The park features a rocky, water- and wind-eroded landscape with a network of ancient, interconnecting underground settlements.

[3] The earliest signs of monastic activity in Cappadocia can be traced back to the 4th century when small anchorite communities, following the teachings of Basileios the Great, Bishop of Kayseri, started to inhabit the cells hewn in the rock.

The earliest monastic activity in Cappadocia is thought to have been in the fourth century when anchorites started hewing out cells from the rock.

To resist Arab marauders, they linked these cells and created underground communities, with chapels, store rooms, and living quarters.

Unfortunately, it has been found that long-term cave dwellers experience an unexpectedly high incidence of mesothelioma, a form of cancer.