Cappadocia, Turkey

Cappadocia (Kapadokya in Turkish) is a fairytale like place right in the centre of Turkey.  I say fairytale because the landscape varies between the ‘fairy chimneys’ to underground dwellings to beautiful mountains and valleys. You can amble up rocky hillsides and check out houses and churches built into the side of mountains or you can venture below the surface (literally) and explore the subterranean network that form underground cities. Before I started planning my trip

I had heard of Cappadocia but didn’t have much of a clue where exactly in Turkey it was.  I thought I would be able to drive for a couple of hours from Istanbul and arrive with not too much trouble.  It turned out to be a lot farther away than what I expected.  So to save time I took a plane from Istanbul to Kayseri Airport.  I have written about my trip between Istanbul and Kayseri here. The tourism area of Cappadocia is quite large too.  It is necessary to drive or at last take buses around.

Capadocia Tours

It is possible to take yourself around to the different attractions of Cappadocia but it’s kind of messy so I opted to take a day tour.  Most tour companies offer the same tours which at the least are the Red Tour (North Tour) which comprises Uçhısar Castle, Göreme Öpen Aır Museum, Monsk Valley, Devrent Valley, Avanos and Love Valley and the Green Tour (South Tour) which includes a Göreme Valley view, Derinkuyu Underground City, Ihlara Canyon, Selime and Pigeon Valley.   You can book these at your hotel or local tourist office.  I attempted to bargain the price down but they weren’t too interested in this so I went ahead and booked the Green Tour anyway. It was an enjoyable day starting with Goreme National Park with sweeping views across the chimneys and valley. Book the Green Tour.

Derinkuyu Underground City

Next we went to the underground city at Derinkuyu.  It’s quite cool underground but be warned if you are a little claustrophobic you may find this unsettling.  The passageways aren’t big and obviously there is little to no natural daylight and that’s not even taking into account it can get a little airless down there.  However, if that doesn’t bother you, and it doesn’t bother most people, it is a fascinating look at how people lived centuries ago to avoid religious persecution.

The Hittites settled in Cappadocia around 1800BC to 1200BC, then Persians came followed by Romans.  During the Roman and Byzantine periods, Cappadocia became a refuge for Christians and from the 4th to 11th century the Christians flourished here albeit underground. Most of the underground churches and monasteries are from this period.  Later, under the Ottomans Christians were tolerated.

Lunch was in a nice little restaurant in Belisirma. It was al fresco but under covering next to a small river complete with geese.  Lunch was simple but nice enough.

Ihlara Valley

Ihlara Valley used to be called Peristrema and was once a place where Byzantine monks hung out and cut churches into the base of the surrounding towering cliffs.  This was a lovely 45 minute walk through some very pleasant vistas and beside a lovely little river.  Mostly shaded it wasn’t too strenuous and had enough variety of scenery to hold one’s interest.  We obviously did the short route as to do the whole thing takes about 5 to 6 hours.  There are several entrances so the choice is yours (or in my case the tour guide’s choice).

Güzelyurt

Güzelyurt is a hillside collection crumbling stone houses and churches. It’s a bit of a climb up but at least it’s not too far.  I’m not too sure what it is with me in going back down hills but I dislike it.  I think I’m scared of slipping.  Anyway what goes up must come down as they say in the tourist world.

Up until the population exchanges of 1924 the town was inhabited by 1,000 Ottoman Greek families and 50 Turkish Muslim families.  The Greeks went to Nea Karvali in Greece, while the Turkish families from Kozan and Kastoria in Greece moved here.

Nevşehir Accommodation

I was staying in Nevşehir at the Altinoz Hotel.  The hotel was a little dated but I found it quite alright.  I couldn’t bring myself to eat in the restaurant for dinner, however, for the smell of cooking oil.  You can check Accommodation for Cappadocia. But it was only a short stroll to some of the local restaurants who went out of their way to serve me their best food – which was delicious.  The hotel was mainly full of German and Russian tourists and I never saw any tourists outside of the hotel in the city of Nevşehir. 

CHECK ACCOMMODATION AVAILABILITY ON BOOKING.COM

The tourists at this hotel seemed to be on bus tours of Turkey and were bussed in and out every day.  It was a university town and quite a bustling one with Turkish people all going about their business.  I really liked this town and it felt like it was a little off the tourist route.  I think this is why I liked Nevsehir – the tourist weren’t out and about in it.  It kind of felt like I was observing a slice of Turkish society.