By Francesca Lungarotti
Imagine living inside of a rock, within an ancient city built inside or beneath rocks. Present-day and ancient inhabitants of Vardzia (Georgia), Petra (Jordan), Matmata (Tunisia), Mesa Verde (USA) Kandovan (Iran), Ajanta (India) and Cappadocia (Turkey) share this experience, living in cities built on rock, or even dug into it. These are some of the world’s famous Rock Towns. These rock towns offered solid protection not only from enemies but also from the natural elements and high temperatures outside.
Many of these cave settlements have survived to this day and retain all their charm intact. The city of Vardzia in southern Georgia features a spectacular cave monastery complex that was built over decades by Queen Tamar and her father George III. Vardzia is a symbol of Georgia’s Golden Age and has remained inhabited ever since. The city later served as a monastic and defensive site between the 11th and 13th centuries. Vardzia was originally conceived as a place where 50,000 people or more could retreat to when under attack. Nestled deep within the rock, Vardzia’s caves are connected by a labyrinth of tunnels (some over 150 meters long), stairways, and terraces.
Asia, Iran, Kandovan, Traditional house. Image: Giovanni Mereghetti/Universal Images Group 
Cliff Palace of Mesa Verde, Colorado USA 11. Image: Planet One Images/Universal Images Group 
Cliff Palace of Mesa Verde, Colorado USA 4. Image: Planet One Images/Universal Images Group 
Cliff Palace of Mesa Verde, Colorado USA 2. Image: Planet One Images/Universal Images Group 
Turkey, Cappadocia. Image: Giovanni Mereghetti/Universal Images Group 
Turkey, Cappadocia. Image: Giovanni Mereghetti/Universal Images Group 
Iran. Azerbaijan Region. Kandovan. Image: Giovanni Mereghetti/Universal Images Group 
Georgia. Kakheti Region. David Gareja Monastery. Image: Giovanni Mereghetti/Universal Images Group 
Georgia. Vardzia. Rock Village. Image: Giovanni Mereghetti/Universal Images Group 
Georgia. Vardzia. Rock Village. Image: Giovanni Mereghetti/Universal Images Group
In 1283, an earthquake destroyed much of the complex, removing half the cliff and revealing its internal structures. What you see today is only a fraction of what Vardzia truly was in the past. At its height, the complex boasted more than 6,000 rooms on 19 levels that served a variety of purposes, from accommodations for the 200 resident monks to defensive structures, chapels, and pharmacies. There were also at least 25 wine cellars.
Petra in Jordan is known as the “pink city” for the enchanting color of the rocks from which it is built, and was the capital of the ancient Nabatean kingdom is a veritable city carved into the side of the Wadi Musa Canyon. The rock town of Matmata in Tunisia is a cave village located at the edge of the Sahara Desert and one of the finest examples of troglodyte architecture, or cave dwellings, designed to protect inhabitants from the high temperatures outside.
The Cliff Palace in Mesa Verde, Colorado, USA is a spectacular complex of prehistoric houses, built under the rock. It is now included in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites and is visited by approximately half a million people each year. Uchisar in Cappadocia, Turkey displays an imposing tuff peak, perforated by a thousand cavities, is one of the most fascinating places to visit in Cappadocia, the land of Fairy Chimneys.
Royal Tombs. Carved Into Sandstone Cliffs By Ancient Nabateans. Jordan. Asia. Image: Giovanni Mereghetti/Universal Images Group 
Ancient Uchisar Castle houses. Image: Reimar Gaertner/Universal Images Group 
Berber women in a troglodye house. Matmata. Tunisia. Image: Mikel Bilbao/Universal Images Group 
Asia. Iran. Kandovan. Traditional house. Image: Giovanni Mereghetti/Universal Images Group 
Ancient Uchisar Castle houses. Image: Reimar Gaertner/Universal Images Group 
Royal Tombs. Carved Into Sandstone Cliffs By Ancient Nabateans. Jordan. Asia. Image: Giovanni Mereghetti/Universal Images Group 
Khasneh Al Faroun. Petra. Jordan. Asia. Image: Giovanni Mereghetti/Universal Images Group 
Fairy Chimney. Cappadocia. Turkey. Middle East. Image: Giovanni Mereghetti/Universal Images Group 
Asia, Iran, Kandovan, Traditional house. Image: Giovanni Mereghetti/Universal Images Group
The ancient Iranian village of Kandovan, located in the Sahand district in northwest Iran, is the largest cave settlement in the world. More than 600 inhabitants still live in ancient cave dwellings carved into volcanic rocks, many of which are comically shaped thanks to erosion. The Ajanta Caves just outside the village of Ajinṭhā in the Aurangabad district of northwestern India, are rock-cut monuments on a horse’s hoof-shaped escarpment and date back to the 2nd century BCE. The caves contain important paintings and sculptures of Buddhist religious and monumental art and have been part of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites since 1983.
All images featured in this post and on Kaleidoscope are available for licensing. Please contact us at info@universalimagesgroup.com
Sources:
TGCOM24 “Città nella roccia: le più impressionanti del mondo”; July 14, 2023
https://www.tgcom24.mediaset.it/viaggi/mondo/citta-nella-roccia-mondo-_66855544-202302k.shtml
SiViaggia.com “In Vardzia, a cave city, the rocks tell ancient stories and incredible wonders.” by Elena Usai; April 25, 2025
https://siviaggia.it/posti-incredibili/vardzia-georgia/527886/