Embark on a Magical Adventure with the Legends of Fairy Chimneys

Cappadocia, which is called a fairy tale land, is hosting a surreal world with its unique fairy chimneys. It has very special geography with thousands of years of cultural development. It offers a visual feast that envy the biggest painters with its originality, architectural form, surrealist views. However, the miracle of fairy chimneys is more than a touristic area that can only be seen and touched. While the legends of the region are enchanted by everyone who is listening, they feel the mysterious magic of Cappadocia.

Despite the scientific explanations about the formation of fairy chimneys, the mystic atmosphere of Cappadocia still takes an important place. Continued to be spoken by the public; how the fairy chimneys were formed, the mysterious construction process of underground cities, giants, and fairies are the former owners of this land, and the legends have stayed popular today. Some Cappadocian legends that take a fairy tale journey out of their storybooks:

Legend of Unfortunate Belha

A tribe settled in the region centuries ago, which is known today as Urumşa. The chieftain was a kind and intelligent ruler who was loved by his people. The chieftain had a beautiful daughter named Belha. The only thing that made the young lady happy was the mother nature. Belha had bathed in the cool waters of Ayazma by herself and sang happy songs.

One day, after taking her usual bath in the holy waters, she wore her clothes and returned home. However, she noticed that a stranger appeared in front of her. The man said that he was the head of the Ziyaret Mountain next to Ayazma and added: "I have been watching your bath with admiration for days, I fell in love with you". Belha got scared and refrained from the stranger at first after hearing this. But over time, she could not resist this love and fell in love with him.

Belha's lovers were growing more and more that her father was undecided. Because whichever man marries the girl, the rest will be his enemies. The chieftain of the tribe thought of making a clever decision and held a javelin competition. Anyone who can survive would marry Belha. After the fierce struggles on the day of the competition, the last 2 people were the Ziyaret Mountain Chief and Aliyli Bey. Aliyli Bey's javelin was stuck in the chest of the Ziyaret Mountain Chief in the relentless duel. Belha, could not bear to lie in a pool of blood of the man she fell in love with, jumped over the javelin to annihilate this horrible scene and went to death. The chieftain could not hide his sadness and regret. He ordered to bury two lovers in the garden of his palace. Even death could not separate the two lovers.

Old Man and Fairies

A long time ago, a hard-working old man lived in one of the villages in Göreme. Grapes grew in their vineyards, and the pigeons carved into the fairy chimneys would never be without eggs. In the last days of his working life, the harvest time wanted to go to his field early, but since he did not have his old power, he collapsed at the foot of a fairy chimney. While crying that his crops would be damaged, he suddenly saw the benevolent fairies with torches in their hands. The fairies gathered the crops and vineyards in the field of the old man and carried them to the hangars and they disappeared until dawn. The old man thought he could not believe his eyes and dreamed, but the reward of diligence should have been the prize, and after that night the fairies always rushed to his aid.

The villagers never knew the truth about the yield of this old peasant's field and how he took care of it, even though he did not have a leg. One day the old man died with his secret, but fairy chimneys kept this secret with silence.