The Kayakapi neighbourhood of Ürgüp, Turkey is a historical area located on the northeastern slope of a hill known as Esbelli. It features many examples of vernacular and monumental architecture, including the House of Saint John the Russian (Yuhannes). Abandoned after the 1980s, the semi-ruins and natural landscape of Kayakapi are now being developed for tourism. Natural Environment The geographical context within which Kayakapi Neighbourhood is located is characterized by a semi-mountainous landscape and volcanic tuff, pumice and basalt rocks. The fairy chimneys uniquely found in this region of Anatolia and the tradition of rock-carved houses are a result of the nature of this special kind of soft tuff stone. The most prominent river in the province is Kızılırmak (Halys), with secondary rivers flowing down from Hodul Mountain (1.949m) and joining it; among these, Damsa river is also the site of the region's only lake and the valley on which Ürgüp is situated. A severe inland climate dominates the area, with seasonal and day-to-night temperature differences exceeding 20 °C. However, these differences are only about 3 – 4 °C in caves and underground cities, creating natural storage spaces for wine and lemons. The natural vegetation of Ürgüp and environs consists of steppe plants, as well as orchards and vineyards; some wet and dry agricultural lands are also found around Ürgüp. Few forest areas are observed, except remains of older oak trees in the mountains. Cultural Environment Archaeological Heritage The historical development of Ürgüp and the region can be traced back to 1800–1200 BC, to the Hittite period, and continues from the Phrygian, Persian, Roman and Byzantine periods onto the Seljukid and Ottoman empires. The ‘land of beautiful horses’, as it was called by the Persians, is renowned for the rock-carved shelters that were made by the early Christians fleeing the wave of iconoclasm which spread in the Byzantine Empire, and later by those who escaped the Arab attacks during the 8th – 9th centuries AD. The region is believed to be used as a missionary center, starting from the 1st – 2nd centuries AD, when the first Christian communities appeared, leading the construction of many churches and monasteries in Ürgüp – Göreme, which is now a Historical National Park, and in neighbouring areas. Nevşehir, Ihlara and Soğanlı are the three valleys where this kind of life was prevalent. Among the nearly 200 underground cities in Cappadocia, 45 of them are