Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the fairest of them all?" Were someone to hold a mirror up to Cappadocia and ask this question, the answer that comes back might well be "Üçhisar," so lovely is this little troglodyte village, the first that visitors see when they leave NevÅŸehir to drive to Göreme.



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Üçhisar is dominated by a huge plug of rock, a so-called "kale" (castle) which is mirrored in Ortahisar, a similar-sized but much less visited village just off the road from NevÅŸehir to Ürgüp. Way back in history Üçhisar's was the "outer castle" in the defenses of Cappadocia. Ortahisar's was the "middle castle." BaÅŸkale, the first "castle," was eventually renamed Ürgüp.

Mountains Erciyes and Hasan aside, Üçhisar is by far the most conspicuous feature of the Cappadocian landscape. The castle is a solid chunk of rock with a thinner offshoot; from a distance the two parts resemble a giant snail dragging its shell across the landscape. In the past, families hollowed caves out of the rock and used them as retreats whenever enemies appeared; in more peaceful times those same caves provided homes for the locals, so that Üçhisar Kalesi functioned rather like a natural tenement block stuffed full of apartments. In the 1950s the authorities moved residents out of the castle and into modern afet evleri (disaster houses) for fear of a landslide. They were only just in time -- in the 1960s a serious rock fall caused the collapse of the AÄŸa'nın Konağı (the Lord's Mansion), a palatial home that had been created inside it. Today, of course, tourists can buy a ticket and climb up inside the castle to take advantage of the superb panorama available from the summit, all of 1,350 meters above sea level.

The rock formations that huddle in the wake of the kale are almost equally dramatic. Most soar above the surrounding houses, their sides pockmarked with pigeon houses, their facades daubed with patterns in red and white pigments aimed at luring the vital, manure-supplying birds to a favored roost. Although it's often said that the rock of Üçhisar is called a castle because it looks like one, in reality it doesn't look anything like the manmade castles with which most visitors will be familiar. Instead, the locals called all the jutting rock cones "kales" before the marketing people came up with the more evocative "fairy chimneys." Now it's possible to climb up inside two of the fairy chimneys to take tea à la Cappadoce and get some impression of what it might have been like to live inside such structures. The local branch of the gendarme has also taken up residence inside a fairy chimney. It's just a shame that stalls selling tacky tourist souvenirs are creeping ever further in from the road, thereby encroaching on the dignity of the landscape.

From the road that whisks visitors past Üçhisar and on to Göreme it can look as if all the locals live in newly built and aesthetically banal houses. However, to one side of the castle it's still possible to stroll around and admire the ruins of the old village where fine stone houses were built over and in front of cave networks. In the last few years foreigners and Turks from elsewhere in the country have moved in on these houses in a big way, converting them into houses and hotels of varying degrees of boutiqueyness. In some cases the end results are a joy to the eye -- one thinks of Les Maisons de Cappadoce with their beautiful views over the Pigeon Valley, for example, or of the much newer Kale Konağı. Unfortunately, some people have chosen to ignore the essentially small-scale rural charms of the vernacular architecture with the inevitable detrimental consequences.

Today there's no doubting that Üçhisar has been well and truly discovered. Over in Ortahisar, on the other hand, time still seems to move at snail's pace, and there are more cold storage units for citrus fruits than stalls selling Made-in-Cappadocia ashtrays. Here the "castle" sits in a dip so that it's less conspicuous from a distance. For the time being it's also closed to the public after a chunk of rock in the center of Ürgüp sheered off and killed three people. Some over-enthusiastic locals urge tourists to ignore the signs warning of a "catastrophe." Supposedly, a UNESCO-sponsored restoration project should see access restored in the not too distant future.

In the meantime, Ortahisar also boasts a small museum housed in the main square. This is equipped with dioramas which illustrate different aspects of traditional life in Cappadocia: men hacking caves out of the rock, women weaving carpets on looms set up in their homes, a young woman serving coffee to watchful potential in-laws and people gathering at the well and tying rags to the tree beside it in the hope that their wishes will come true.

Like Üçhisar, Ortahisar's superficial newness conceals a lovely old village of stone houses which lurk behind impressive gateways in the backstreets. Turn down Hacı TeleÄŸraf Caddesi and you will find many fine examples, including one especially imposing house which bestrides the sort of arched street more familiar in Mardin. The road wends its way downhill and then veers left; in gaps between the houses on the right-hand side of the road you will catch glimpses of the beautiful Balkan Deresi (valley) which is studded with pigeon houses cut into a solid wall of rock. One or two simple rock churches keep a low profile inside private houses here and there are more out in the valley, although you will need the help of a guide to find them.

You won't need a guide to find the Hallaç Monastery (Wool Fluffer's Monastery, otherwise known as the Hospital Monastery), which is signposted on the left as you come into Ortahisar from the junction with the NevÅŸehir-Ürgüp road. It takes a walk of no more than a kilometer to find this monastery, and although the walk starts unpromisingly because of the litter abandoned in the fields, it gradually picks up until suddenly you find yourself alone amid the vineyards looking towards another giant slice of rock pitted with pigeon houses. Here, you will find yourself in a natural courtyard reminiscent of those at nearby GülÅŸehir. The crosses, pilasters and arcades of horseshoe-shaped arches adorning the façade hint that this must once have been an important settlement, an impression that will be confirmed when you step inside the church and spot its lofty rock-cut columns. In the 10th or 11th century, these were decorated with paintings which betray an almost child-like simplicity; the only sign of anything grander is a panel of virtually indecipherable fresco still adorning the apse. There are two other sizeable chambers, one of them a basilica lined with more rock-cut columns, the other a square room whose dome has caved in. Long after the monks were gone the locals returned to carve pigeon houses into the rock. These are decorated with fine geometric patterns in blue and green. It's a mystery why so few people visit a place so beautiful.

WHERE TO STAY

Ahbap Konağı, Üçhisar: (384) 219 30 20

Les Maisons de Cappadoce: (384) 219 28 13

Kale Konağı, Üçhisar: (384) 219 30 06

Karlık Evi, Üçhisar: (384) 219 29 95

Museum Hotel, Üçhisar: (384) 219 22 20

Ortahisar Evi, Ortahisar: (384) 343 38 62

HOW TO GET THERE

The half-hourly dolmuÅŸes from NevÅŸehir to Göreme pass through Üçhisar. There are also hourly dolmuÅŸes between NevÅŸehir and Ortahisar, and between Ürgüp and Ortahisar.