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Uçhisar Castle

Uçhisar, which is situated on the edge of Göreme National Park, is dominated by a 60 metre high castle-mountain, which is visible over a wide distance and has the form of a large cylindrical tower. This massif is crisscrossed by numerous underground passageways and rooms, which are now mostly blocked or impassable. They served as residential areas, as well as cloisters in Byzantine times. Originally, around 1,000 people lived in the castle, but it is no longer inhabited today. The landscape is also marked by the fairy chimneys scattered through it.

In the centre of the town there is an underground gallery, which extends for about 100 metres underneath some houses. It was cut in the tuff stone in earlier times and probably served as a link from the fortress to the outside world and to protect their water supply.