Göreme, located among the "fairy chimney" rock formations, is a town in Cappadocia, a historical region of Turkey. It is in the Nevşehir Province in Central Anatolia and has a population of around 2,000 people.
Former names of the town have been Korama, Matiana, Maccan or Machan, and Avcilar. When Göreme Valley nearby was designated an important tourist destination, a centre for all tourism in Cappadocia, the name of the town was changed to Göreme for practical reasons. Among Göreme's historically important sites are the Bezirhane, Durmus Kadir, Ortahane, and Yusuf Koc churches, in addition to the richly decorated Tokali Kilise, the Apple Church, and a number of homes and pigeon houses carved into the rock formations in the town.
It is not known when Göreme was first inhabited, but it is known that there was a settlement there during the Hittite era, between 1800 and 1200 BC. For many centuries, the location was central between rival empires, such as the Hurri-Mitanni, Hittite Empire, Middle Assyrian Empire, Neo Assyrian Empire, Persian Achaemenid Empire and the Greek Seleucid Empire, leading the natives to tunnel into the rock to escape the political turmoil. During the Roman era, the area became home to Christians retreating from Rome. Christianity prevailed as the primary religion in the region, which is evident from many rock churches that can still be seen today.