Zelve

The most interesting formations of Fairy Chimneys of Cappadocia are at Pasabag and Zelve, five kilometers from Avanos.

Cappadocia - Zelve Valley by Traces in the Sand

Here are two canyons in a hidden valley to casual view. Because of the favorable conditions for defense of its site, it was the scene of human habitation continuous from early times.Zelve is thought that the earliest settlements occurred in the Byzantine period. It became of the most important settlements and religious centers for the Christian community between the ninth and thirteenth centuries. Zelve held a position of prominence for the earliest ecclesiastical councils.Zelve sheltered a quite dense populace, and vidence of their daily life has survived to the present. The places where they drew water and ground their grains and conducted their worship are still standing. These churches-most of which were built during the iconoclastic era-are built on the plan of one or two naves or a double nave. The pictorial and other decoration of the church is dated to the ninth-tenth centuries. Üzümlü and Gerikli are the most important churches. A mosque carved out of the rock can also be found here. In recent times, the Muslim community removed to Yeni Zelzeve (Aktepe) after 1950 when, due to the characteristic erosion of the tufa, the mosque became subject to the threat of collapse and destruction.

Zelve Monastery

Zelve Monastery was carved into the rock in pre-Iconoclastic times. The Zelve monastery complex is located on the northern slopes of Aktepe, 1km from Pasabaglari and 10 km out from Goreme on the Avanos road. Zelve does not have the rich frescoes of Goreme and other Cappodocian locations. Spread out over three valleys the monastery is still rich in its own beauty. The valleys can provide you with plenty of hiking and exploring. The complex contains innumerable rooms and passages which also house many pointed fairy chimneys with large stems, at about 40 feet above the valley floor.

Zelve, though recently uninhabited, was an important settlement and religious area during the 9th and 13th centuries.

Cappodica's first seminaries to train priests are located here at the monastery. Dating back to the early years of monastery life in Zelve is the Direkli Church (with the Columns). Direkli is located at the bottom of the slope. The main decorations are Iconoclastic-doctrine high relief crosses. The valley also contains the Balikli (Fish), Uzumlu (Grapes), and Geyikli (Deer) Churches. These churches date to the Pre-Iconoclastic period. The area was inhabited until 1952. The area also contains houses, a tunnel joining two of the valleys, a mill, and a mosque. Several dovecotes are found in the valley.

The town Avanos is famous for its colourful earthenware pots. Numerous workshops allow visitors to watch how they are made. The material used for the pottery is the red clay from the Kýzýlýrmak River, known as the longest river of Turkey.