Cappadocia

Cappadocia is one of the strangest landscapes on Earth with its natural formation. The violent eruptions of the volcanoes Erciyes and Hasan from nine to three millions years ago covered the surrounding plateau with tuff, lava and volcanic ash.

Undergoing erosion by wind and water, this plateau was shredded creating monumental rock formations such as rock cones, capped pinnacles and fretted ravines in different colours, but mostly in tones of red. “Fairy Chimneys” with flat stones on the top, cones with distorted shapes combining to perfect a more confusing surrealist decoration than any sculptors could design.

People of the villages at the heart of the Cappadocia Region carved out houses, churches and monasteries from the soft rocks of volcanic deposits. Göreme became a monastic centre in 300–1200 AD.

The first period of settlement in Göreme goes back to the Roman era. Houses and churches carved into rocks illustrate history and can be seen today. The Göreme Open Air Museum, a Unesco World Heritage site, is the most visited site of the monastic communities in Cappadocia and is one of the most famous sites in central Turkey. The complex contains more than 30 carved-from-rock churches and chapels, some having superb frescoes inside, dating from the ninth century to the eleventh century.

The most important towns and destinations in today’s Cappadocia are Ürgüp, Göreme, Ihlara Valley, Güzelyurt, Uçhisar, Avanos and Zelve. Among the most visited underground cities are Derinkuyu &Kaymaklı.

Cappadocia is a must see place in the World, with its magnificent scenery. Trekking is also popular in the region. Ihlara Valley, Monastery Valley (Guzelyurt), Ürgüp and Göreme are best for trekking.

DAY 1

When you land to Cappadocia, you will meet by your tour guide, who will be with you for 2 days.

Uçhisar Castle is an important stop for a fantastic view where you will receive information about the rich history of Cappadocia and the unique rock formations.

Goreme Open-Air Museum is known to be one of the first monasteries in the history of Christianity. This rock-cut settlement, where religious education was given to spread Christianity, has been on the UNESCO World Heritage list with its churches and rock living areas.

Avanos is one of the oldest settlements of Cappadocia. The pottery art, which is known to have started at the time of the Hittites, still continues and there are many workshops.

Cappadocia is famous for its unique landforms. Paşabağları Museum is the most obvious place to visit where these landforms are best seen and the common life of humankind and nature. Paşabağları is also commonly known as “Monks Valley”. Here you can see the famous mushroom-shaped fairy chimneys as well as St. Simeon’s monk cell carved into the rock.

Very close to Paşabağ, Devrent Valley is known as “imagination valley” where you can take fantastic photos with animal-shaped rock formations.

DAY 2

(Optional) Hot Air Balloon Ride: Cappadocia became more and more popular with the hot air balloon rides as it is the best way to discover this beauty on Earth. It is a comfortable way to understand the geological formation in the area beside having a very romantic&unforgettable journey in the sky at sunrise.

Hiking tour in the Red Valley: If you take the hot-air ballooning tour early in the morning, this hiking tour will be a subsidiary tour of Cappadocia, right after a sky tour. Red Valley is an area that attracts visitors with its color in the very center of Cappadocia. There is a hiking route approximately 4 km within the valley. During the walk in touch with nature you will see fairy-chimneys, local farms, pigeon houses and cave chapels. It is also possible to see the different color layers of the volcanic eruption from millions of years ago. Hiking finishes at Çavuşin, the old Greek Village.

Not far from Çavuşin village, Love Valley is one of the most well-known and photographed areas of Cappadocia. With its earth shapes, it is almost like a natural photography studio.

Underground cities are the most attractive parts of Cappadocia. There are nearly 200 underground cities in the region, but only a few of them are open for visitors for today. The cities are estimated to be built at least 3 thousand years ago, that means the time of the Hittites. The main purpose were to shelter, hide and sustain life. It is known that the first Christians used these underground cities for a long time to hide from the Arab invasion. Kaymaklı underground city is the biggest and the most visited underground city in the region.

Pigeon Valley is another iconic visiting areas of Cappadocia. The people living in nature have used pigeon’s scat as fertilizer in agriculture. Moreover, pigeon eggs were used for decorating the churches. The most effective way of permanent fresco was to use pigeon eggs, and this discovery changed both their lives and the pigeons’ lives. They built large rock-carved pigeon houses, fed them and had a common life for centuries. Although there are no fresco artists today, this common life still continues.