Turkey’s Cappadocia region in central Anatolian province of Nevsehir has become a film plateau for foreign countries.
Nevsehir Culture & Tourism Directorate stated on Thursday that the first movie in Cappadocia was shot in 1971, noting that the region became the plateau of 193 movies, shows, series and documentary films of 32 countries in the last 40 years.
Besides many Turkish movies, Jean Reno’s "Empire of the Wolves" and Nicolas Cage’s "Ghost Rider II" are some of the famous movies shot in Cappadocia.
Japan shows the highest interest in shooting films in Cappadocia. Japans shot nearly 80 shows and documentary movies in the region so far.
Germany, Brazil, Saudi Arabia, the U.S., China, India, Ukraine, Denmark, Bulgaria, Italy, South Korea, Russia, Indonesia, the Netherlands, Singapore, Belgium, UAE, Egypt, Malaysia, Croatia, Britain, Pakistan, Vietnam, Argentina, Spain, Taiwan, Canada, France and Sweden are the countries which shot films in Cappadocia.
Cappadocia is characterized by fairy chimneys and a unique historical and cultural heritage. It was known as Hatti in the late Bronze Age, and was the homeland of the Hittite power centered at Hattusa. Cappadocia region is largely underlain by sedimentary rocks formed in lakes and streams, and ignimbrite deposits erupted from ancient volcanoes approximately 9 to 3 million years ago, during the late Miocene to Pliocene epochs. The rocks of Cappadocia near Goreme eroded into hundreds of spectacular pillars and minaret-like forms. The volcanic deposits are soft rocks that the people of the villages at the heart of the Cappadocia region carved out to form houses, churches and monasteries.