Zelve Open Air Museum Goreme Cappadocia

Turning right at the 3rd km of the Goreme – Avanos road, driving by some interesting fairy chimneys one reaches another place of interest in the area, the old Zelve village.

Some of the most beautiful and exotic fairy chimneys of Cappadocia region can be seen here, especially in the Pasabag area. The fairy chimneys here, 15 – 20 m in height, are in groups and some are triple-coned.

Churches and monasteries from the Iconoclastic period can be found in Old Zelve. The monasteries here were used as hiding places by the Christians. Like some other villages and towns, the old Zelve village bears evidence that Christians and Muslims lived together. The structure that resembles the minaret of an old mosque is still in good condition. After the Christians left this village, the Turks lived here for a while. In 1950 it was also abandoned by the Turks due to serious erosion and the villagers were moved to a new village a couple of kilometers from Zelve. Later, the Old Village of Zelve was opened to public as a museum and has become a popular place among the Turkish and foreign tourists.

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 23rd, 2013 at 8:31 am and is filed under Cappadocia, Touristic Regions, WELCOME TO TURKEY. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.