Fairy chimneys, cave hotels and dawn balloons
Volcanic ash, worn down over millennia, has left Cappadocia with valleys of cones, pillars and 'fairy chimneys' that people have carved into homes, dovecotes and churches for centuries. The Göreme Open-Air Museum holds rock-cut chapels with Byzantine frescoes, and underground cities such as Derinkuyu and Kaymaklı descend many levels into the rock. Base yourself in Göreme or Ürgüp in a cave hotel, hike the Rose and Love valleys, and get up early for the balloons that fill the sky at dawn.