The General's Vineyard, a photo from Nevsehir, Central Anatolia

Photographer's Note

Paşabağı in Cappadocia, Turkey is located about 1 km away from Göreme - Avanos road. Remarkable earth pillars can be seen here, in the middle of a vineyard, hence the name of the place which means: the Pacha's vineyard. Pacha means "General", the military rank, in Turkish and it is a very common nick name. Paşabağı contains some of the most striking fairy chimneys in Cappadocia with twin and even triple rock caps. This style is unique even for Cappadocia and these fairy chimneys are named mushroom-shaped fairy chimneys. These interesting structures are formed due to the harder rock material deposited above, such that they form mushrooms shapes. The bottom portions of tuff wear away easily, but the top portion is rockier and is less weathered.

Some of these cones split into smaller cones in their upper sections, in which stylites (type of Christian ascetic who in the early days of the Byzantine Empire stood on pillars preaching, fasting and praying) and hermits once hid, as early as 5th century. That’s the reason why this site is also called Monks Valley. A chapel dedicated to St. Simeon (Simon), and a hermit's shelter is built into one of the fairy chimneys with three heads. He is believed to have lived at the top of a 2m high column, and later moved to one 15m in height. From there he only descended occasionally to get food and drink brought by his disciples.

My Tripadvisor review of this place.

papagolf21, danos, jhm, holmertz, macondo, PaulVDV, pierrefonds, jjcordier, Graal, gervaso, Didi, abmdsudi, ChrisJ has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

papagolf21 (152607) 2013-08-26 1:45

Bonjour, cher ami Angshu,
J'écarquille les yeux devant ces étonnantes sculptures naturelles.
La présence de personnages donne l'échelle de ces structures.
Très bonne journée.
Amitiés.
Philippe

danos (110407) 2013-08-26 2:27

Hello Angshu,
nice the view as the presentation of these fascinating rock formations with the cover on the top of them.
I like the excellent light and colour management with the quality of the image to enhance the beauty of the place.

Regards,Danos

jhm (211738) 2013-08-26 3:15

Hello Angshu,

A fascinate picture, everything it seem so wonderful taken.
Made in high quality.
Very well composition, nice presentation.
Excellent done, TFS.

Have a nice Monday,
John.

holmertz (103596) 2013-08-26 3:27

Hello Angshuman,
A fine shot of these very interesting rocks. Despite the arrival of tourists in great numbers to this area you managed a shot without great crowds, just a few persons and a horse to make the view more lively. You have balanced the composition very nicely, spelled Paşabağı correctly :-) and written an interesting nnd informative note.
Kind regards,
Gert

subhendu_bagchi (26091) 2013-08-26 4:24

dear dada, what an interesting landscape of this part of world! I amazed with the construction and shape of these minar (are they called mountains?). Dekhe mone hoy ei bujhi porbe ghare :( ... Cappadocia is a mistery to me, everytime I see an image of there... Your picture shows the beauty of there landscape superbly. Like the colour tone and endless depth. Great shot. Tfs.
Subhendu

No_One (4) 2013-08-26 4:48

Hi Angshuman
Fascinating structures, I have never seen the like of these before. You got a superb point of view for your capture, taking in so many of them, as well as the beautiful greenery, and all against such an appealing blue sky. Excellent shot and note, thanks for expanding my knowledge today!
All the best
Noel

Sergiom (117241) 2013-08-26 5:01

Bonjour Angshuman,

Elles sont très impressionnantes ces formes très particulières qui poussent comme des champignons dans le paysage. La lumière est magnifique.

Amicalement

Serge

macondo (20449) 2013-08-26 5:13

Hello Angshuman
An interesting angle on these famous formations. I like the sense of perspective as they diminish in size with distance, and also the presence of people, a good way to convey the scale of things. The bare tree on one side, the foliage on the other, frame the subject well. Colours are stunning and your note as always is very informative.
Regards,
Andrew

Nicou (193814) 2013-08-26 7:17

Hello

merveilleus eiamge et compo quel rochers au sommet de ces cône sueprbe on se demande comment ils tiennent quelle vue avec les personnage mervielleux.
Bravo et amitié
Nicou

PaulVDV (63456) 2013-08-26 11:38

Hello Angshu,
Cappadocia is a wonderful world with its landscapes right out of a fairy tale.
Beautiful presentation with the green of the trees and the vineyards in between these tall mushroom rocks.
Best regards, Paul

cargus (14004) 2013-08-26 13:12

Beautiful composition, beautiful colors, well framed and rendered, image well done.!
cordially
Adrian

pierrefonds (115518) 2013-08-26 17:19

Hi Angshuman,

The wideness of the area is giving depth to the composition. The point of view is showing the détails and colours of the earth pillars. The good luminosity is enhancing the beauty of the colours. Have a nice day.

