There is a place on earth that is truly created for people who love each other, looking at it you can immediately understand why. Even its name is appropriate - "Valley of Love" (Love Valley), but among the people this place has another more indecent name - "Valley of penises" (Penis Valley), it is located in Cappadocia (Cappadocia), Turkey.

Once in the Valley of Love, it can be noted that this is some kind of extraterrestrial area, it looks so unusual and fantastic, our nature never ceases to amaze us with its natural formations. Millions of years ago, volcanoes raged here, spewing tons of ash and lava and covering rocks and valleys with them. Under the influence of rains and winds, softer rocks were washed out and weathered, and those that were stronger came to the surface, and interesting mountain formations appeared throughout Cappadocia, and in each area they are unique in their own way. So in the "Valley of Love" they expressed themselves in the form of pillars with a pronounced cone-like top.

These stone pillars are called peribajalars (tur. Peri bacaları, “fairy fireplaces”) and consist entirely of tuff, in the upper part they are covered with basalt and andesite, protecting the “hat” of the pillar from the action of rain and winds. The lower part gradually becomes thinner, and this is how such “falos” are obtained, this continues until the part under the “hat” becomes so thin that the “hat” collapses. Having lost its protective part, the column is completely destroyed under the influence of the forces of nature. The average height of the pillars is 20-30 meters, but there are also 40 meter giants. The Valley of Love stretches for four kilometers between the cities of Goreme and Uchissar.

It is not so easy to get to this valley, since it is not possible to get here by bus, and you can drive far from everywhere by car, streams run along the roads. In order to get here, you need to walk about 10 kilometers, along the track under the hot, scorching sun, then along a dirt road, then you will need to go through a cave and a little more along a winding road. Yes ... this is such an inaccessible valley, that's why there are very few tourists in this area. But here you can meet local residents who have vegetable gardens and pastures near the valley.

It is better to visit such a romantic place as the "Valley of Love" together with your loved one, they say if you conceive children in this place, they will certainly be born beautiful and healthy.

Valley of Glendalough in Ireland- a sacred place. It is located half an hour from Dublin, however, inside it it is impossible to get rid of the feeling that you have climbed into the wilderness, and the rest of the world is behind the mountains.

"Glendalough" (sometimes written "Glendalough") in the Celtic (Gaelic) language means "valley of two lakes." This is indeed a small wooded valley in the Wicklow mountains. Wicklow mountains low, similar to our northern mountains: gentle, with smoothed peaks. Their slopes are covered with heather and gorse, at the foot begins a forest zone.

The road to Glendalough leads through Hollywood - a small village (less than 100 inhabitants), which hosts the festival-fair "The Hollywood Fair" in the summer. According to one version, the American commune of Hollywood got its name from a native of this Irish village who emigrated to California in the mid-19th century.

From the village begins a 30-kilometer route to the valley of Glendalough, which is called " Way of Saint Kevin» (St Kevin's Way). Pilgrims used to walk along this path, now tourists walk. At all national park Wicklow Mountains riddled with trails. (Unfortunately, we did not have time to follow the St. Kevin trail, and arrived in the valley on a banal bus. However, the views were good from the road).

The slopes of the mountains are covered with flowering heather

A few words must be said about Saint Kevin, since it was he who appeared to the “genius loci” of the Glendalough valley.

Irish saint Kevin of Glendalough came from a noble family, but, having accepted the teachings of Christ, he left his father's house early and chose the fate of a hermit. In the depths of the Wicklow Mountains, on the shore of a lake, he found a cave in which he spent several years in prayer and austerity - in prayer so deep that, according to legend, a bird managed to make a nest in his hand and bring out chicks. Here I involuntarily recall Bodhidharma (he and Kevin even crossed in time, although, most likely, they did not even suspect the existence of each other) and Francis of Assisi. The first 9 years he spent in continuous meditation in the Shaolin Mountains, and Francis found a common language with animals and knew how to re-educate them and make them peaceful in a Christian way. Kevin was also famous for his miraculous effects on animals, birds and plants. For example, cows, having licked his clothes, sharply increased milk yield.

Soon, the people reached out to the recluse who worked miracles. Monks began to settle near the cave, and ordinary people were looking for an opportunity to talk with an unusual person (again - milk production). There was a need to build a monastery. Kevin went to the local lord king with a request to allocate part of his land for a monastery. The Lord considered. It seems to be a charitable thing, but it’s a pity for the land. He had an old goose. And the landowner said: “What territory the goose flies around, I will give you such a territory for a monastery.”

Kevin saw that the goose was about to open its legs, but he was not embarrassed. He stroked him, scratched him, said something inspiring, so that the goose suddenly woke up from an senile slumber, started up, soared into the sky and flew around the entire Glendalough valley with two lakes. Well, be on this.

So in the middle of the 5th century, a monastery arose in the Glendalough valley on the shores of the Lower Lake. Kevin made a pilgrimage to Rome and brought the holy relics from there. And then he ruled the monastery for another 60 years and died on June 3, 618, having lived, judging by ancient records, for an absolutely incredible period of 120 years. The day of his veneration is June 3 (by the way, this saint is revered not only by the Western Church, but also by the Orthodox).

The monastery after his death continued to grow stronger and expand. In fact, it turned into a monastic settlement with several churches, a monastic hostel, workshops, a library, and an inn for pilgrims. Peasants settled nearby, who could hide behind strong walls in a moment of danger.

The monastery of St. Kevin safely survived several Viking raids, but could not resist the advance of the British. In 1398 the English destroyed the monastery and expelled the monks from the area.

