Cappadocia region 60 million years ago; Erciyes, Hasan Mountain and Rose along with millions of soft layers of lava and ash blasted mountain that year appeared eroded by rain and wind. Human settlement dates back to the Paleolithic period. Lands where the Hittites lived in a subsequent period has been one of the most important centers of Christianity. The houses and churches carved into the rock, the region has become a huge refuge for Christians fleeing the oppression of the Roman Empire.