Cappadocia’s "fairy chimneys,” cone-shaped rock formations, are not only unique in their natural design but in their historic value — early Christians used the caves below them as underground cities to hide from persecution. You can still see frescoes in the underground churches and other remnants of a culture dating back to 2000 BC. Tourist guides say the word Cappadocia originates from Persian, meaning “the land of beautiful horses.”

At times the region appears to be overrun with hot air balloons carrying sightseers; trash seems ever present and there are serious air and water pollution problems. There are many haphazardly erected tall buildings; although parts of Cappadocia are in a protected zone, illicit construction sites are everywhere. 

The region, located in central Anatolia and encompassing several ancient cities such as Nevsehir and Kayseri, hosted approximately 3 million tourists in 2018. The numbers of visitors — both Turkish and foreign — have significantly increased over the past decade. This comes, however, with environmental degradation caused in great part by illicit construction.

On May 24, the Turkish parliament quietly passed a bill titled “Kapadokya Alan Baskanligi” (“Cappadocia Area Directorate”), which became law June 1. The pro-government media has presented it as a way to protect the region, while a few critical voices raised red flags about the potential threats the law poses.