One of the highlights of our overland trip through Turkey is the special landscape of Cappadocia. We go here because, after our visit to Pamukkale, we would like to make a balloon flight ourselves. We arrive with snow and strong winds and visit almost all tourist destinations in Cappadocia. Lots of natural sandstone sculptures and cave houses, rugged landscapes and distant horizons. Nature blossoms in this season and we see the sun more and more. We stay in this special landscape for a total of 9 days, but the wind persists and in the morning it is often cloudy and sometimes rainy, so we save that balloon ride for another occasion.
At the end of this blog we will tell you about a too exciting path we took in Göreme, so exciting that we had to turn around.
Cappadocia is often presented as the valleys around Göreme, we visit a more extensive region. We travel from the Ihlara valley in the west to Ürgüp in the east and from Avanos in the north to Derinkuyu in the south.(click on the map)
Derinkuyu
When we come down from the volcano mountain Hasan Daği and we have recovered from our snow adventure there, it turns out that this day does not have much good weather in store for us. It’s gray all day and sometimes the windshield wipers can barely clear the rain and snow. We save the Ihlara valley and the cave houses, churches and monastery of Güzelyurt, and the special landscape of Cappadocia that we pass on the way, for a later moment in Turkey. We do stop at the Yüksek Kilise near Güzelyurt. The church is on top of a mountain and is opened especially for us.
The wind howls through the open windows and snow piles up in the hallways.
It’s starting to snow harder and harder, so we look for covered distractions along the way.
That’s good, because our route takes us past Derinkuyu, one of the largest underground cities in Cappadocia and perhaps in the world. The city has been carved into the ground up to 8 levels over many thousands of years. 30,000 people lived here, mainly women, children and the elderly, the young men were deployed for the many wars that were fought on the ground.
Everything is available in the underground city, housing, churches, trading places, water and food storage and wine production. The residents got along well. There is even an underground (escape) corridor to the nearby underground city of Kaymakli (10km). Strategic corridors could even be closed off with a large millstone.
Göreme
In Göreme we booked a hotel, the Cappadocia Elite Stone House. It’s time for a shower again and the weather also convinces us to stay indoors. The next morning there is again a lot of snow and the landscape looks quite wintery. I go out early in the morning to do some drone shots, everything is quiet and the snow makes the special landscape even more special.
We stay indoors, read and write a bit, enjoy the warmth and the delicious extensive breakfast buffet. In the evening we eat at CANCAN Cafe and Restaurant, ordinary uncomplicated Turkish cuisine with good portions and as an extra some tasty appetizers.
Ürgüp
The next day the snow is gone and we meet Pinar, we met her during our Spanish course in Salamanca. We agreed to meet and through her husband Kubilay we can book a balloon flight, he runs a travel agency in Ürgüp.
The reunion is most cordial and our communication goes smoothly, especially since Miray, Pinar’s sister-in-law, speaks excellent English and acts as an interpreter.
We tell travel stories and especially Miray hangs on our every word, she also wants to travel. Later Pinar’s sister also joins us and we take this nice picture.
At Kubilay we book a balloon flight for Monday, then the weather seems to be getting better. In the end, the balloon flight is postponed to Wednesday and later to Thursday. If that doesn’t happen either and maybe a flight is possible on Saturday, we decide to pass up this opportunity.
Ihlara Valley
Fortunately, the weather is clearing up in the meantime, despite the strong wind, the sun also comes through regularly. We take the opportunity of a beautiful sunny day to take a walk in the Ihlara valley.
The visitor center we found on the map no longer exists, but the new, we assume temporary, visitor center is easily accessible by car.
From the visitor center we walk into the Ihlara valley via a steep staircase and a path over the rocks.
The valley is special because of the many churches that are carved into the rock walls. Many have been weathered over the centuries, some are well preserved.
Halfway through the valley we drink tea.
Güzelyurt
Earlier, when we were on our way to Göreme, we were already in Güzelyurt, but then it was snowing too hard.
After our walk in the Ihlara valley we look for a place to stay at the lake near Güzelyurt. We find a small spot where we can just stand.
The next morning we drive to Güzelyurt and are surprised by the many cave houses carved into the mountain walls
We bezoeken de byzantijnse kerk, die tegenwoordig dienst doet als moskee.
Then we climb up the mountain to the viewpoint.
Further down the valley is another monastery carved into the rock walls. We drive there, but we are satisfied for today, we do not get out.
Uçhisar
The village of Uçhisar distinguishes itself from the other places in Cappadocia by the rock-hewn castle that rises high above the village. We walk to the top and admire the view.
Avanos
De stad Avanos vinden we niet heel speciaal. Dit is de pottenbakkersstad en overal worden pottenbakkers workshops aangeboden, leuk voor wie dat graag een keer wil doen. De oude vindplaatsen en landschappelijke elementen in de omgeving vinden wij interessanter. In Turkije biedt Cappadocië echt het meest bijzondere landschap.
Imagination Valley
One of the famous images of Cappadocia is undoubtedly this camel.
We take the time to walk between the sandstone rocks and let the unreal landscape penetrate us.
Zelve
The historic town and monastery of Zelve has been well preserved, well restored and made easily accessible for the many visitors who come here every year. We need a few hours to get a good impression of the spectacular landscape with the many cave houses and churches.
Paşabağ
Paşabağ in Turkey also offers such a special Cappadocia landscape. The large sandstone columns with a cap of harder basalt on top give the landscape a surreal look.
Hiking in the Red Valley
We camp in the wild for a few nights on a plateau above the Red Valley. A beautiful place to watch the balloons take off, just not now…. The wind is too strong!
We will therefore explore our own path and put on our hiking boots. Our walk into the valley starts from this panoramic view. We make a nice round and after a few hours of walking and scrambling we arrive back at our starting point.
Too exciting path
Sometimes, at an unexpected moment, a path comes your way that is too exciting. Milady Landy can ride many roads, paved and unpaved, through mountains and over slippery roads. Yet this path was too much of a challenge for Milady and for her driver and co-driver. We had to turn back and that also took quite some effort.
In retrospect, everything turned out well and we were able to have the damage repaired, but we will never do this again!