Another day of exploring Cappadocia.
And this is the road to Selime Castle — or rather, almost a road, because that day we didn’t make it there and were forced to turn back and head home. But let me tell the whole story from the beginning.
So, we booked an apartment in Aksaray and set off as quickly as possible toward Selime Castle, which I wrote about in my previous post. And thus, our journey began.
The road welcomed us with wonderful weather. The sun illuminated the fields so magically that they appeared incredibly bright and green. The sunlight looked like some kind of spell — a blessing descending upon the earth. It felt as if we had entered one of the backrooms universes.
The road welcomed us with wonderful weather. The sun illuminated the fields so magically that they appeared incredibly bright and green. The sunlight looked like some kind of spell — a blessing descending upon the earth. It felt as if we had entered one of the backrooms universes.
On the other side of the road, we saw a wonderful mosque. It was beautifully built with an interesting brick relief, and dark green domes, with a golden sharp top. Although it stood right beside the road, the view behind it made its presence there feel very special. In the distance, beyond the mosque, Mount Erciyes appeared.
At that time, I didn’t yet know it was a volcano — to me, it looked like a huge mountain touching the clouds. The grandeur and mystical presence of the volcano, surrounded by the blue shade of the sky seemingly descending to the earth, completely enchanted me. It turns out there is even a ski resort on this volcano!
As we continued driving through the breathtaking landscapes characteristic of Cappadocia, it was impossible to remain indifferent. Every rock felt like a separate work of art. Surrounded by green fields, from time to time fascinating shapes made of the same lava material appeared seemingly out of nowhere. We stopped to admire one of them and take a few photos. There, we found a large cluster of hills with what looked like ancient carvings. When I had searched online for information about Selime Castle, photos of this place sometimes appeared, which had confused me.
Stepping out of the car, we were greeted by an incredible view — a massive cluster of large hills, surrounded by smaller ones. The place was vast, intriguing, multifaceted, circularly arranged with various shapes, clusters, separations, and distortions. On the meadow in front of it, flowers were growing — seemingly of every color and kind. They were so delicate, even though they were wildflowers, and they adorned the hills perfectly.
A strange and interesting rock protruded from one of the hills. Climbing onto it, you could observe the city of Selime, filled with trees — pyramidal poplars. These trees look so light and airy. With all their branches, they seem to stretch toward the sky, and their vibrant green color saturates everything around them. It was quite unexpected for me to see them in Turkey — I don’t usually encounter this type of vegetation here. It feels more like the nature of Ukraine. But overall, Turkey is an incredibly diverse country, with completely different regions.
Standing atop this large lava hill, we watched a river flowing along the road below. Behind it rose hills forming something like a wall, as if protecting the road from all dangers. And beyond that wall lay an endless horizon of green hills — one covering the next, stretching farther and farther until they disappeared from view.
(the view I'm talking about is on this photo)⬇️
This entire landscape reminded me of an Impressionist scene. As if Claude Monet had painted his masterpiece right here. A slightly blurred, peaceful atmosphere, gently stirred by the wind. A very light ambiance with a clear yet harmoniously contrasting color palette. Truly a colorful and striking landscape.
To be honest the rock inside reminded me of some kind of laboratory lol ⬆️
Climbing onto this rock, my mother (
The place really looks incredible, like people still use these places in work. And i think that it can be. Some people in villagers may use these carvings in rocks as storage for foods etc.
Meanwhile, I didn’t notice where she had gone, which frightened me a little. I began shouting her name, calling out loudly, but she didn’t respond. Now I understand how one might forget everything upon encountering such a unique sight. After searching for her nearby and not finding her — since I hadn’t gone far — I returned to the car in distress and told my sister (
I would say this place is almost as incredible as Selime Castle itself — so unique and multifaceted.
We wanted to take a few more photos when suddenly, out of nowhere, a powerful sandstorm began. The sand hit my skin so hard it felt as if it might tear it apart. It was like a stone rain, tons of particles flying straight at us. The wind became extremely strong, and we barely managed to get down. I covered my face with my hands to keep sand out of my eyes. Because of the wind, I could barely open the car door — and the sand was pounding our car violently!
That’s when we realized that reaching Selime Castle that day was impossible. By the way, the sand actually tore off a bit of my skin. We decided to leave it for another day.
On our way back, it started to rain, and we witnessed the weather after the storm. The view was truly astonishing. After the rain, due to the humidity in the air, a rainbow appeared — it looked absolutely incredible.
Later, as we continued our journey, we saw that same mosque again, but in a completely surreal state. In the night, it was glowing green, like some kind of alien spaceship 🛸
Bye bye, everyone! 🗻🌄🌸🌷