I recently found myself in a place that made it onto my newly-invented bucket list: "the world never ceases to amaze". I found out about this area by chance on the Internet, and the flashy, extraordinary and provocative name - "Valley of Phalluses" - just caught my attention, many articles with this name talk about a fascinating natural phenomenon, giant stones of specific shapes and appearance.
We were aware that once in the region of Cappadocia, it is absolutely unacceptable not to find this legendary valley. Wandering through the sandy expanses of the pastel deserts of this region, we finally spotted the way to those hidden creatures. In fact, when there is information about popular attractions on the Internet, people often post photos of certain popular places in the wrong locations on the map, and therefore it is quite difficult to get there on the map. Because it was impossible to find the primordial valley of the phalluses or if you can call it more intelligently "Love Valley".
Only at the last minute did we catch sight of these miracles when we were randomly driving one of the roads at the end of our stay. At the turn from the main road Çavuşin to the side road leading to our main park, there is a very bright and attractive one, which we called the main guardian of the surrounding deserts. A kind of indestructible pyramid, proudly towering above everyone.
Regarding the name of the valley, I am not really sure if this particular park is called Love Valley, because we visited a specific place marked with an arrow, it was a gorge at the bottom with such a small path that you could walk along and there really were statues in the distance that looked like phalluses.
But the point is that this gorge is a few kilometers away from the actual park of phalluses, maybe they are just two valleys of love but they are definitely two different places. When I was walking, I jokingly called these big stones - "d*cks", but in reality I am not so spoiled and in fact they always looked like mushrooms to me for the most part, although except for one, you yourself will understand what I mean.
After searching the Internet during the writing of the article, I updated the information about this place, and in fact it seems that it's not even the valley of phalluses and not Love Valley, its name is Pashabaglari park with unique geological formations known as "fairy chimneys" or "magic hats". The original park is closed with a net and it seems that the entrance is paid and commercial, although to be honest we never got to explore, because having planned a hike there the night before, I had already identified a detour that led through the rocks, but it was quite accessible to climb and get there. How low is the temperature outside now? There was frost all over the earth's surface.
I didn't fully understand whether the park was really completely fenced and whether we unwittingly broke the system by gaining unique access illegally, believe me, I sincerely thought that it was just an abandoned, closed, not common place.
Even when we were returning, we missed that we entered the territory incorrectly, but even if it was so, then the Turkish government should think about more effective methods of protecting their natural monuments.
In any case, it was an unforgettable trip. And so let's go directly to the immersion in the space of these huge stone columns, which give the landscape a magical look. Huge cone-shaped rocks rising into the sky make a deep impression.
But even simply, these natural formations specifically try to violate the laws of physics, because sometimes this big stone hangs by a thread and does not fall - it fascinates and scares at the same time. It's as if we got into the world from a parallel space, something new, unoccupied, newly baked, you explore with your mouth open, examining these curved shapes and spectacular hats.
And in general, in some rocks there were holes, caves, passages, windows that look like a kind of anthill in an enlarged form, and you are like a doll against this scale. You return to your childhood again, you climb and rejoice like a child at what you see, we walked along narrow paths and peered into every dark crevice. In fact, the unusual shape of these rocks was formed millions of years ago as a result of volcanic eruptions.
The layers of ash accumulated over time hardened and gave rise to this very special stone, which was then sculpted by erosion into these amazing structures. What makes this place even more fascinating is that it is not limited to the natural look.
It turns out that in ancient times this region was an important place of settlement. Monks used these rock formations as dwellings, carving small rooms and churches in the rock to protect themselves from persecution. Here they created a real network of underground temples and rooms.
Here you can really feel the depth of history - it is not just a tourist destination, it is a place that carries thousands of years of culture and traditions. Pashabaglari is truly one of those places that leaves you feeling enchanted and inspired – you see these incredible rocks, you hear the wind play with their tops and you realize that here in Cappadocia everything is beautifully intertwined.
Another interesting feature of this place is that archeological excavations were conducted here in different periods. Many of these caves still preserve ancient frescoes and other decorative elements, which allows you to immerse yourself in the culture and spiritual life of past centuries.
