Who Even Are You, Cappadocia?
Cappadocia. Seriously. Who even ARE you?*
Cappadocia is too strange and eerie and spectacular to describe in words. More than two weeks after my visit, I’m still almost too overwhelmed to try.
I’ll leave it to Wikipedia and Lonely Planet to provide more detailed descriptions of this otherworldly place. But briefly, Cappadocia is an area in the central Anatolian region of Turkey known for its crazy sandstone rock formations – called fairy chimneys – and its colourful history involving ancient underground cities, cave dwellings, and rock-hewn churches. Meruschka and I went there for three days on the tail end of our weeklong stay in Istanbul. (Cappadocia is about two hours by plane from Istanbul.)
Where I stayed in Cappadocia
We stayed in Göreme, a small town that is one of Cappadocia’s tourist centers, at a boutique hotel called the Cappadocia Cave Suites. (Thanks to Murat and the team at Gezimanya for arranging our stay.) Cappadocia Cave Suites, like most hotels and guesthouses in Cappadocia (and many other businesses and private homes), is built into an actual cave.
Göreme was a great place to stay – quaint, easily walkable, with plenty of restaurants and shops.
What I did in Cappadocia
Hot-air ballooning is the ultimate tourist activity in Cappadocia. You’ve probably seen the photos – dozens of colorful balloons soaring through the sky above Cappadocia’s fairy-chimney-strewn landscape.
Upon arrival in Cappadocia, the first thing we did was arrange a sunrise balloon trip with Voyager Balloons. But alas, hot-air ballooning is dependent upon good weather and the conditions weren’t ideal during our two mornings in Cappadocia. So no soaring balloon pictures for us. No hiking either, as it was too rainy and muddy.
But the good news is that we met Cemal Gurlek, a tour guide who works in the Voyager Balloons offices. Cemal, who works for a company called CVB Travel, took us to see several of his favorite spots in Cappadocia, which we never could have done ourselves without a car. Here are the highlights of our day with Cemal:
1) O Ağacın altı.
Our first stop was an overlook outside Göreme called O Ağacın altı, which means “under that tree”. It was at this point that I became dumbstruck and remained so for the rest of the day.
2) Uçhisar Castle
If you’re staying in or around Göremeand have time to see only one place, I recommend Uçhisar Castle. This ancient rocky hill is the highest point in Cappadocia and I was blown away by the view from the top. (Don’t worry: The climb isn’t as bad as it looks.)
3) Pasabag
Pasabag, also called Monks Valley, is a part of Cappadocia where monks once lived in seclusion, following a hermetic way of life in the numerous hidden caves.
4) Devrent Valley
Devrent Valley would have been a great spot for hiking if we’d had more time and better weather. We made a brief stop there to look at an amazing rock shaped like a camel.
Other cool things we saw and did in and around Göreme: The Göreme Open Air Museum (another must-visit), Love Valley, the El Nazar Church (sadly, we only saw the church from the outside because it’s closed in winter), and the mind-blowing Kaymaklı Underground City.
Where I ate
The weather wasn’t ideal during our visit to Cappadocia, but you don’t need good weather to eat. After my failed attempt to eat everything in Istanbul, it was nice to spend some time relaxing indoors, drinking hot tea and Cappadocia’s fantastic local wine, eating mezze and the region’s signature Gözleme (flatbread sandwiches).
1) Ziggy Café
Meruschka and I are eternally grateful to Cemal for taking for dinner at Ziggy Café in Ürgüp, about 15 minutes’ drive from Göreme. This was my favorite meal in Turkey.
2) Nazar Börek Café
On my first afternoon in Göreme I found myself alone at lunchtime and went to the first restaurant listed in my guidebook: Nazar Börek Café. It’s a friendly, cozy little restaurant with delicious gözleme.
3) Pumpkin Göreme
Pumpkin has an ever-changing four-course menu for a set price. We had dinner there one night and really enjoyed it.
4) Fat Boys
Don’t let the name fool you – this place is way more than a dive bar. Fat Boys has a lively atmosphere, good service, and great food and wine.
On our last, rainy afternoon in Göreme, we were passing the time at Fat Boys and fell into a conversation with the owner, Yilmaz. Yilmaz offered to drive us to the Kaymaklı Underground City, about 30 minutes away, simply because we hadn’t been there yet and he wanted to show us. On the way there, Yilmaz told us all about his life in Cappadocia, about how he had been born in a cave, and about his travels throughout the world. It was such a lovely way to end our time in Turkey.
And that’s the end of my blogging about Turkey. Whew! I’m exhausted. I hope to go back someday but I need a couple of years to rest.
Our stay at Cappadocia Cave Suites was complimentary, as was our dinner at Ziggy and our tour from Cemal. Opinions expressed are mine.
*This post’s headline is adapted from my favorite quote by Andy Carrie.
With such upheaval in the region, this is an amazing view of a place that looks and feels compelling. Great descriptions and photos. Thanks for the enlightenment. M:-)
Thanks so much! I’m glad you enjoyed it. Cappadocia really is a magical place.
Wow! Spectacular place, and one I never knew existed. Is the rock porous?Is it treated with anything to keep dwellings from getting damp? What do they use for flooring? I have so many technical questions. :)
Hmm, I’m a little embarrassed that I didn’t think to ask these questions. The rock definitely seemed porous - it’s obviously easy to dig into - but I have no idea what prevents damp. It was pretty wet when I was there but the caves all seemed dry. I think it’s magic!
Fairy caves indeed!
Wow, Heather, this goes beyond exotic to surreal. What an enchanting locale and the puople seem to be in this century, tho the environment is ancient. Thanks for the tour. Becky
Thanks, Becky. It really is a totally crazy place.
Those mezze at Ziggy’s look fantastic! I stayed in Goreme way back in 1999 and at the time, it was a little sleepy village compared to the other surrounding towns. I wonder if it has changed much, I probably need to go back to find out :)
It’s still somewhat sleepy but there are quite a few hotels and tourist businesses there. I’m guessing it’s grown quite a lot.
Great post. Great photos.
Heather, Cappadocia brought me out of the internet ‘caves’ where I have faithfully read every post you put out to acknowledge how gorgeous it is :). It completely took my breath away!
Thanks so much, Rhoda – both for faithfully reading my blog and for coming out of your figurative cave. I really appreciate the comment :)
This is such a beautiful post. I want to visit based on the pictures alone!
stunning pictures and great overview - I’ll definitely add it to my “see one day” list!
It’s definitely worthy of that list :)