“Kandovan” is a tourist village whose population is Iranian Turks, located in the city of Tabriz. It is distinguished by the beauty of its nature and its houses hewn into the rocks. It is also known as “Little Cappadocia” due to its resemblance to the famous region in Turkey.
The United Nations World Tourism Organization has included Kendovan in the Asko district of Tabriz, northwestern Iran, in the list of “the best tourist villages in the world for the year 2023.”
Thus, Kandovan became the first village in Iran to be included on the list.
It is expected that this will contribute to increasing the number of local and foreign tourists coming to this village, which is inhabited by the Turkish population in Iran.
What distinguishes the village most is rows of houses carved into volcanic rocks that resemble what are known as fairy chimneys in Cappadocia.
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Because of this similarity, this place is also called “Little Cappadocia” and “Iranian Cappadocia”.
While some of the region’s residents welcome the village’s acquisition of a tourist identity, there are others who are not comfortable with this situation.
Some village residents who do not want to change their traditional lifestyles prefer to stay away from tourists, and many of them avoid cameras.
It is noteworthy that the number of people who turn their backs or close the door of the house when they see the cameras is very large.
Ali Uskoy, who owns a shop in the village, said that the tourist region of Cappadocia in Turkey is an inspiration to them.
He explained that some people who want to provide better service to tourists and get new ideas go to Turkey and visit Cappadocia to learn about the services provided to visitors there.
