Valleys of Cappadocia. Valley of Love - a great place for lovers

Valley of Love - a cluster of rocks of bizarre shapes in the historical region of Turkey - Cappadocia. A popular attraction near Goreme Park.

The valley got its name from the shapes of the rocks, which are similar to phalluses, as a result of which the valley also has another name - the Valley of the Penises. The highlands of Cappadocia were formed due to volcanic eruptions occurring here millions of years ago. Rocks of this shape were formed due to rains and winds washing out and weathering softer volcanic rocks.

Valley of Love stretches for 4 km. between the cities of Uchisar and Goreme. The height of the rocky remains reaches 20-40 m. It is interesting to see them both from the ground and from the air (there are many offers of flights over Cappadocia in a balloon in the region).

And of course, like many world attractions, the valley has its own belief. It is believed that if you conceive a child in the Valley of Love, then he will definitely be born with good health and beautiful.

Valley of Love (Görkündere, Görkündere)- a small but interesting valley, which is located right next to the village of Goreme. This valley is also called Valley of Love-2. It got its name because of the phallic (finger-shaped) rocks, standing separately from each other. Do not confuse it with the Love valley-1 (Love valley), which is included in, is the hallmark of Cappadocia and is depicted in guidebooks and advertising booklets. These valleys are similar in shape of rocks, but the Love valley is noticeably larger.

There are no excursions to this valley, but it is easier to visit it on your own than all the other valleys in the area. It is convenient to combine a walk along it with the passage and inspection of churches with well-preserved frescoes in.

Full map with all the valleys can be downloaded on this page: .

The length of the valley is about 0.5 km. The entrance to the valley is marked with a concrete sign. The inside of the valley is not marked, as it does not make sense: the valley is small and it is impossible to get lost in it. In Görkünder you will find a corral for horses, walking chickens, a small cafe, and at the entrance there are several stalls selling souvenirs, offering tea or freshly squeezed juice. And be sure to stumble upon the gardens of local residents who are trying to use every piece of land available for cultivation.

In the valley, as elsewhere in the vicinity, there are carved cave rooms. Pay attention to the very tops of finger-shaped rocks. There, at the very top, you will see the windows of dwellings carved in stone, and in places where the walls have collapsed, you can clearly see the interior of the premises.

From the valley you can climb to the plateau, where there are fields sown with pumpkins and onions, and vineyards. Probably, the vineyards adjacent to the valley are abandoned and do not have owners. Grapes, especially dark ones, extraordinarily sweet. You can treat yourself to them, but without frills: suddenly my assumption about the abandonment of the vineyards is false.

Sometimes you can stumble upon abandoned campfires, fenced with stones. Probably locals come here for picnics. However, officially it is impossible to make a fire on the territory of the Goreme reserve.

How to find the entrance to the valley

• First option. This option is almost the same as for logging into . First, we leave Goreme towards Cavusin to the crossroads at the exit of the village. We focus on a noticeable large pointer to . We turn right and go along the road to the museum. Soon we will see another landmark to the left of the road - Dilek Camping (100 meters from the intersection), and after about 500 meters from the intersection we find a right turn onto a dirt road and a concrete sign “Zemi Vadisi”. Now we go along this dirt road and after about 300-400 meters we see a road going to the right and a concrete sign to the Görkündere valley.
• Second option. You can descend into the valley from above from Göreme. To do this, from the mosque you need to climb the winding streets up the mountain, which rises above the village and is a popular place for photographing. Landmark - Aydin Kiragi Street. After the ascent, you will have a wonderful panoramic view of the Görkünder valley. Now it remains only to go down.

Important! Read general recommendations for visiting all valleys: .

Valley passage time: 1-1.5 hours will be enough directly to inspect Görkünder. In general, the walk is easy, even with children go here. Please note that the valley can be walked on a circular route. For example, do this: directly from Göreme, go up to the observation deck (see the second option for entering the valley), make beautiful photo panoramas of Göreme and the Görkündere valley, go down to the valley and take a walk there, and then go to see the El Nazar paid church. If you want to go on an adventure, look for the Hidden Church (Saklı Kilise) that is nearby (see explanation below). After that, you can go to the road to the museum and return along it to the village for lunch.

