Cappadocia

The first signs of human presence date from the neolithic and the calcolithic periods. Signs of human life have been discovered, dating from the bronze age and the Hittite period (3000-1750 BC). In around 2000 BC, people coming from Europe and passing through Caucasus settled in Anatolia. They progressively built an empire and after 600 years of reign, they were defeated by the Phrygians and their empire was dismantled.

Other peoples took over the region; the Kimmers, then the Medes and lastly the Persians. Alexander the Great, a Macedonian king, defeated the Persian armies in 334 and 332 BC and dismantled the Persian Empire. As it was one of the most extreme limits of the Roman Empire, they built fortifications around Kayseri and brought in their legions. Christianity, coming from Palestine, spread in the south of Anatolia, then in Cappadocia. The first Christians emigrated to the cities and villages around here. They started digging the first churches and settled in the dwellings made in the rocks.

After the partition of the Roman empire into two parts, Cappadocia, influenced by Byzantium, was often a battlefield between Sassanides and Byzantines. In the 11th century, the Turkish Seljuks, led by their chief Alparslan, invaded Anatolia and defeated Romanos Diogenes, the Byzantine emperor. After the fall of the Seljuks; the Ottoman Empire ruled the area for five centuries and since then, Cappadocia has been a Turkish site attracting many visitors from all over the world.

Cappadocia

Please feel free to contact our office for further information about Cappadocia. We suggest you take a look at our tours “ Cappadocia”, “ A Universal Heritage” and “ A Tale of Civilization” if you want to see the beauties of this magnificent historical treasure.