The fantastical "fairy chimneys" found in central Turkey"s historical Cappadocia region were formed by a collision of the natural and the man-made—and they form a scene that seems straight out of a Dr. Seuss illustration. The landforms were created when volcanoes deposited mounds of soft, porous rock called tuff, which was later covered with hard basalt. In the 10th century (though possibly starting up to 5,000 years ago) humans excavated the tuff to create caves and catacombs that could fit thousands of dwellers. Through not only the astonishing ruins but the many "cave hotels" hewn into rock in the city of Göreme, the memory of those ingenious city planners lives on.
And to think that I saw it in Cappadocia
Today in History
More Desktop Wallpapers:
-
International Museum Day
-
Spring equinox
-
Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve in Costa Rica
-
National Mushroom Day
-
Art over Amalfi
-
Camels at Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, India
-
Three cheers for polar bears!
-
Everyone s watching the Perseids
-
Red squirrel
-
Crescent Lake near Dunhuang, China
-
A dramatic view of Sicily
-
Skyscraper Day
-
Land of the midnight sun
-
Space Week isnt over yet!
-
Bear cubs roughhouse on Siblings Day
-
Art in the chapel
-
A rock in a wild place
-
Milky Way over Zabriskie Point, California
-
Telašćica Nature Park, Dugi Otok, Croatia
-
Mid-Autumn Festival
-
Detroit Industry Murals by Diego Rivera
-
Cumberland Island National Seashore
-
Brocken spectre in Central Balkan National Park, Bulgaria
-
Buddha in the roots of a tree, Ayutthaya, Thailand
-
Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve
-
Over the boardwalk
-
Don t forget—it’s World Elephant Day
-
Flag Day
-
Cetacean Saturday
-
Merry Christmas!
Bing Wallpaper Gallery

