You are easily forgiven if you believe you have landed on another planet! Underground cities, fairy chimneys, cave houses, secret churches and a unique landscape made from windhewn volcanic rock. These are some of the interesting natural, historical and cultural facets of Cappadocia. It was here that the early Christians sought refuge, practised their religion and flourished in peace.
I spent two days there and managed to get a good feel for the region known as Cappadocia. It covers a large geographic area in Central Turkey and is served by 2 airports - Kayseri and Nevsehir. I stayed in Urgup but most people stay in Goreme or Nevsehir as well. Cappadocia has a markedly continental climate, with hot dry summers and cold snowy winters. Rainfall is sparse and the region is largely semi-arid.
Some of the places to visit and things to do:
Avanos - famous for its pottery
Cavusin - where you can hike through the Rose valley, view the sunset at the Red valley and admire the Pasabag fairy chimneys.
Göreme - fairy chimneys in the rock city
Güzelyurt - historic town close to Ihlara Valley
Nevsehir - capital of the region
Ortahisar - with its rock castle
Uçhisar - with its rock castle
Ürgüp - has many cave hotels and is a good base to explore the area.
Ihlara Valley (Ihlara Vadisi) — lots of churches carved into rocks. This valley is about an hour west of the core of Cappadocia, i.e. Ürgüp/Göreme area
Hot air Balloon ride - this is one of the best places in the world to do a balloon ride. Magical.
Turasan wine factory - Cappadocia is one of the biggest wine-producing regions in Turkey, and many wineries thoroughout the region's towns offer winetasting options.
Fairy chimneys
Cave houses
Interiors of a cave house.
The unique landscape
A potter demonstrating his work
The famous Avanos pottery
An early Christian church set in the rock
Because they were supposed to be "secret", the symbols and pictures were quite cryptic
In the shape of a rabbit's head
In the shape of a camel
Cappadocia wines are quite famous
Sunset over the Red valley
Urgup town
Amazing how huge these rooms were.
The monastery
Rose Valley
The town amidst the pinnacles
Wow! Just finished reading about your amazing trips & I'd simply like to quote Ibn Batuta who said, "Travelling - it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller!" :)
ReplyDeleteGlad you enjoyed my posts. Thank you
DeleteYou have a wonderful blog. Keep travelling.
ReplyDeletehttps://rajniranjandas.blogspot.in
Lovely post Elsa, Your barebones style of writing makes the piece more authentic. Since most other travel writers use a super glossed up style of writing, the place doesn't always turn out as nice as the way you've read about it.
ReplyDeleteAnd I really like the lil offbeat discoveries like fairy chimneys, cave houses and hidden monasteries.....like an old world treasure hunt. Good stuff! :)
Thank you Sabina
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