Zelve Open Air Museum

Zelve is a Byzantine-era cave settlement in Cappadocia, Turkey, spread across three interconnected valleys containing some of the region's highest concentration of fairy chimneys. It served as an important center for Christian monastic life from the 9th through 13th centuries, with early priest seminaries established at the site. The Grape Church (Uzumlu Kilise), dating to the 6th century, was the main church for Christians living in the valley. After the Ottoman period, Turkish Muslims and Greek Christians coexisted here until the 1924 population exchange. Residents were evacuated in 1952 for safety, and Zelve opened as a museum in 1967.