Top Things to do in Cappadocia

Dear lilioftheworld.com reader, here is Lili, your co-editor. Today I would like to take you to an amazing place in Turkey: the region of Cappadocia. 

As those of you, who follow us regularly, know, at the end of 2020 our first child was born. Together with the Covid pandemic, these were the two reasons why we were not able to travel as much as we used to in the past years. Still, we were eager to see what it is to travel with a baby and the proposal of our friends to visit Cappadocia came at the right moment. When doing the booking, we knew that there might be changes due to the uncertain situation with the pandemic. And this was the case. The day before we arrived in Cappadocia, they announced a full lockdown in the country. This meant very limited tourism activities, including closed restaurants and shops. We were thinking whether it is still  worth going, but the eagerness to travel was bigger than the fear of going there during the pandemic. 

The takeaway from a first trip with a newborn

In short, it was an organized trip with a charter flight from Sofia to Cappadocia for 4 days. For young parents this was the perfect opportunity as a test trip. The flight takes about an hour and a half, all transfers are organized, so it did not sound as much of a stress. We just had to take care of the baby. This was not her first flight though, so she behaved perfectly for a 4-month-old. I’m working on an article specially dedicated to travelling with babies, so those of you who are interested, stay tuned! 

Travelling with a child has its specifics

As a summary from this short vacation, I can only say that I’m glad we went to Cappadocia even though we did not see the balloons. This was one of the discontinued tourist activities during the lockdown. The region is such an amazing nature wonder, that the balloons simply distort the focus. Most of the tourists (including us) are going there only for the balloons. But when they are not there, you have the chance to admire Cappadocia’s real beauty. For sure we will go there again to experience the balloons as well, but we had the unique opportunity to be among the few who saw it without them. 

About Cappadocia

If you look up Cappadocia on the map, you will see that it encompasses a big area around the city of Göreme. Its former name is Katpatuka- which means “land of beautiful horses”. Nowadays you will not find many horses, rather camels (which are just an attraction for the tourists). 

Cappadocia is the name of the land that lies between Nevsehir, Nigde and Aksaray. In this area there are 4 volcanic mountains and most of the formations are the result of volcanic activity. Later in the article I will explain and show you these formations. 

The hotel in Göreme

There are hundreds of options to stay in Cappadocia, Göreme is not even the only town where you can stay if you are visiting the region. Still, Göreme is not only the most popular, but also one of the most beautiful ones. As we were lucky with the hotel we stayed at, I would like just to express how satisfied we are with it. Here is the link to it Cappadocia Osmanli Hotel. 

Some photos from our hotel in Goereme

At first, when I saw its location, it seemed at the end of the city. However, it was not. It was a 10 minutes walk away from the central area with restaurants. By being one of the last hotels, the view of the balloons is simply amazing. We did not see them, but you can imagine the view just by being on the top terrace. It was a small boutique hotel with very nice staff. The best part is the rooftop terrace where they organize beautiful set-up for your Instagram or family album. Besides breakfast they can also serve other meals, so just ask them for it. 

About the Cappadocia trip

As I already mentioned, we had just 4 days in Cappadocia and we were a group of 6 (including the baby), just enough for a private tour. So before the trip, I contacted several local agencies via WhatsApp and this is how I organized the trips we did. I’m very satisfied with how smooth everything went, because when booking online you always bear some risk. The prices of the trips were even lower than the ones offered by the travel agency in Bulgaria. Moreover, we could fine-tune the daily agenda and decide how much time we want to spend here and there. 

In general, the daily trips in Cappadocia have a color name- a yellow tour, a red one, a green one, etc. They differ slightly depending which agency you choose, but more or less the content of the trip is similar. This is how local agencies distinguish the route they bring tourists to. 

One takeaway is that next time I would rent a car and do everything on our own. I guess this time we were a bit more cautious also because of the baby. If you are travelling on your own, do not waste your time and rent a car. There is plenty of space to park around the sightseeing spots, also in front of the hotels. 

14 Things to do in Cappadocia

In the explanation below, I would not focus on which tour-color the location belongs to, but rather on the interesting spots and facts.

• Admire the beauty of the Love valley

This was our first stop of the trip. Two things immediately come to your sight. Locals had installed swings in order for you to take nice photos from the viewpoints. And second, you see the local decorations everywhere. Be it these colorful clay vases or the “eyes” which Turkish people use against bad intentions. 

The Love valley has its name as in the past lovers used to walk there.