Pierre

jjcordier (79299) 2013-08-26 23:03

Angshu
Ces formations géologiques de Cappadoce sont vraiment très particulières. Tu les as très bien mises en image dans cette belle et intéressante composition.
Amicalement
JJ

Graal (103040) 2013-08-26 23:41

Hi Angshuman,
interesting and now - famous place in Turkey. Cappadocia is unusual. Amazing forms of rocks, like mushrooms. Good shot. Nice colors and composition. Photo I like.
Have a nice day.
Aleksander

pajaran (117033) 2013-08-27 3:43

Dobar dan, popodne.
Vrlo interesantan i dobar tekst o mestu, sa datim podacima ...
Dobra kompozicija i pespektiva, lepe boje.
Dobar rad, lepo pokazano mesto i trenutak sa posetiocima.
Lepo popodne i sve najbolje.
Paja.

Good afternoon, this afternoon.
Very interesting and good article about the place, with the given data ...
Good composition and pespektiva, beautiful colors.
Good work, nice indicated place and moment with visitors.
Nice afternoon and all the best.
Paja.

gervaso (28415) 2013-08-27 4:36

Hello, Angshuman!

These mushroom pillars are very interesting, and you show them with nice perspective and colors. The inclusion of the people helps to give scale to the image. Beautiful composition! Well done!

Didi (61589) 2013-08-27 10:11

Salam Angshu
Great place, very nice coloured ambiance
We have a similar place in France but not so great like here
Well done
Kind regards

Fis2 (171907) 2013-08-27 11:59

Witaj Angshu!
Curious place, interesting objects.
Good frame, colors and light.
Well done.
Best regards
Krzysztof

aloyho (6798) 2013-08-28 5:57

Hi Angshuman,
Indeed you are luckier with a more cooperative weather and a lovely sky when you are there. The hazard facing Trekkers is that you are at the mercy of nature as time is definitely not on your side. Lovely shot and a great reminder of the time I was there.
Best Regards.

Urs (14082) 2013-08-28 7:36

Hi Angshuman

That is my beloved Cappadocia, which I visited always in winter, I never saw it in other seasons. Excellent light and shadow management producing vibrant colour tones and high sharpness. Well done

Warm regards
Urs

abmdsudi (95869) 2013-08-28 17:20

Namaste Angshu
This astonishing shot captures nicely a few of the "fairy chimney" structures that are typical of the region that I find these formations fascinating and they look like strange stylised architecture in a number of different places. It has to be one of the most unusual places on the planet. A great image, full of natural colours under fabulous light. Congrats, tfs
Best regards

mkamionka (75113) 2013-08-29 2:20

Hi Angshu,
I had a pleasure to visit Cappadocia however I took an organized tour and my freedom was pretty much limited. I was in great places but often together with crowds of other people. I see you had also trouble to avoid some people here. Still the view is so amazing so unusual and presented with a great quality.
Excellent work,
M

ChrisJ (172430) 2013-09-01 2:18

Hello Angshu

An area of Turkey I have yet to visit. Nice sharpness and with good repetition of the fairy chimneys or hoodoos as they are known in North America. Their reddish brown colour sets up a good warm vs cold colour contrast against the blue sky. The photographer at right adds scale. Tfs!

mohammad_H (10178) 2013-09-12 13:26

Hi
Shot in a unique camera angle to capture it , so we better see the glory of this place , and it is pleasing to the eye and pleasant to the touch , beautiful display with good resolution

wolf38 (30) 2013-09-13 2:55

Hello Angshuman. This part of Turkey is truly world famous. I've seen many photos of this natural landscape - and read relevant articles. I like your photo very well. But for me, this area still is a blank spot on the map.
Rgds, Wolfgang.

Waylim (25436) 2013-09-16 22:26

Hello Angshu,

Sorry, I'm not around as much.

This is a very classic scene from Turkey of these famous rock formation. Looks like you have very good weather, beautiful clear blue sky, the light seem almost a bit too strong, but you handle it just fine. Beautiful composition, good colors and contrast. The few people adds to the liveliness of the place.

Way