Goreme Open Air Museum: Cave Churches

The Goreme Open Air Museum was an easy 10 minute walk from our hotel and highly recommended as the first place to visit.  It is a collection of painted cave churches that were first carved by Orthodox Christian monks (1000-1200 AD) and decorated with Byzantine frescoes.  The first Christians escaped to Cappadocia from the persecution of the Roman Empire, so it's interesting to see elaborate frescoes being damaged by later settlers who were taught that the images were sinful.

And I have to say, it was so much fun crawling in and out of cave holes, and spotting the occasional bat!