Cappadocia: the natural form and the cut-out room

Useful to know

The Goreme Valley and its surroundings combine an erosion-shaped landscape and rock-cut shrines. UNESCO also includes dwellings, rock settlements, and underground cities as traces of traditional habitation. [1]

For architectural understanding, it is important to separate the natural form from the shaped room. The rock silhouette is not a building in itself; the entrance, internal organization, and treated surfaces indicate human intervention.

A practical task is to point out where the visible information ends. An opening in the facade does not prove the plan of the entire interior. A plan or a reliable description should be used for it, instead of an imaginary continuation.

Sanctuary and dwelling are also not interchangeable concepts. The total rock material does not cancel out the various functions. Consider the specific object by name when explaining its decoration or distribution.