Now there are only ruins on the site of the ancient monastic settlement. However, from the very first steps among these ruins, there is a feeling of spirituality and goodness of this place. No wonder both pilgrims and tourists come here. There is such an expression "place of power." It seems to me that in order to feel the spirit of the country, one must definitely visit holy places - those places that people have chosen to communicate with higher powers.

Vale of Glendalough

We arrived in Glendalough towards evening. The sun was beginning to set.

Even at the entrance we saw in the thick of the crowns a high round tower with a conical roof - such round towers I saw only in Ireland: on the Rock of Cashel, in Kilkenny and in Glendalough.

There is a car park in front of the entrance to the territory of the former monastery. There is a hotel for visitors - The Glendalough Hotel, it has a cafe and a tourist office where you can take a hiking trail through the Glendalough Valley and the Wicklow Mountains. Many come here for a few days and walk in the surrounding mountains.

Double arched gates made of granite blocks lead to the "monastic city".

ancient street

We approach the round tower. Its height is 34 m.

It can be seen that the entrance to it is located at a certain height. In case of danger, they hid from enemies in the tower. In peaceful days, it served as a bell tower.

Previously, there were about 120 such round towers in Ireland, 20 have survived to this day.

Monastic cemetery. Stone slabs and Celtic crosses are found as tombstones.

Ruin cathedral Peter and Paul - once the largest church in the Glendalough Valley

Next to the cathedral is a granite "Kevin's Cross" (presumably 6-7 centuries)

Rectory and St. Kevin's Church

We cross the river over the bridge and go along the path to the lake

There are big stones in the middle of the forest

In the stone - a round hole of unknown origin

lower lake

Here is the Lower Lake

We walk along the path to the Upper Lake. The slope is almost not felt.

Source

On the left side - areas of wild forest, in the lowland between the lakes - almost a park area

upper lake

Coming to Upper Lake

sprawling oak

On the shore of the lake, the so-called "Kevin's bed" is hidden in the rock - the very cave in which he lived. In the far corner of the lake are the remains of old mines and a miners' village.

The lower lake is small and round, the upper one is strongly elongated and occupies a large area. There are trails around the lakes. Beautiful view to the whole valley with both lakes opens from above, if you climb above the valley along the path. Unfortunately, we did not have time to get up - for this we need to come to the valley of Glendalough for a longer period.

By another path we returned to the tourist office.

And finally, practical information.

How to get to the Vale of Glendalough

Glendalough is located 40 km south of Dublin, but despite the popularity of this place, public transport doesn't go here. Buses run between Dublin and Glendalough by the private company St Kevin's Bus (see www.glendaloughbus.com for the schedule).

So it's better to drive your own car.

Valley of Love - a cluster of rocks of bizarre shapes in the historical region of Turkey - Cappadocia. A popular attraction near Goreme Park.

The valley got its name from the shapes of the rocks, which are similar to phalluses, as a result of which the valley also has another name - the Valley of the Penises. The highlands of Cappadocia were formed due to volcanic eruptions occurring here millions of years ago. Rocks of this shape were formed due to rains and winds washing out and weathering softer volcanic rocks.

Valley of Love stretches for 4 km. between the cities of Uchisar and Goreme. The height of the rocky remains reaches 20-40 m. It is interesting to see them both from the ground and from the air (there are many offers of flights over Cappadocia in a balloon in the region).

And of course, like many world attractions, the valley has its own belief. It is believed that if you conceive a child in the Valley of Love, then he will definitely be born with good health and beautiful.

• 1st day, Cappadocia: Meskendir valley, Red and Rose valleys, Chavushin town
• 2nd day, Cappadocia: Pasabag, Zelve and Dervent valleys, Urgup city
• 3rd day, Cappadocia: Pigeon Valley, Uchisar City and Valley of Love
• 4th day, Cappadocia: Görkündere, Zemi valleys and failure in the Balkan valley
• Day 5, Cappadocia: Goreme Open Air Museum

The next Cappadocian day started with pigeon valley(Güvercınlık Vadisi), which is located near Goreme.

The scheme found on the Internet turned out to be of little use, so we went on a whim, we only knew that we had to end up in Uchisar. Having reached the fork, they chose the leftmost of the three gorges.

Gradually, the path became less and less trodden, until eventually it ran into a sheer cliff. I had to return to the fork.

We chose the rightmost gorge and were not mistaken, it led us to Uchisar(Uchisar). The city is located on a hill and can be seen from afar, almost anywhere in Cappadocia. The landscape is typical, fabulous.

In the center of Uchisar there is a fortress, which takes about 10-15 minutes to go uphill. This 60-meter fortress is considered the most high point Cappadocia. The whole hill is lined with hotels.

The road to the fortress is full of tourist shops selling the right and not so junk.

The entrance to the fortress is paid, but only to the very top. We decided to start the inspection from below, bypassing the fortress on the left side.

We never got to the paid top, because we climbed from the opposite side of it and from there admired the surrounding landscapes to our heart's content.

Cappadocia never ceases to amaze bizarre forms when it seems that nature is no longer supposed to make anything funnier, something like that appears.

Million dollar view!

After enjoying the views from Uchisar, we set off to the side valleys of love(Bağlıdere Vadisi).

Love Valley business card. Guess why it's called that

In parting - the next houses of the gnomes.

Traditionally, we reached Göreme on foot.

Helpful information

What to look for: if you want to get through the Pigeon Valley to Uchisar, go along the rightmost gorge.
Ticket price for Uchisar Fortress: 5 lira
Working hours: from 08:00 to sunset.

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