Göreme National Park
Göreme - Turkey's national park in Cappadocia, in fact, is an open-air museum. The area of the park is quite impressive and is 300 km2. Goreme is known to many thanks to its unique landscapes in which people have evicted monasteries and entire settlements for centuries.
Goreme Park has a rich religious history. From the 6th to the 9th century there was the largest Christian center, at that time there were at least four hundred churches in Gorem. Cappadocia gave the name to the Romans and translates as "the country of white horses".
In total, there are several dozen settlements in the rocks in the park, as well as six churches. One of the most significant churches is St. Basil's Church. St. Basil in the 6th century was the bishop of Cappadocia and over the years of his life he developed the charter of monastic life, which is used almost unchanged today. In the church you can see his images, as well as his brother - St. George, St. Theodore and the scenes described in the Gospel. In the 11th century, the Dark Church was built in Gorem, so named because only a small window illuminates it, thanks to which frescoes are well preserved in the church. Near Dark is a church with sandals, so named because of prints at the entrance.
The local amazing relief has been formed for 30 million years. At first, strong volcanoes covered the entire area with a large layer of lava and ash. After some time, the ashes turned into a shoe from which multi-colored bizarre rocks formed. In these, the population of Cappadocia built their homes, as the shoe is easily processed. The oldest settlements in Garem were cut down a hundred years before our era. Gradually, monasteries and churches began to appear in the rocks.
Goreme during excavations in 1963, 29 km from the town of Nevsehir, found a huge underground city with a total length of corridors of more than 30 km, numbering 7 floors, going deep by 85 meters. According to scientists, approximately 20,000 people could live in an underground city. Everything was provided for defense, in case of an attack, the entrances were closed with large round stones. In addition, the city is a huge maze, on which it is impossible to pass without a map. Also in the rocks there were camouflaged wells with water in case of siege.
Thousands of tourists from all over the world come to Gorem to admire the unique rocky landscapes.
