Cappadocian Geography
Cappadocia, which sits in present day, Nevsehir Province, Turkey, is one of the most ancient cities and largest tourist attractions of the world. The name means, “The land of beautiful horses” and it is in this place that the earliest Christians escaped to flee from the prosecution and the rule of the Roman Empire. This place was perfectly suited for hiding as many volcanic eruptions and erosion as a result of wind and the Kizilimark River made chimneys and perfect places for tunnels. These sights still exist today and are truly a magnificent sight to see.
The actual size of Cappadocia is very hard to define. In its earliest times, Cappadocia was thought to be bordered by Mount Taurus in the south, the Euphrates River in the east, Pontus in the north, and Lake Tuz in the west. It’s thought today to occupy approximately six hundred square miles, with four hundred kilometers spanning east to west and two hundred spanning north to south.
Cappadocia was once two different provinces. One was named Cappadocia, otherwise known as Great Cappadocia. The other division was known as Pontus. Cappadocia was ruled by the Persians and after the fall of the Persian Empire, the division was still present but they became more distinct in their own separate identities. Cappadocia was thought to be only the main inland, and no longer had any relationship with Pontus. The two provinces never reunited and so, it is this main inland which we refer to as Cappadocia today.
The first populations to occupy Cappadocia were the Hittites, Frigs, Persians, Byzantines, Seljuks, and the Ottomans. These populations came during the 2nd century, B.C. and found that the underground cities in Cappadocia were the perfect hiding spot because they could not be found by the Roman soldiers. Because they needed to remain within the underground city to successfully hide from the Romans, they built the cities to their specific uses. To be able to accommodate people, they built certain provisions such as ventilation chimneys, wine production rooms, places of worship, abbeys, wells to provide water, toilets, and areas where they could simply meet with each other.
The cities were built primarily from rock and limestone and the cities often consisted of adjoining tunnels. The tunnels were small and often only allowed for one person. At the exits and entrances of the tunnels, there were often large stones that could be rolled over the entryway to provide added protection against the Romans and more prevalently, wildlife.
Cappadocia has a long and complicated history as one of the oldest places on Earth. It is truly an intriguing place and some areas of the city are still open to be publicly viewed by tourists today.
