Turkey Cappadocia Zelve Monastery

Zelve Monastery was carved into the rock in pre-Iconoclastic times.The remains of the Zelve monastery complex is located on the northern slopes of Aktepe, 1km from
Paşa Baglari and 10 km out from Goreme on the Avanos road. Zelve does not have the rich frescoes of Goreme and other Cappodocian locations. Spread out over three valleys, of which two are connected by a tunnel, the monastery is still rich in its own beauty. The valleys can provide you with plenty of hiking and exploring. The complex contains innumerable rooms and passages which also house many pointed fairy chimneys with large stems, at about 40 feet above the valley floor.

Zelve, though recently uninhabited, was an important settlement and religious area during the 9th and 13th centuries. The Christians moved to Zelve during the Persian and Arab invasions.