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Instagram Hype at the Cappadocia World Heritage Site

March 14, 2025

Cappadocia's spectacular rock formations are attracting increasing numbers of Instagrammers.

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Doku WDR Nahaufnahme Insta-Hype im Weltkulturerbe Kappadokien
Image: WDR
The "fairy chimneys" of Cappadokia
Image: WDR

While social media has helped tourism boom and brought prosperity to the region, it also poses a threat to the landscape and its unique historical heritage.

Cappadocia draws more than four million tourists every year. The region in Turkey is famous for its extraordinary "fairy chimneys" - carved-out boulders, some of which are still inhabited. This wonderland became a UNESCO World Heritage Site decades ago.

Hot Air Balloons in Cappadokia
Image: WDR

Every day, hot air balloons carrying tourists drift across valleys dotted with "fairy chimneys." The rock formations, the hot air balloons, the sunrise - the setting couldn't be more instagrammable.

Mustafa Köse knows exactly how to get the perfect shot that tourists want for their social media posts. "Cultural tourism is dead," the photographer says - all people want now is something to show off with on Instagram. It's a development he struggles with, even though he makes a decent living giving the tourists what they want. 

Zehra Demircan
Image: WDR

Zehra Demircan took over her father's "cave hotel" a couple of years ago. He did his best to preserve the family's "fairy chimneys" in their original state so that the accommodation still provides an authentic glimpse of Cappadocia. Zehra Demircan is following suit, modernizing the hotel as carefully as possible. Like Mustafa Köse, she sometimes feels conflicted about her visitors. "We had a group here who didn't visit anything for the entire week," she says. "The whole time, they just took photos for social media."

Local activist Mükremin Tokmak
Image: WDR

Local activist Mükremin Tokmak has been fighting for years against the destruction of this unique landscape. He was appalled by the construction of a highway cutting through the historical region, paving the way for even more tourism. He documents the effects of the construction work on the valleys and the old churches that stood here. He hasn't given up hope that tourism can be held in check. 

 

 

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