The focus on energy efficiency in buildings has contributed to the increased interest in vernacular architecture using locally available materials. Monotype architecture has spread across Anatolia during last century despite builders having centuries of knowledge of vernacular dwelling. Climatic conditions are specific to geographical locations, therefore the architectural solutions respecting climatic conditions are also specific. Local construction materials are in harmony with the surroundings because they have previously been part of the current environment. The main aim of this thesis is to investigate and simulate the effects of high thermal mass on the thermal environment of cave dwellings. The case study was undertaken in a cave dwelling carved out of a fairy chimney in Ürgüp, Cappadocia. Data loggers were placed in the dwelling to observe the annual temperature and relative humidity fluctuations. Measurements showed that the interior temperature fluctuated around 18°C in January and 20°C in July, and the relative humidity fluctuated around 70% in January and 65% in July. These measurements showed that the interior conditions were thermally comfortable as a result of the high thermal mass of the cave dwelling. DesignBuilder software was used to simulate the thermal behaviour of the cave dwelling. The thermal conductivity, specific heat and density of the main material, volcanic tuff rock, were measured and defined in DesignBuilder. After defining all the inputs and boundary conditions, the numerical results obtained from the DesignBuilder provided thermal outputs which agreed with the experimental results.