We parked in the southwest Cappadocia next to a canyon rimmed by high cliffs that hide rock-cut churches. The 15 km long and up to 150 m deep canyon was formed in prehistoric times by the Melendiz River. From the 7th century AD, the valley was settled by Byzantine monks who dug their houses and churches out of the tuff stone, which the eruptions of Mount Hasan had deposited. Next to the Ihlara Ticket Office (🎫 90 TRY) there is a stairway with almost 400 steps, which descends over 100 m down into the canyon, where we walked around the churches for about 2 hours. Taxi back from Belissima Ticket Office did cost us 100 TRY.
Parking location – Ihlara: 38.253184N 34.301947E (🚻,💦,🅿️ – 30 TRY)