Millions of years ago, two volcanoes, Erciyes and Hasan, covered central Turkey with ash, and the ash hardened into a soft, pale rock called tuff. Then rain and frost and wind went to work for a very long time. They carved the tuff into a landscape of cones, spires, mushrooms and canyons, the fairy chimneys of Cappadocia, in soft shades of cream, pink and apricot. About a thousand metres above sea level, around Goreme, the whole valley seems to have been sculpted by a mad pastry chef.
The soft rock was also easy to dig. From the early centuries of Christianity, monks and villagers carved churches, chapels, monasteries, houses and storerooms into the cliffs and cones, and in the ninth to eleventh centuries they covered the walls with frescoes. At the Goreme Open Air Museum, a cluster of rock-cut churches in a valley, you can see them: the Dark Church, with its vivid blue and red paintings preserved by lack of light, and the Apple Church and the Buckle Church. In hard times the people dug whole underground cities, such as Derinkuyu, with stables, kitchens and chapels, and rolling stone doors to close the passages. UNESCO listed the national park and the rock sites in 1985.
For a rider, Cappadocia is superb. Roads are smooth, wide and almost empty, with long curves between the pinnacles and across the rolling plateau, and views open around every bend. You can ride from valley to valley, to Uchisar with its castle-like rock, to Pasabag with its mushroom chimneys, to Avanos on the Red River, famous for pottery, and to Urgup with its wine cellars. Fuel and food are easy in Nevsehir, Urgup and Goreme, which are well supplied with guesthouses, cave hotels and restaurants.
Go early. At dawn, in good weather, dozens of hot-air balloons rise over the valleys in a silent, colourful crowd, and the low light turns the rock gold. Summer is hot and dry, and winter brings snow, which is beautiful but can make roads icy. Spring and autumn are best.
Try testi kebab, meat and vegetables cooked in a sealed clay pot, cracked open at your table, and a glass of the local white wine, from the Emir grape.