Karanlik Church, Göreme

Cappadocia is a historical region in Central Anatolia, largely in Nevsehir Province. In the time of Herodotus, circa 5th century BC, the Cappadocians probably occupied a large region from Mount Taurus to the Black Sea. Its boundaries were the chain of the Taurus Mountains in the south, separating it from the region of Cilicia, the upper Euphrates and the Armenian Highland in the east, Pontus in the north, and Lycaonia and eastern Galatia in the west. The name Cappadocia was traditionally used in Christian sources throughout history and is still widely used as an international tourism concept to define a region of exceptional natural and geological wonders, characterized especially by the unique formation of fairy chimneys, as well as a unique historical and cultural heritage, in particular the highly decorated rock-hewn Byzantine churches, the multi-leveled underground ancient towns and the surreal, lunar landscape.