• 1st day, Cappadocia: Meskendir valley, Red and Rose valleys, Cavusin town
• Day 2, Cappadocia: Pasabag, Zelve and Dervent valleys, Urgup city
• 3rd day, Cappadocia: Pigeon Valley, Uchisar City and Valley of Love
• 4th day, Cappadocia: Görkündere, Zemi valleys and bad luck in the Balkan valley
• Day 5, Cappadocia: Goreme Open Air Museum

The next Cappadocian day started with pigeon valley(Güvercınlık Vadisi), which is located near Goreme.

The scheme found on the Internet turned out to be of little use, so we went on a whim, we only knew that we had to end up in Uchisar. Having reached the fork, they chose the leftmost of the three gorges.

Gradually, the path became less and less trodden, until eventually it ran into a sheer cliff. I had to return to the fork.

We chose the rightmost gorge and were not mistaken, it led us to Uchisar(Uchisar). The city is located on a hill and can be seen from afar, almost anywhere in Cappadocia. The landscape is typical, fabulous.

In the center of Uchisar there is a fortress, which takes about 10-15 minutes to go uphill. This 60-meter fortress is considered the highest point in Cappadocia. The whole hill is lined with hotels.

The road to the fortress is full of tourist shops selling the right and not so junk.

The entrance to the fortress is paid, but only to the very top. We decided to start the inspection from below, bypassing the fortress on the left side.

We never got to the paid top, because we climbed from the opposite side of it and from there admired the surrounding landscapes to our heart's content.

Cappadocia never ceases to amaze with bizarre forms, when it seems that nature is no longer able to make anything more fun, something like that appears.

Million dollar view!

After enjoying the views from Uchisar, we set off to the side valleys of love(Bağlıdere Vadisi).

Love Valley business card. Guess why it's called that

In parting - the next houses of the gnomes.

Traditionally, we reached Göreme on foot.

Useful information

What to look for: if you want to get through the Pigeon Valley to Uchisar, go along the rightmost gorge.
Ticket price for Uchisar Fortress: 5 lira
Working hours: from 08:00 to sunset.

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There is a place on earth that is truly created for people who love each other, looking at it you can immediately understand why. Even its name is appropriate - "Valley of Love" (Love Valley), but among the people this place has another more indecent name - "Valley of penises" (Penis Valley), it is located in Cappadocia (Cappadocia), Turkey.

Once in the Valley of Love, it can be noted that this is some kind of extraterrestrial area, it looks so unusual and fantastic, our nature never ceases to amaze us with its natural formations. Millions of years ago, volcanoes raged here, spewing tons of ash and lava and covering rocks and valleys with them. Under the influence of rains and winds, softer rocks were washed out and weathered, and those that were stronger came to the surface, and interesting mountain formations appeared throughout Cappadocia, and in each area they are unique in their own way. So in the "Valley of Love" they expressed themselves in the form of pillars with a pronounced cone-like top.

These stone pillars are called peribajalars (tur. Peri bacaları, “fairy fireplaces”) and consist entirely of tuff, in the upper part they are covered with basalt and andesite, protecting the “hat” of the pillar from the action of rain and winds. The lower part gradually becomes thinner, and this is how such “falos” are obtained, this continues until the part under the “hat” becomes so thin that the “hat” collapses. Having lost its protective part, the column is completely destroyed under the influence of the forces of nature. The average height of the pillars is 20-30 meters, but there are also 40 meter giants. The Valley of Love stretches for four kilometers between the cities of Goreme and Uchissar.

It is not so easy to get to this valley, since it is not possible to get here by bus, and you can drive far from everywhere by car, streams run along the roads. In order to get here, you need to walk about 10 kilometers, along the track under the hot, scorching sun, then along a dirt road, then you will need to go through a cave and a little more along a winding road. Yes ... this is such an inaccessible valley, that's why there are very few tourists in this area. But here you can meet local residents who have vegetable gardens and pastures near the valley.

It is better to visit such a romantic place as the "Valley of Love" together with your loved one, they say if you conceive children in this place, they will certainly be born beautiful and healthy.

From the village of Ihlara to the village of Serime, the Ihlara Gorge stretches between three volcanoes. Already in the 4th century, the construction of churches began here, 13 of which can now be visited, in total 105 buildings are known. Many of them have preserved ancient frescoes.

