Brief History

The Cappadocia region, where the Fairy Chimneys are located, is bordered by Kızılırmak in the north, Yeşilhisar in the east, Hasan and Melendiz Mountains in the south, Aksaray in the west and Kırşehir in the northwest. This region has been a permanent settlement since the Paleolithic period. Cappadocia has hosted Assyrian, Hittite, Persian, Byzantine and Seljuk civilizations throughout its history.

The region, which the Assyrians called "Katpatuka", took its current name during the Persian period. In Persian language, Cappadocia means "Land of Beautiful Horses".

The fairy chimneys in the Cappadocia region were formed by the lava erupting from volcanoes 10 million years ago, descending to the plateaus and forming a tuff layer of almost 100 – 150 meters above the ground, and this layer changed over time with the effect of floods and winds descending from the slopes of the valleys. The flood waters, which were strengthened by the scarcity of vegetation and the impermeability of the tuff layer, tried to make a way between the hard rocks while flowing. The hard rocks cracked and ruptured under the force of the strong waters, leaving deep valleys at the bottom.

The hard rocks that protect themselves from the erosion of flood waters, the formation of fairy chimneys with a hat and conical body, which are unique in the world, have been formed by nature working with an artist and sculptor for centuries in this geography. Fairy chimneys have been the natural buildings of the region since the Paleolithic period. They were carved by people and used for various functions such as shelter and worship.

The model you will examine was made by sampling the fairy chimneys of different sizes in the Cappadocia region. It is a model of a form with more than one fairy chimney adjacent to it. They usually consist of a conical body and a hard rock cap on it. The recesses on the surface of the model show the stairs, doors and windows that people created to live in them.