In Central Anatolia, Cappadocia is a region better known for its unusual moon-like scenery. Named fairy chimneys, the unusual rock formations for which the area is renowned were formed by extreme volcanic activity and erosion over the millennia.
Two types of rock consist of them: a harder outer basalt and a lighter inner volcanic tufa rock. Sculpted over thousands of years by the elements, the tufa erodes at a higher pace, forming dark mushroom-like caps of these alien-looking spires.
It didn't seem like we were getting out of a bus when we first arrived in Cappadocia. Much like we were stepping off a spacecraft, it seemed. With its mushroom-capped fairy chimneys and cities carved in stone, it was the oddest-looking scenery I'd ever seen.
The cave dwelling in Cappadocia has a long history, so people compared its scenery to the Flintstones, but it looked more like the surface of the moon to me, totally exotic and not of this world. The regional range was one of the things that shocked me the most about Turkey.
Yet Cappadocia topped them all for me. It's elegance that's out of this dimension, as you'll soon see. And if you think it's gorgeous from the field, wait before you see it from the clouds.
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