Rock churches of Cappadocia The oldest churches which can be seen today in the region date back to the 6th century. The most intense period of church building took place during the 9th to 12th centuries. Construction of rock churches continued under Seljuk rule ,which started at the end of the 11th century . The Seljuk Turks tolerated the Christian faith. The Christians had a complete freedom of faith. Early churches have very simple plans with single aisle . Later other types of plan were developed. The churches are decorated with attractive frescos. Frescos were usually applied to the plain rock surface of church walls. Later the frescos were done on a plaster ground. Sometimes , the walls of the whole church were covered with plaster, as in the Buckle Church in Göreme. The artists in most cases were local painters.

Monasteries Christian Monasteries were established in Cappadocia from the 4th century onwards. For purpose of defense and other reasons, monastic communities existed in clusters. In order to be officially deemed as a monastery a community of monks was required to have at least 8 to 10 members with evident means of support. The minimum age for entering a monastery was fixed at 10 by the Council in Constantinople in 691. Tonsure came at the age of sixteen or seventeen .Communal existence in monasteries may have developed as a reaction to the asceticism of monks seeking salvation through solitude. Monks could not live alone unless they first spent three years in a community of monks. Most monastic complexes consisted of a church, a refectory and storage rooms . The existence of storage rooms was related to the secular function of the monasteries as agricultural production units.

Fairychimneys “Fairy chimneys” were formed when lava covering the tuff (consolitadeted volcanic ash) gave way along preexisting cracks of sloping areas and become isolated pinnacles. “Fairy chimneys,” which can attain a height of up to forty meters, have conical shapes and consist of caps of harder rock resting on pillars of softer rock. A “Fairy chimney” exists until the neck of the cone erodes and its protective cap falls off. The subsequent disintegration of the remaining pinnacle continues until it is completely leveled down.