Why Cappadocia's Fairy Chimneys Collapse and What It Means for Visitors

The death toll from Thursday's rock collapse at the entrance to the Göreme Open-Air Museum in Turkey's Cappadocia region has risen to three, Turkish officials said in the evening, and five people were injured. Our first report on the collapse of the fairy chimney, which came down at about 15:15 local time (13:15 in Prague) on Turkey's Republic Day holiday, put the toll at two.

What we know now

• The victims. Nevşehir Governor Hüseyin Kök said two of the dead were Turkish citizens. Hürriyet reported that they were a married couple and that the third victim was a 37-year-old foreign woman tourist. Her nationality has not been made public.
• The injured. According to Kök, four of the five injured have been discharged from hospital and one is being treated for a broken hip. Health Minister Kemal Memişoğlu said all five were in good general condition.
• The search. Kök and Interior Minister Mustafa Çiftçi said the search and rescue operation had been completed. Justice Minister Akın Gürlek said teams were still working to make sure no one else was trapped.
• The investigation. The Nevşehir Chief Public Prosecutor's Office has opened a criminal investigation and assigned a deputy chief prosecutor and two prosecutors to it, Gürlek said. Kök said five expert witnesses had been appointed and that the governorship would open an administrative inquiry as well.

The rocks fell on people near a parking lot at the entrance to the museum, which is part of a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Why fairy chimneys fall

Fairy chimneys are spires of soft volcanic tuff, sculpted over millions of years by water and wind. Many carry a cap of harder rock that shields the softer column beneath it. When erosion eats into the "neck" below the cap, the rock can break away.

Officials blamed the weather. Kök said a landslide caused by excessive rainfall brought the rock down. Rain and wind had hit Nevşehir province on and off all week, and hot-air balloon flights were cancelled on Wednesday and Thursday, Türkiye Today reported.

Earlier collapses in the area caused no injuries. In September 2025, part of a fairy chimney in the centre of Göreme broke off. Cem Aslanbay, then director of the Cappadocia Area Authority, blamed cracks on its south face caused by temperature swings and repeated freezing and thawing, as well as rock chambers carved into its base in ancient times. Cumhuriyet reported that another fairy chimney fell in 2024 after snow loosened the tuff. In March 2025, the authority laid a cushion of soft pumice stones around a chimney near St. Simeon church to soften the expected fall of its cap stone.

Critics point to roads and traffic

Local critics say rain was not the only factor. Architect Zeynep Çöloğlu, who had inspected the area shortly before the collapse, told the newspaper Evrensel that many fairy chimneys along the main roads are at risk because of vibration from traffic. She also said scaffolding at some chimneys where restoration had stalled rests directly on the rock. She called for closing the areas around the formations to vehicles, keeping heavy machinery away and banning ATV tours on rock surfaces.

Mükremin Tokmak, a spokesperson for the Cappadocia Environment Platform, said the collapse site lies directly below a new parking area and linked the risk to road works, parking expansion and heavy traffic. He called for scientific vibration measurements and clearly marked visitor zones. Occupational safety expert Hacer Kayhan told CNN Türk that every tourist site needs a risk map and that dangerous spots need physical barriers, not just warning signs. The official cause will be established by the investigation.

What it means if you are planning a trip

• By Thursday evening, officials had not said when the area around the museum entrance would reopen. If you have a tour booked in the coming days, check with your operator.
• After heavy rain, snow or a thaw, keep away from the foot of rock formations, stay behind barriers and do not climb the spires.
• Balloon flights depend on the weather. They run on about 220 days a year and need daily approval from the civil aviation authority's Nevşehir office.
• Czech citizens can register a trip abroad in the foreign ministry's DROZD system, so the embassy can reach them in an emergency.

Around Prague, based on reporting by Hürriyet, A Haber, AAP, Türkiye Today, Türkiye Today (2025), Cumhuriyet / Evrensel, Cumhuriyet, CNN Türk, Hürriyet Daily News. Photo of the Göreme Open-Air Museum: Brocken Inaglory / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0