Cappadocia

Dome and pillar shaped formations dotting the land, underground cities where people hid in times of war, fairy chimneys where you could easily imagine seeing a smurf or an alien, and cave houses/ churches: Cappadocia is a land of visual wonderment – a land of strange and intriguing formations created by volcanic eruption and the subsequent erosion. The people of Cappadocia carved these “chimneys” in to homes, Christian churches, stables and anything else that they needed. When the area was under attack by large armies, the Cappadocian people fled to the underground cities that they had dug for times of trouble. Cappadocia has a colourful history, a history involving conquering armies, Christians hiding in caves and, according to heresay, is where Saint George slew the dragon. (To find out more history of Cappadocia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cappadocia). Today, Cappadocia is a huge tourist destination offering hot air balloon tours, nice wines, ATV rides, bike tours, underground city exploration and much more. Cappadocia is also where George Lucas shot the scene of the Sand people’s homes in the first Star Wars.


I keep coming back to Cappadocia because I think it’s fantastic. I’ve visited Cappadocia four times, each time bringing a new visitor with me. I always stay in Goreme because it is a fairy chimney town, people still live in them, you can eat your meal in a fairy chimney, or you can stay in a cave hotel (hotel rooms carved in to fairy chimneys). Arriving in Goreme is like arriving on the moon or in to Smurf ville – I always half expect to see a little blue man with a large hat dart out from behind a building. On my first trip to Cappadocia I invested in a balloon tour. I say “invest” because this was quite an expensive experience – around 130 euros – but it was well worth it. I had arrived in Goreme at 11pm the previous night and hadn’t seen anything, just the outlines of the fairy chimneys as we made our way to the hotel in the dark. My balloon tour was the next morning, with a 7am pick up from the hotel. This is, in my opinion, the best way to start your stay in Cappadocia. The balloon takes you up and over the various valleys and you get a great chance to see the awesomeness that is Cappadocia. The balloon company will pick you up and take you to a large field where they serve you some tea or coffee and some little cakes and where you can watch the balloons being inflated. Then you will clamber in to the balloon and be whisked over the amazing Cappadocian landscape of which you will snap hundreds of photos (in my case at least) and take in the sunrise over the fairy chimneys. The balloon tour lasts between thirty minutes to forty five minutes and finishes with a toast of cheap champagne (which, in my case they will spray all over you) and a flight certificate. It’s an amazing experience but make sure that you dress warmly as those Cappadocian mornings can be quite cool.



In addition to ye ole balloon ride, Cappadocia offers lots of other adventures. Let’s start with horse back riding. My advice: Don’t do it. The horses are not well trained, prone to breaking in to a run, especially down hill, and also prone to biting and kicking each other with a rider still on their back. Worst of all, the guides don’t care. I’ve tried horse back riding in Cappadocia twice with two different companies and each time was a terrifying experience for both myself and my friends.



Visitors can also partake in various guided tours. I participated in the one which takes visitors to the Ihlara Valley for a hike and lunch, an underground city and the Selime Monastery – an amazing archaeological feat, carved high in to the rock. The tour is nice if you don’t have your own transportation and you can easily book them through your hotel, I believe that they are about 50 lira.

Goreme offers an interesting open air museum, a UNESCO world heritage site, where one can wander through ancient churches built in to caves and admire what remains of the paintings (note that all the faces of the saints have been scratched off because the Muslims who arrived much later don’t like faces in their art).

Cappadocia is also the home to wineries, hiking and biking trails, and for those of you who enjoy damaging the environment: ATV tours. It also boasts many souvenir stores and is a good place to buy carpets and onyx.

As for accommodation, I have stayed in a number of places in Goreme. The first time I went, my friend and I stayed at the Shoestring Cave Pension (http://www.shoestringcave.com) . It was inexpensive, clean, had a nice breakfast and offered us a stay in a cute little cave room with a private bathroom. It’s carved in to a cave and has a very nice ambiance. We stayed there at the end of October and the nights were COLD and the room was just not warm enough. We ended up sharing a bed for warmth, cuddled together in a shivering ball; however, I think it would be a perfectly comfortable place to stay in the summer time. My real complaint about this hotel was that we received a warm welcome until it became clear to the owner that we weren’t going to book any activities through him (we had done it all ourselves beforehand) and he quickly lost interest in us.

The next two times that I visited, I stayed at Kemal’s Guesthouse (http://www.kemalsguesthouse.com/home_en.html) which provides a gorgeous breakfast in a beautiful garden as well as a very tasty dinner (extra cost) if you want it. The owners of the guesthouse are very friendly and welcoming and will help you answer any questions you have about the area. The rooms are a little unexciting but comfortable and I would definitely recommend this hotel.

The third and final hotel is the Elif Star Cave hotel (http://www.elifstar.com ) which was a step up from my usual Cappadocian hotels because my parents were visiting. I really liked this hotel, from the welcome when the hotel’s owner surprised us by meeting us at the bus station and driving us to the hotel and the beautiful, tastefully decorated rooms, to the warm showers and fantastic breakfast (the first time I have ever had French toast - with maple syrup- in Turkey!). The hotel is beautifully designed and carved right in to the rock – I loved it!

As for eating, try the local specialty: Testi Kebab – chicken, beef, lamb or vegetarian mixture cooked in a clay pot which you break before consuming it!