Zelve Open Museum, Cappadocia, Turkey

Zelve Open-Air Museum is a breathtaking site, with three valleys of rock-cut houses and churches. The area was inhabited by people until 1952. It was then that the valleys were judged to be too dangerous and the inhabitants were relocated to a nearby village called Yeni Zelve (New Zelve).



There is also the remains of a simple rock-cut mosque among the churches and houses. Zelve's churches are not so fantastically adorned with frescoes like those in Göreme Open-air Museum.



The rock-cut houses. Though you can explore and even enter some of these houses, most of the the places are off-limits due to danger of collapse.



Inside one of the houses after climbing up a creaky and rusty metal staircase. The shaky ladder did not inspire confidence in me but the view from that height (not that high) and through the 'doorways and windows' was quite spectacular.



A camel, a donkey and a line of fairy chimneys. Zelve is famous for its fairy chimneys (peribacalar) which are formed when the lava covering the tuff is eroded, leaving pinnacle formations. These pinnacles are capped with harder rocks resting at the top. This is in Paşabağı, Zelve.



A smaller, isolated fairy chimney.



And the unique trio of fairy chimneys.



There were many souvenir shops around this place and if you want to buy a keepsake of Cappadocia, why not splurge on one of these? I didn't. I have my photos as memories.



This picture was taken on our way to Zelve. Beautiful isn't it?



And this is another view of the Zelve Open-Air Museum. A wider view.