In central Turkey is an area called Cappadocia. It's a magical badlands landscape that looks like a fairytale Hobbit rock city. It was formed by two nearby volcanoes millions of years ago that created some highly compressed sandstone. Eroded over millions of years by rain wind and ice, the result was a Grand Canyon like landscape with thousands of mini-mountain peaks. Locals as long as 3000 years ago found it relatively easy to carve out rooms and even mini-cities to seek protection from mauraders and weather.
In the early Christian Era, Christians used these cities to seek protection from Roman invaders. There are underground churches, homes with rooms and kitchens. These were later added to in the Byzantine Era, with beautiful religious frescoes painted on the walls. Very Impressive:
