Göreme Open Air Museum

The Göreme Open Air Museum is a medieval monastic complex hewn directly into the volcanic tuff of Cappadocia, central Turkey, and has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1985. Between the 10th and 12th centuries, Orthodox monks carved entire communities into the soft rock — churches, chapels, refectories and living quarters stacked into the hillside. The frescoes preserved inside are among the finest surviving examples of Byzantine pictorial art outside Constantinople: the Dark Church (Karanlik Kilise) alone retains vivid scenes of the Nativity and Crucifixion with colors barely touched by light over a millennium. The site spans several hills with more than a dozen accessible churches; a thorough visit takes two to three hours. The Karanlik Kilise charges a small supplement at the door but rewards visitors with the best-preserved paintings on the entire site.