One of the oldest settlements of the region is Goreme. Especially
during the expansion period of Islam, this small town was occupied
by the Christians who were under attack by the Arabic Muslim conquerers.
Some of the earliest churches in this area date back to the 7th
century A.D. St.Basil, from Kayseri, established the first monastry
in Goreme to educate missionaries.
Goreme was an important settlement even before the Christian era. The people of the town were living in these carved rock houses. Some of these houses were converted into the churches later.
Some of the rock structures were used as burial ground. You can see one of them when you are entering the town, in the form of a rock pinnacle which contains a mortuary chapel with a small facade.
The El Nazar valley which is 3km. to the east of Goreme, where the fairy chimneys house some early era Christian churches. The Church of Kiliclar and the Church of Madonna are two of the most important ones.
