WHAT TO SEE AND WHERE: Fairy Chimneys were created as a result of wind and water erosion when small harder pieces of rock remained on top of larger and softer rock columns. This out-of-this-world landscape impressed George Lucas so much that his original plan was to shoot some Star Wars' episodes in this area. Located in a spectacular valley between towns of Nevseshir and Urgup there are very different, interesting fairy chimneys. UNESCO declared area a World Heritage Site. Some of fairy chimneys have been inhabited for many years, with rooms, windows and staircases being laboriously curved inside creating up to 5-storey structures inside. Today some of these are also providing services to tourism as pensions.

The largest of 36 underground cities in area is at Derinkuyu. It is at a distance of 29 km from Nevsehir, provincial center of 7,000 people. Derinkuyu underground city is located under a hill, was found by chance and opened to public in 1965. It covers a 4 square km area and was calculated as able to shelter 2,000 households on 7 floors beneath surface, reaching a depth of 70 to 85 meters. Archeologists tend to believe that Hittites were starters of underground communities which in 6th and 7th were expanded by early Christians into a very extensive complexes with air shafts, kitchens, living quarters, churches, water wells, horse stables and wine cellars. These elaborate subterranean systems were used by people who had accepted Christianity against their enemies both as a shelter and as a safe place to carry out their worship. Next largest underground city is at Kaymakly, 20 km from Nevsehir. Despite of fact that only four underground levels have been excavated, there are speculations that there can be as many as 11 in total. There is also a tunnel that connects underground cities of Kaymakli and Derinkuyu (9 km long!) that has a width of of over 2 meters, but unfortunatley it is not opened to public as parts of tunnel have collapsed.