Top 10 Must-See Places in Cappadocia

Cappadocia is deemed the crowning glory of the Central Anatolia. Its magnificent fairy chimneys, underground settlements, rock-cut churches and monasteries, cave hotels, remnants of eras such as the Phrygian, Hittites, Byzantine, Persian and Ottoman, and rugged natural landscapes as a byproduct of volcanic eruptions that took place millions of years ago are just among a million reasons why you should choose it as your next adventure travel destination.

A majority of 2-day tours to Cappadocia from Ankara have these places in their itinerary for only $65 including lunch on the first day of the tour, plus dinner and breakfast at a 5-star hotel where you’re booked for an overnight stay. If you choose to see Cappadocia on a day tour, with limited time in your hands, you’ll only be able to visit a few attractions. Better yet, you can rent a car from Ankara and see Cappadocia on your own.

Below are the ten most interesting places that you shall not miss when you are there.

10. Venessa Seramik (Pottery), Avanos

Venessa Seramik is among the many potteries you can find in Avanos – considered as the center of pottery dating back to the time of the Hittites.

Inside are intricately designed lamps, dishes, and pots among the many other beautiful arts and crafts perfect for souvenirs. As you come inside the factory, you’ll be greeted by their home-grown potter ever ecstatic to give you a demo of the first stage of the process of pottery – molding the clay, as well as a tour to their enchanting displays.

When I visited the shop back in early 2017, it was, indeed, an honor to meet their potter. He truly has an excellent sense of humor that I could barely focus on what he was instructing us to do in order to form figures we desired to make. He was even so kind enough to ask a volunteer from our group to go behind the spinning molder to experience it. They had such amazing collections of finished products and I could only wish they were free.

9. Onyx Art Shop , Nevsehir

Onyx very well may be one of the most magnificent stones you’ll ever see. It is a variety of the microcrystalline quartz called chalcedony that comes in various color combinations and is quite heavy. Its abundance in Cappadocia adds to its crowning glory. Though this kind of stone is abundant in many parts of the world such as Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, Asia and the United States, many believe that Cappadocian onyx is rare.

Visit their onyx art shop and enjoy an opportunity to watch and earn a valuable learning experience on how the stone is molded to create magnificent figures, fruits, and many other art pieces .

8. Turasan Winery, Urgup

And there is also something for wine lovers.
The Anatolian soil is believed to be one of the most fertile for vineyards in Turkey. Early settlements dating back to the Hittites era (or older) managed to carve out their wineries in their underground cities and rock-cut homes. Even up to this day, Cappadocia still has vast vineyards that produce excellent quality wines.

Turasan, for instance, has had a reputation for being one of the  top 5 best wineries in all of Turkey. When you come in, you’ll be welcomed for a free tasting of your choice of wine from their catalog. Back in summer 2017, my spouse and I went to the main location in the neighborhood of Yunak, Tevfik Fikret Caddesi, and were blown away by the wine and took home many bottles of the sweet nectar to share with friends and family.

7. Three Beauties, Urgup

Also referred to as “The Three Graces”, they stand tall on the hills  overlooking the area as if being guardians of the spectacular landscape below.  Ancient legend has it that these three fairy chimneys symbolize a long banished princess, her husband and young child that were turned to stone after being granted a wish by God while trying to escape her father, the King’s death sentence handed down to the family.

6. Ihlara Valley, Ihlara

Embrace the journey to Ihlara Valley as you pass scenic deserted stone-carved settlements. The valley is between Nevsehir-Aksaray Road, close to the little town of Guzelyurt. It is a 16-km long valley popular among hikers. The valley was formed by a volcanic eruption millions of years ago and gave this place a perfect natural touch. Entrance to the valley costs $15, and don’t forget to bring your ID. Confirm with yourself that you can bear the 400 steps back and forth the steep contour.

When we visited the valley in early 2017, there was light snowfall and scattered rain showers.The 200 steps going down to the valley could have been no sweat for us; however, the rain turned the slippery steps into a major challenge. All in all, it was a great sight to behold and a challenging walk to remember, indeed. You could only imagine how much effort we needed in order to be able to go back up.

5. Uchisar Castle, Uchisar

If you would like to experience staying at a cave hotel, Uchisar has got plenty of accommodations with cave rooms.

Uchisar Castle is the tallest point in Cappadocia. If you stand atop the citadel, you can visibly see the towns of Avanos and Urgup. To gain a panoramic view of the towns below it, you’ll have to pass through tunnels leading to the top. If you are claustrophobic, a superzoom camera or a hot air balloon flight may as well be safer options for you?

