I was searching YouTube when a video about “fair chimneys” came up in my results.
It sounded so whimsical, I couldn’t resist checking it out.
It turns out that fairy chimneys are geological formations, also known as hoodoos, that form within sedimentary and volcanic rock in dry, hot areas around the world.
While that may not be that interesting, the video about them is quite enticing. It’s footage of an area of Turkey called Cappadocia where fairy chimneys have been carved out to be homes, churches and even whole villages for millennia.
Here’s a 360° video that’s more history of the Goreme National Park and the Rock Sites of Cappadocia featured in the above video.
On a more entertaining note, anyone that visits Cappadocia can become a troglodyte because some hotels there are in fairy chimneys. Here’s a video with some peeks into the exotic Aren, Aydinli, Elika, Kelebek and Terra “cave hotels.”
Finally, you probably noticed those hot air balloons in all of the videos.
They were there because Cappadocia also happens to be one of the hot air balloon capitals of the world. Check out this brief 360° experience by VIEMR.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this “fairy chimney” inspired adventure.
If you’ve become as enchanted as I have with Cappadocia’s fairy chimneys, cave hotels and hot air balloons, maybe even added visiting them to your bucket list, then here are some links to where you can learn more.
Göreme National Park and the Rock Sites of Cappadocia (World Heritage Site, UNESCO)
Cappadocia: Turkey’s land of fairy chimneys (James Bainbridge, Lonely Planet)
Turkey’s ‘Fairy Chimneys’ Were Millions of Years in the Making (Chris Heller, Smithsonian Magazine)