The churches in the valley do not have any single style, here you can find Syrian, Egyptian and Byzantine motifs. Agachalti ("Church under the trees") is perhaps the most famous complex of Ihlara. Of the three levels, only one has survived, but it is this one that is decorated with frescoes dedicated to the adoration of the Magi, the Ascension of Christ and Daniel with the lions.

No less interesting are the churches of Kokar-Kilise ("Fragrant Church") and Yylanly-Kilise ("Church of Snakes"). In the first one you can find frescoes depicting scenes from the Bible, while in the second they are dedicated to sinners and hell. The monastic settlement of Guzelyurt, founded by St. Gregory the Theologian, is located on the northern bank of the valley.

In the main church, a carved wooden iconostasis has been preserved, which was donated by Nicholas I. To the northeast of the settlement lies the Monastery Valley with its amazing rock complexes. You can write endlessly about the churches and monasteries of Ihlara, but it's best to just go there and see everything with your own eyes.

Imagination Valley Derwent

People come to the Derwent Valley not for entertainment or spectacular sights. People come here for the unique landscape of the area, creating amazing landscapes.

It is enough to connect your imagination a little, as in the local rocks you will be able to distinguish the silhouettes of various objects and animals. At some point, you may get the feeling that you completely left the Earth and ended up on another planet.

Getting to the Derwent Valley is not at all difficult. It is enough to take the bus Goreme - Avanos, and from there walk 5 kilometers towards Yurgup.

Valley of the monks of Pasabag

When traveling around Cappadocia, be sure to check out Zelva. In addition to the rock monastery, there is an interesting natural attraction here - stone pillars. They are hills of volcanic rock, whose shape resembles mushrooms. The place where the stone pillars are located is called the Pashabag Valley.

The Pashabag Valley got its name due to the fact that grapes have been grown here for centuries. Centuries-old traditions continue today - one of the best Turkish wines is produced here.

The second name of the valley is the Valley of the Monks. It is difficult to say where the name came from. There is an opinion that supposedly once upon a time there were churches and cells where monks lived among stone pillars.

Valley of Love

"Valley of Love" is a place in the central part of Turkey in Cappadocia. Here, as a result of volcanic eruptions about 70 million years ago, the territory was cut by deep cracks and covered with layers of volcanic magma. Further, under the influence of the sun, winds, rains and other natural factors, softer volcanic rocks were weathered and as a result amazing bizarre mountains, cones, freaks, stone pillars and phalluses were obtained, thanks to the latter, the valley was called the “Valley of Love”.

Travelers here get the feeling that they are in some kind of fairy-tale country. Especially famous here are "mushrooms with hats", which have become a symbol of Cappadocia. This place is often referred to as the "Land of Lunar Landscapes" or the "Lost World". Despite these desert landscapes, Cappadocia has always been popular with people.

Dove Valley

Pigeon Valley is one of the most beautiful places in Cappadocia. The length of the valley is about 4000 meters, and it is located between the village of Goreme and the highest point of Cappadocia - Ukhchasar.

The history of this unusual place goes back to the late 19th - early 20th century. The reason for the creation of dovecotes was the lack of fertile soil, and the best fertilizer for vineyards was obtained from pigeons.

The valley is a cluster of rocks with numerous tunnels, windows, nests of pigeons, of which there are thousands. On the rocky walls you can see various drawings in red and blue tones, which were applied using a special mineral to attract birds.

Pigeons are highly valued in Cappadocia at the present time, therefore, various measures are being taken to protect them from predators.

Valley of Cappadocia

Cappadocia is the historical name of a unique area in the central part of Turkey. What is so amazing about her? First of all, it is necessary to note the strange landscape that formed about 70 million years ago. Thanks to volcanic eruptions, the earth was covered with deep cracks and lava mixed with geological rocks.

Gradually, under the influence of water, sun and wind from the volcanic rock, separate hills of bizarre shapes and outlines were formed. Strange hilly valleys and rocks sometimes have such bizarre shapes that it is difficult to believe in their natural origin.

Our ancestors also surrounded them with a mystical halo, as can be seen from the rock inscriptions and drawings in the caves of Cappadocia. Many of these valleys are united in Open Air Museums and are included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Sights of Cappadocia