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Paşabağ is an archaeological site within the UNESCO World Heritage listed Göreme Historical National Park (Göreme Tarihî Milli Parkı) in Cappadocia, Turkey. It’s located near the village of Çavuşin.
Visiting Paşabağ
Paşabağ is open daily from 8am to 5pm. Admission for foreigners is €12 (as of August 2024). Tickets are also good for access to the nearby Zelve Open Air Museum. There are plenty of tourist facilities at the entrance including restaurants, cafés, and souvenir shops. Visit the official website for more info.
Fairy Chimneys
Paşabağ has the highest concentration of fairy chimneys in Cappadocia. These unusual rock formations were formed by millions of years of wind and rain eroding away at soft volcanic tuff. This left much harder rock behind and created the mushroom-shaped caps on top.
Why are they called fairy chimneys? Local legend tells us the unique shapes were made by fairies who built their homes underneath the rocks.
Rock-cut Homes
Many of the fairy chimneys were used by monks or hermits as homes. This is why Paşabağ is also known as Monk’s Valley or Hermit’s Valley. Today, one of them is even used as a gendarmerie station.
Visitors are able to climb up the rocks into some of the rooms carved into the fairy chimneys. They’re very simple spaces with niches cut into the walls. Some even have windows with views over the valley.
Inside one of the fairy chimneys is a chapel dedicated to Saint Simeon. In the past, it was possible to climb a ladder to see the fresco inside. Unfortunately, it has since been deemed too dangerous to enter. Thankfully, I was able to see it on my first visit to the area in October 2010.
Popularity of Paşabağ
Paşabağ is an extremely popular tourist site. Just about every single tour group makes a stop there and it’s easy to understand why. Unfortunately, that could take away from your experience. Be prepared for heavy crowds, pushy tourists, and lots of annoying selfies. Thankfully, the last few times I went it wasn’t TOO bad.
Personally, I found Zelve to be more interesting and rewarding. It’s a very different place overall, but not being overwhelmed by the crowds made a huge difference.
