Paşabağ

Paşabağ has the most photographed fairy chimneys in Cappadocia because of a quirk of geology: here the harder basalt cap rock sits over the tuff in a way that has produced cones with two and sometimes three separate caps on a single stem, which occurs almost nowhere else. The valley is called the monks' valley for the hermits who cut cells into them - one three-headed chimney holds a chapel dedicated to Saint Simeon, with a small room and a window cut high up, reached by steps. Stylite hermits, following the example of Simeon the Stylite, sought isolation in the tops of these towers. The site is small and flat, walked in half an hour on marked paths, with vine and apricot plots between the cones and a run of souvenir and juice stalls at the entrance. It is on every tour itinerary, so mornings and late afternoons are the only quiet windows.

What's there

• The multi-capped chimneys - cones with two and three heads.
• The Simeon chapel - the hermit's rooms cut in one chimney.
• The vineyard plots - vines and apricots between the cones.
• The marked paths - the short flat circuit through the valley.

When to go

April to June and September to November. Early morning or late afternoon; the middle of the day belongs to the coach circuit and the light is flat.

Good to know

It is small - an hour covers it, less if you are not photographing. Extremely busy in season. Climbing on the chimneys is prohibited and the interiors are mostly closed. Stalls at the entrance are pushy.

Nearby

Zelve is on the same ticket; Devrent Valley and Avanos are minutes away.