• Göreme open air museum 

Just outside of Göreme village is the UNESCO-protected site of Göreme Open-Air Museum, a monastery cluster of rock-cut churches and monk-cells that hold fabulous frescoes. The complex dates from the 10th to 12th centuries, when Cappadocia was an important Byzantine religious center. 

The most interesting thing about the museum are the “fairy chimneys“. These are volcanic rock formations. In the past, people could not explain how they are formed and that is why they gave them this name- fairy chimneys.

This is the explanation of their formation: The soil underneath is kind of sandy. In the region they do not have rain, but snow. All the snow is collected at the top of the volcanic rock and when the water melts, it is absorbed in the middle, the sandy part. Thus, the base of the chimney is getting thinner and thinner over time. The cap stays there for longer until at some point the base crashes. These formations are changing over the years and are unique because of the specific micro climate. It took them around 14000 years to become what we see today. 

Because of the baby stroller we couldn’t properly explore the churches inside the complex. There are several of them, but the most important ones are the Elmali Kilise (Apple Church), the Azize Barbara Sapeli (Chapel of St. Barbara), Yilanli Kilise (Snake Church), the stunning and superbly restored frescoes of the Karanlik Kilise (Dark Church); and the cavernous Tokali Kilise (Buckle Church). The museum is one of Turkey’s top highlights, and it’s Cappadocia’s most famous tourist attraction.

• Visit a pottery production spot

One of the stops of these tours is a pottery production spot. I assume there are many such places, it depends which one your agency is working with. They have the standard arrangement- you are not paying an entrance fee, but they hope you will in the end buy some of their stuff. 

The most typical for me where the wine holders and the respective sets. You can see how the locals use the garafa to serve wine (the owner demonstrated for us). Alse serving guests tea is quite common.

Obviously the spot we visited was a family-owned business for a couple of generations. We were lucky to have a private tour by the owner and we enjoyed exploring the spot without the tourist crowds who came just half an hour later. The production factory was in a cave with a temperature of 17 degrees during the whole year, so it would be good to have something to put on.  The owner explained that in the past boys could not get married if they didn’t know how to produce pottery. For girls carpet production was the equivalent. That is why this was our next stop- a carpet production venue.

• Watch carpet production 

To be honest we have such traditions in our own country, so this was definitely not a point of interest for me. However, if you haven’t seen this art, it is worth doing so. Moreover, these factories are not big, so you will not allocate a lot of time. 

• Experience some of the underground cities

We were wondering whether to go inside with the baby or not, but luckily Dimo decided not to enter. This was a good decision as basically you go a lot underground, with humid air, not the best ventilation and you pass through tiny tunnels. Not the best place to be for a 4-month-old. 

These troglodyte cave-cities were excavated as early as Hittite times, and expanded over the centuries as various marauding armies traversed Central Anatolia in search of captives and plunder. In total, there are 36 underground cities in Cappadocia- can you imagine!? We visited the widest one which is Kaymakli underground city, while the deepest and most popular one is the Derinkuyu Underground City.

Kaymakli underground city is built under the hill known as the Citadel of Kaymakli. They opened it to visitors in the 60s of the last century. The people of Kaymakli village have constructed their houses around nearly one hundred tunnels of the underground city. The inhabitants of the region still use the most convenient places in the tunnels as cellars, storage areas and stables, which they access through their courtyards. As mentioned earlier, there are low, narrow and sloping passages in the underground city, so if you are a bit claustrophobic, you will not feel at ease. The underground city consists of 8 floors below ground, only 4 of them are open to the public today.

Kaymakli underground city

The first floor people used for keeping their animals, the second as a storage room. The first animals which one would see are the cows as simply they could not pass further down through the tunnels. The logical reason why animals were first is that in case invaders come, they take firstly the animals. The lower under the ground people were, the more protected they felt. We passed through a prayer room with an altar. On the walls you can still see traces of fire (or burning candles). People used poppy oil for lighting.

The reason why there were small tunnels – for the Romans not to be able to use their swords. The doors they had really impressed me- big round rocks which they produced inside the tunnels. They have a hole in the middle for two reasons- one for watching through them and respectively for killing the invaders and the other one- for ventilation through the tunnels.

Another interesting spot for me were the kitchens. There were around 20 000 people living in the underground city of Kaymakli. The kitchen hall was black, which is a sign of the cooking done there. A team of 60-70 people were cooking 1-2 times every 2 weeks after midnight in order for the smoke not to be detected.  

