Cappadocia is one of the most fascinating landscapes in Turkey. It is the location of the Zelve Valley that has been transformed into an open air museum. A strange world of volcanic tuff that was once the habitat of early Christian monks and their followers. The soft tuff facilitated the digging of hundreds of caves in which their creators lived and worked, and, as the centuries ticked by, even churches.

A confusion of paths lead through the valley to the dwelling caves, steps, churches and dovecotes in which birds built their nests. A surreal rock landscape which at first sight appears to be somewhat hostile.

Zelve is known as Valley Of The Monks yet it was once an early Christian settlement in which monks as well as farmers, and later, also Christians and Moslems, lived together in harmony.