Pigeon Lofts, Red Rose Valley, Goreme, Cappadocia, Turkey

Pigeon Lofts carved Into Rockface - Red Rose Valley, Goreme, Cappadocia, Turkey. Farmers collect bird-droppings to fertilise their land. Red Rose Valley is a large valley located between Goreme and Cavusin villages. GÃÂ¶reme is a district of the NevÃÅ¸ehir Province in Turkey. After the eruption of Mount Erciyes about 2,000 years ago, ash and lava formed soft rocks in the Cappadocia Region, covering a region of about 20,000 km2. The softer rock was eroded by wind and water, leaving the hard cap rock on top of pillars, forming the present-day fairy chimneys. Byzantine hermits &people of GÃÂ¶reme realized that these soft rocks could be easily carved out to form houses, churches, monasteries, fortresses and even complete underground cities into the cones. Entire troglodite villages and subterranean churches are hewn out of the soft volcanic rock. These Christian sanctuaries contain many examples of Byzantine art from the post-iconoclastic period. These frescoes are a unique artistic achievement from this period.

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Keywords: anchorite cappadocia cappadocian carved cut fairychimneys formation goreme loft lofts pigeon pillars red rock rockcut rocks rose sanctuary subterranean troglodite turkey underground valley volcanic

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