Soğanlı Valley

The plan had been to drive about 90 minutes to a mosque and meet an imam whom Togay knew. But the weather forecast was for rain in the early afternoon, so Togay suggested an alternative - do some hiking before the rain arrived. We both preferred plan B.

It was about an hour’s drive to Soğanlı (soh-ahn-luh) Valley. As with our previous hike, our driver Mahmut dropped us off at the higher end of the valley, with plans to meet us at the lower end. We could see right away that doors and windows had been carved into the fairy chimneys on both sides of the road.

During the 9th to 13th centuries CE, Byzantine monks lived in this valley and built about a hundred churches and dwellings in the rocks. Unlike the Göreme Open Air Museum, here we could wander freely through the chambers, explore the nooks and crannies, and take photos.

These rock churches also had frescoes with apocryphal scenes. I loved being able to take my time and admire their beauty without security guards and crowds of tourists. The colors still looked vivid in the natural light.

Unfortunately these churches were unprotected and had a lot of damage from graffiti and exposure. Interestingly, some of the graffiti was in Greek. I didn’t mind the flaws; they were an authentic part of each church’s long story, spanning a thousand years or more.

The valley was starkly beautiful, with fairy chimneys standing out against the golden grass and majestic mesas silhouetted against the sky. The last part of the trail descended through a small village with houses and a small mosque clinging to the hillside. Soğanlı Valley is a hidden gem in Cappadocia.