4. Cappadocia from a Bird’s Eye View, Skyway Balloons (Urgup)

A trip to Cappadocia can’t be complete without getting on a hot air balloon. It is definitely the icing on the cake!

We had to get up before 5:30 A.M. for the bus to pick us up from our hotel. The ride to the office of Skyway Balloons took nearly half an hour. When we arrived at the office, the commotion was overwhelming. There were many people in line for registration, whilst others were busy at the cafeteria eating something prior to their flight. At that time, a hot air balloon flight cost $75 per person (cheaper for local tourists), including breakfast at the company’s cafeteria.

At nearly half past 6, you’ll be greeting the sun as it slowly comes up to kiss the humble landscape and gradually spreading its stunning rays adding such dramatic effect to the already splendid mix of natural architecture, history, religion and culture. Behold the spectacular rugged landscape from an aerial perspective under excellent flying conditions. Your hand-held smart device will come in handy to record your utter admiration.

3. Monk’s Valley, Imagination Valley and the Fairy Chimneys of Pasabag

Pasabag is famous for its vast area of tall and massive fairy chimneys, peaceful roads and lush vineyards. Walk the trails uphill so you can find more of the rock-cut settlements. There are also camels ready to take you uphill to explore some more of the structures. On both sides of the road are tiny cafes, souvenir shops and Gozleme restaurants.

*Gozleme – Turkish pancake that comes with cheese curds, spinach and mashed potatoes flavor, considered as a perfect match for Turkish tea or fresh pomegranate juice.

To get the most of your day-long exploration of Pasabag, renting options for a motorbike or an ATV are available, for around $35 a day.

Though Monk’s Valley and Devrent (Imagination Valley) are a bit more secluded compared to Uchisar, a lot of tours find them a must for everyone to see because of their large moon-shaped landscape and bolder fairy chimneys with various interesting shapes of humans and animals.

2. Underground Cities, Kaymakli and Derinkuyu

Kaymakli Underground City is the largest underground settlement in Cappadocia, home to early civilizations. Watch your head and steps as you go down to explore it. Enjoy a trip back in time with all those narrow passages, a ventilation system that’s hundreds of meters deep, a stall, a wine depot, small and spacious bedrooms, kitchens and dining rooms. The narrow passages and ceilings tell a story of a smaller and thinner group of settlers.  In addition, their women began to bear children at a very young age, even as soon as they got their first menstruation. The population’s life span was low and mortality rates lower.

Derinkuyu Underground City  is the deepest underground city in Cappadocia. The rooms and designs are not that different from those of Kaymakli Underground City. You can only imagine how the early inhabitants managed to keep their food, wine and livestock down there for months at a time to survive the harsh winters. They must have had excellent waste management and sanitation system.

The smaller rooms are believed to be for less affluent families. There is also a more spacious dining room with long stone table that is believed to be for their social gatherings. Relics of the lost civilizations, such as ancient clay jars and massive round stones they used as doors can be found throughout the intricate cave system. Kitchens can easily be spotted by the remnants of smoke left indelible onto the ceiling and usually paired with a small ventilation shaft.

Enjoy exploring the whole premises, it will surely take you on a trip back in time to such an old civilization and how they lived here.  

1. Goreme Open-Air Museum, Goreme

After you have visited the aforementioned places, you may be thinking that you have seen all of what Cappadocia has to offer. Think again. You have not seen it all without the Goreme Open-Air Museum.

On personal experience, it got me mystified the moment I laid eyes on it. The stone-cut settlements, the Phrygian Valley, St.Basil’s church, monasteries and UNESCO heritage site of an orthodox church called Apple Church.  This place is so mysterious and beyond imagination that I thought I would spend all day sitting on top of the hill drinking in the view, and perhaps I would have if given the opportunity.

(The ancient orthodox church being a world heritage site forbids visitors from taking photographs of the inside premises.)

The Phrygian valley had windows so tiny, I couldn’t fathom the countless people of past civilizations that have peered through the narrow passages of these windows… if only those windows could speak, I’m sure the stories would never end.

**********

Besides these top 10 most popular attractions, Cappadocia has more to offer. You can enjoy window shopping or taking a stroll in the center of Nevsehir.  There are plenty of souvenir shops of local arts and crafts, dried nuts and fruits shops, exotic restaurants, cafes, rock-cut hotels and restored homes that truly give Cappadocia a one-0f-a-kind atmosphere. Need I say more?

Get on the road and see it for yourself.

See you soon.