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Ortahisar lies between Ürgüp and Nevşehir at the foot of a perforated castle rock. In the background you can see the snow-covered summit of the 3916m high volcano Erciyes Dağ . Its eruptions millions of years ago were partly responsible for the formation of the Cappadocian tuff landscape. In the surroundings of the village there are many orchards and thanks to the special climate in the underground tuff cellars, the fruit keeps fresh for months.
Cappadocia is a part of central Turkey. Eruptions of several volcanoes (e.g. Erciyes Dag, Hasan Dag) had covered the area with tuff. Erosion dug valleys and created an uncountable number of different shaped rocks. The tuff's ability to store water made the valleys much more fertile than the higher surroundings. After the arrival of the first people, they soon started to dig caves into the soft stone. By the time they developed the ability to dig cities into the underground with tunnels of several kilometers. A sophisticated pipe- and tunnel-system cared for fresh air and water, to enable the people to hide from enemies for a long time. In the 5th century hermits started to settle in the valleys and to paint their caves. In the next centuries more and more hermits and monks arrived and a rich cave-architecture with colourfull wallpaintings developed. The most famous are the churches of Goereme and the Peristrema Valley (=Ihlara Valley) between Ihlara and Selime. Today thousands of tourists from all over the world are visiting the area.
