STAR WARS 1977 was filmed here!

Our road trip through Turkey has taken us from the sandy beaches at the base of this beautiful country, through the mountains that are covered with snow.  Read article here. We’ve just had a fabulous traditional Turkish lunch right opposite the most incredible area.

We are now in Selime, Turkey, and it is situated 28 km from Aksaray, Selime is a town that was established at the end of the Ihlara Valley.

And before us,  are …

… The Mystical Fairy Chimneys of Turkey

Here are rock-cut churches here of which the most important is known as a Selime Cathedral.

We head on in – the tickets are 10TL ($5 AU) and give you access to two places, but it is late in the day now, so we won’t get to use the 2nd one. The Cathedral is where we head first.  It has been hollowed out of the rocks on a rather elevated site.

In great enthusiasm and vigour, my son is racing around, and I get a bit nervous as its a challenge to find him in the hidden arches. The whole reason these deserted monasteries, churches, houses etc are here, is because they were smart people. Why build out of a rock, when you can carve into rock? But the rock was easy to carve because it is soft, so it can crumble, and it can be slippery.

Just as I say that he slips on the crumbling rock and falls down these stairs. They are worn rock that is no longer real step shapes, and he falls down the last five. We have tears, but thankfully no ripped skin or clothes.

This gorgeous Monastery was painted at the end of the 9th century or beginning of the 10th century AD.

Check out these pillars below. It freaks me that they even hold!   Inside there are two rows of rock columns to the right in the Cathedral area. These columns divide the cathedral into three sections. The figurative frescoes of the largest religious edifice in Cappadocia, the 8th century.

And then there are the insides of the churches and monasteries that are decorated by carving into the rock.

These look very much like dinosaurs! the ancient artwork is fascinating.

There are some great slippery slide areas which kids love, and adults too.

I find I have to work carefully so I don’t damage my clothes, or slide down on my bum, where I start and I can’t stop.

Here is the inside of one of the rooms.  They are pretty cool.

We then head toward the carved church of the Virgin Mary. 
There is an old ladder and it doesn’t seem to strong to me, so we cancel this climb. Opposite this area is a cemetery with Selime Sultan Turbe (Monumental Tomb).

People still live here, including a 97-year-old lady.  It’s amazing to see their homes and watch them come and go. Poultry roams freely and we even found a freshly laid egg/

We get to the Virgin Mary church, and head up and in.

Here is a close up of the entrance – you need a lighter or flashlight or a phone light to go in – it is dark.

There are some great frescoes inside to discover too. This ancient world is incredible.

These used to be populated by Greeks. Here is proof.

We feel like we are in an area from another planet or outer space.  And interestingly this is actually where the filming of the very first Star Wars movie was made in 1977.

We finish with a look inside an old mosque.  It is rare for non-muslims to be allowed into a mosque, and I want to have a look.  It saddens me that this was once an area inhabited by Christians, but the faith here is no longer.

As we leave it gets dark.  We get directions to the main road. The GPS leads us astray and we go down back lonely roads in the dark.  We end up 30 km in the opposite direction to the left of the town we are meant to head to, so another 30 km back through small back dark roads with snow on the sides to get in the right direction. Nearly 2 hours later we drive to the most stunning place – Taskonaklar Boutique Cave Hotel

Questions and Comments

•  What do you make of my visit to Turkey?
• Have you been to the Mystical chimneys in turkey?
• How has the experience been?
• Do share your comments with us below.