Turkish experts have called for the temporary closure to visitors of the Göreme Open-Air Museum and other areas of Cappadocia, a tourist region in central Turkey, following the heavy rains believed to be behind the collapse of a fairy chimney in Nevşehir, which yesterday left three tourists dead and five injured.
Two of the fatalities were pulled from the rubble just minutes after the landslide in the rock formation, which occurred next to the car park at the entrance to Göreme, a World Heritage Site and one of the most visited destinations for tourists travelling to Cappadocia. The governor of Nevşehir, Hüseyin Kök, attributed the collapse from the outset to the heavy rainfall of recent days.
Two Turkish nationals and one French tourist identified as the victims
The three fatalities were identified as two Turkish nationals – the journalist Fatih Eray Tuna and his wife, Begüm Çetinkaya Tuna, both aged 31, who had married in July – and a 37-year-old French tourist named Cynthia Francine Marie Madeleine Houpert.
Kök pointed out that the authorities have so far only cordoned off a small area at the scene of the accident and assured that no problems have been detected in other fairy chimneys, according to statements reported by the Turkish newspaper Milliyet.
For his part, the Minister of Justice, Akın Gürlek, announced the launch of an investigation into the incident. The Minister of Health, Kemal Memişoğlu, also reported that the five injured people are in good general condition and are continuing to receive treatment in hospitals in the region.
Experts are calling for the temporary closure of several areas in Cappadocia
The fairy chimneys of Cappadocia are rock formations formed millions of years ago by erosion – caused by rain and wind – of volcanic ash deposits left behind after volcanic eruptions that occurred millions of years ago.
In 2024, another similar incident occurred in the region, when a fairy chimney made of tuff, weakened by heavy snowfall, collapsed during the night, causing a loud crash and large fragments of rock were hurled into the air and rolled across the surrounding area. Fortunately, on that occasion, there were no casualties, as the incident took place in the early hours of the morning and did not affect any buildings.
Professor Şenel Özdamar, head of the Department of Geological Engineering at Istanbul Technical University (İTU), has been among those who have called for the area to be closed to the public until the ground and rock stabilise following the heavy rainfall of recent days.
“The history of fairy chimneys dates back 10 million years. Due to the lithological structure of these rocks, composed of both harder and softer materials, various separations occur, giving rise to different shapes. Ten million years of volcanic activity, atmospheric conditions, rain, wind and lightning have caused these separations and erosion,” he explained when discussing how these formations were created and the ongoing erosion processes they are subjected to.
For his part, Serkan İçelli, an expert in mining technology and geosciences, has warned of the existence of other geological formations in Cappadocia that could also pose a new risk of collapse.
“I filmed a video there two months ago and said: ‘This could come crashing down on us’. We have identified many places in Cappadocia similar to the area where the collapse occurred. The famous cavities that can be seen (in the fairy chimneys) are not actually the result of a geological process, but entirely man-made structures that have been converted into living spaces. These structures must be identified one by one and restored in a way that is compatible with nature,” he emphasised, warning that otherwise further collapses could occur.
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Edited and reviewed by:
Pablo Gómez is a specialist in Turkey and has been editor-in-chief of Hispanatolia since 2011. He has been analysing current affairs and geopolitics in Turkey and the surrounding region since 2006.
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