blue mosque  travel photography  nevşehir  sultanahmet mosque  cappadocia  kapadokya  arasta bazaar  erciyes  kızılırmak  

Gift Shops of Istanbul and a view of Capadocia Trading Co behind the Arasta Bazaar Complex which was built at the same time as the Blue Mosque and functioned as a market area, the rents of which went towards the mosque's upkeep (Turkish: İstanbul'un Hediyelik Mağazaları ve Kapadokya Alış Veriş Hediyelik Mağazası'nın tarihi Sultanahmet Camii ile aynı dönemde inşa edilmiş olan Arasta Çarşı'nın arkasından bir görüntüsü).

Capadocia or Cappadocia, Turkish Kapadokya, from Greek: Καππαδοκία / Kappadokía, Persian: کاپادوکیه‎ Kāpādōkiyeh, is a historical region in Central Anatolia, largely in Nevşehir Province, Modern Republic of Turkey. In the time of Herodotus, the Cappadocians were reported as occupying the whole region from Mount Taurus to the vicinity of the Euxine (Black Sea or Karadeniz). The historical region which is unique in the world and is a miraculous nature wonder is the common name of the field covered by the provinces of Aksaray, Nevşehir, Niğde, Kayseri and Kırsehir Provinces in the Central Anatolian Region. In the upper Myosen period in the Cappadocia region as a result of the volcanic eruptions occurred in Erciyes, Hasandağ and Güllüdağ, in the region was formed a large tableland from the volcanic tufas and together with the erosion of the Kızılırmak River and wind over ten thousands of years there appeared the chimney rocks which are a wonder of the nature.

Source(s): cappadociaturkey.net and wikipedia.com - Photograph: Ayhan ÇAKAR