their magic on the rocks, eroding the tuff and leaving behind nothing but pillars. Because the basalt eroded more slowly, many of the chimneys still have basalt tips that resemble mushrooms.
The fairy chimneys were shaped in part by people, but nature carried out the majority of the work. According to National Geographic, the area was home to the Hittites between 1800 and 1200 B.C., and their caves and tunnels can be found all over the countryside. Later, as Central Anatolia shared borders with several empires, including the Greek, Persian, Byzantine, and Roman ones, the people living there dug out hiding spots beneath and amid the spires due to the region’s constant unrest. To escape persecution in ancient Rome, Christian’s excavated churches and monasteries out of the soft stone, creating vast underground communities through the expansion of cave and tunnel networks.
According to UNESCO, it is “one of the world’s most striking and largest cave-dwelling complexes” because of the sheer density of living spaces tucked away among the fairy chimneys. In 1985, the organization added the Cappadocia rock sites and Göreme National Park to its list of World Heritage Sites. National Geographic has termed the fairy chimneys “the world’s most unusual high-rise neighborhood.”
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