South of Turkey's capital Ankara you can find some of the most astonishing landscapes of the planet. Here, in Cappadocia, soft volcanic tuff has been sculpted into fantastic shapes by millennia of erosion: huge pillars and mushrooms, valleys of "folded paper" and tuff cones in which early Christians carved their vibrantly painted churches. A stark contrast is provided by the barren salt flats of Tuz Gülö and the austere capital of the ancient Hittites: Hattusha.
Many pigeon houses in Cappadocia have painted decorations at their entrance, in accordance with an old belief that says that the birds are attracted by striking colours and forms. Pigeons were kept for their droppings which were used as fertilizer on nearby fields. The entrance to this pigeon loft can be found in the facade of a disused cave church southwest of Göreme. Photo Mick Palarczyk.
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'Pigeon house near Göreme.'
Many pigeon houses in Cappadocia have painted decorations at their entrance, in accordance with an old belief that says that the birds are attracted by striking colours and forms. Pigeons were kept for their droppings which were used as fertilizer on nearby fields. The entrance to this pigeon loft can be found in the facade of a disused cave church southwest of Göreme. Photo Mick Palarczyk.
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