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Three volcanic eruptions millions of years ago created the otherworldly-looking region of Cappadocia in central Turkey. A thick blanket of volcanic ash settled into a porous stone called tuff. Sometimes basalt covered the tuff, and sometimes it didn't. The tuff, being softer than basalt, eroded away, but the basalt and any tuff beneath it stayed in place. The resulting topography looks like a moonscape or a really odd sandcastle.

These structures are very common in Cappadocia. They look like obelisks wearing berets, and they are created from tuff capped with basalt. The local people named them peribaca, which means fairy chimneys, because they believed that fairies lived in them. They can reach forty meters (130 feet) in height.

Many fairy chimneys have been hollowed out into buildings. When you look at the crooked windows and the sandy surroundings, you half expect Nabisco's elves to come tumbling out. Then you notice that even the police stations are inside fairy chimneys.

Eventually the neck of the fairy chimney erodes so much that the basalt beret falls off. Then the fairy chimney is just a mound of tuff. Its life is limited because without the protective basalt, it will erode faster than before, at least in geological terms.

Because the tuff is soft enough to erode, it's relatively easy to carve. Houses inside mounds of tuff like this one, or underground, are common in the area.  Some of the buildings that were churches during the Byzantine era still have frescoes painted on the walls. Later, mosques were carved from the tuff.

Carved-out structures have been occupied for centuries. The houses now in use have electricity, plumbing and many modern conveniences. And, when you want to make an addition to the house, you can simply carve stairs and an upstairs room onto your property.

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We visited the city of Konya on our way to Cappadocia. Many of the Konya residents practice a form of Islam called Sufism, following the thirteenth century AD poet and philosopher Mevlana. The followers of Mevlana use song, dance and meditation to enter a state of ecstasy and a oneness with higher powers. You have probably heard of them; they are called whirling dervishes.

The white costume worn by dervishes, male or female, represents the shroud, and the tall headgear represents tombstones. The dervishes practice the ritual called the sema by spinning in place for several minutes. The arms extend; the right hand faces upward to receive heaven's blessings while the left faces downward to send the energy to earth. We watched a sema performed by whirling dervishes during our Cappadocia visit.

This caravanserai and others all over Turkey were the Holiday Inns of the Seljuk era. Turkey was central to the Silk Route which brought commerce to the area. Theft along the route led the ruling Seljuks to build caravanserais (also called hans) as safe houses for the travelers. The caravanserais were spaced about a day's travel by camel apart, about fifteen to twenty-five miles. You'd arrive and enter with all of your goods and even your camels. When all the travelers were safe inside, they would lock the doors and everyone would eat and sleep in safety, at no charge. The doors weren't unlocked in the morning until everyone accounted for their own possessions.

The Ağzikarihan at right was built in 1231 and has several architectural features, including a skylight, a winter section with a closed roof, keystones in the arches, and elaborate decorative carvings in the stone.