• Pass by the Pigeon valley

The name of the valley comes from the pigeon houses in the rocks. Locals still use the pigeon poop as a fertilizer. Of course, not in the big agricultural areas, but for the own production of local farmers. Besides the typical tourist stuff which you can buy there, you can feed the pigeons, as well enjoy the beautiful view to the valley. 

• Do a trek via the Red valley

When we stopped the car in the middle of nowhere and our guide told us that we would walk for a couple of hours, at first we did not believe it. Also because he did not tell us to take water or sunscreen or anything else. I would have expected he would do so, having in mind what followed. We really walked for around 2 hours (we chose the trail with mid difficulty). None of us was properly prepared- half of us were wearing white shoes (and it was muddy because of the rains), the others- wearing ballerina shoes.

Luckily this afternoon it was a bit cloudy, so the sun was not burning. We also had taken some water with us, otherwise it would have been a bit tough to finish the trek. So, as an advice- do not underestimate the trek and be prepared. There is a kind of oasis on the way where you can buy stuff, but as there is no running water nearby, I would not risk it, especially during pandemic times. 

On the first photo you see Dimo at one of the stops on the route

Red valley, Cappadocia’s most beautiful intertwining valleys lie between the villages of Göreme and Çavusin. Here, the rolling and rippling rock faces arc out across the countryside in a palette of pastel pink, yellow, and orange cliffs, formed by volcanic explosion and millennia of wind and water erosion. Between the cliffs there are lush orchards and vegetable plots still tended by local farmers, while carved into the rock are hidden churches and hermit-hideouts, which date back to the Byzantine era.

• Climb to Uchisar castle 

The village of Uçhisar is dominated by a mammoth rock-cut fortress riddled with tunnels and caves. Just like the region’s underground cities, this rocky outcrop provided villagers with protection from invaders during the Roman and Byzantine eras. You can climb to the fortress, where you are rewarded with sweeping panoramas over the undulating valleys that surround the village.

Although our guide told us that we cannot go to the top, here is a blog which says and describes completely the opposite. Next time this would be another spot to spend more time at. 

• Try your imagination in Devrent valley

You will find it as “Imaginary valley” as well. It is because the rock formations resemble different animals, the most famous one being the Camel.

• Explore the town of Göreme

Incredibly cute and perfectly photogenic, Göreme has been voted one of the most beautiful villages in the world by several travel magazines for a good reason. The village is half built into the hill, its stone house facades hiding a maze of cave rooms below.

• Watch the sunset from Lover’s hill

In fact, we found this by chance while wandering the streets of Göreme. This means that it is easily reachable if you are staying in any of the hotels in the town. There is an entrance fee of around 2 Turkish lira. As it is one of the closest spots to watch the sunset, it can get a bit crowded. At the time when we visited Cappadocia, there weren’t that many tourists, so it was okay. There is also a small cafe where you can take some beverages and snacks while enjoying the view. Tables with benches are there for even more comfort. 

• Taste Turkish ice-cream

In fact, it is not the taste, but rather the way they serve/ sell it. Local street vendors are trying to “cheat” you and are playing with you until they finally give you the ice cream. Get it from any stand you will find around in the town of Göreme.

• Open your senses with Turkish food 

Whether you are a meat lover or not, Turkish food will bring pleasure to all your senses. Some of the meals I have to particularly mention are: 

• Dolma- a meal made of rice, cooked with tomatoes, a bunch of parsley, onion, garlic, tomato paste, olive oil, black pepper, salt and water. A spoonful of this mixture is placed on a vine leaf, folded in and carefully rolled by hand into neat little cylinders.
• Gozleme-  flat savory pockets usually filled with salty white cheese, spinach or minced beef

• Kofte- a meatball, while there are many variations of it
• Baklava- a multilayered dough dessert with ground pistachios among them in honeyed syrup 
• Künefe- is a crispy cheese-filled dessert made with kadayıf (a traditional shredded wheat dessert with pistachio filling) 

Still, I’m not a food expert, but the ones above should be sufficient as a starting point into the rich Turkish food world. 

• Take a balloon ride

In most travel blogs this will come first, I assume. As it already became clear, we were not able to do it, but if you have the chance, definitely put it on your list. The most popular rides are happening in the morning, at sunrise, so you might have to wake up quite early. 

Well, this was the end of our short, but very inspiring trip to Cappadocia. Thank you for travelling with us. If you find this part of the world interesting, here are some other places for you to go through:

• 3 Days in Jordan
• What to Do in Oman
• Things to do in Azerbaijan