Cappadocia
The dream to go to Cappadocia arose as soon as I once saw a photo of fabulous landscapes and especially "stone pillars" (fairy chimneys). Cappadocia is a region of Turkey, on a plateau in the center of the country.
To get acquainted with Cappadocia, there are the following options for a different wallet and interest:
- regular tour - a regular tour with a group on the bus. The worst option IMHO in all respects - bound hand and foot.
- private tour - private tour. I just took them. IHLARA TOUR was offered to me at the hotel for 110d per person (a similar regular tour cost 70d). A good option for relatively active "mattress".
- car or scooter rental. The only negative is that if you arrived in the valley and left the car at its beginning, then you need to return to the same point. And in a normal tour, the valley is traversed in one direction - at the end, the transport ordered in the tour is waiting.
- public transport.
If you linger on a walk until late in the evening, you may find yourself in a situation where there is no transport, or there is only a taxi, and you are strained with money.
As I understand it, there are 4 tours that cover all the delights of Cappadocia in a nutshell. We have the following order.
A typical tour starts at 10 am and ends at 5 pm.
Day 1 IHLARA TOUR
The underground city of Derinkuyu is very curious. 30-60 minutes.
The Ihlara Valley is picturesque, beautiful, landscapes not quite typical for Cappadocia, a lot of greenery by local standards. 1.5 - 2 hours.
The cathedral in the mountain near Selime is very cool. 1 hour.
On the way back, stop at the Pigeon Valley panoramic view point - beautiful.
Day 2 GOREME TOUR
Devrent Valley is home to the fanciest, most famous "stone pillars" (fairy chimneys) and in great numbers. Fabulous place. The quintessence of all Cappadocia. 1.5 hours.
Monk's (Pasabaglary) Valley - also "stone pillars" (fairy chimneys), but a completely different shape and pink color. Very good. 1 hour
Goreme Open Air Museum - a small valley with "stone pillars" (fairy chimneys)
The usual form for Goreme, and inside them there are 8 churches with murals. Good. But since there were many rock churches on the first day, the religious buildings were a little tired. 1-1.5 h
Essentepe - a stop on a panoramic platform with a gorgeous view. Cafe, fresh, Turkish ice cream. Healthy rest for tired legs and brains. Very well.
Uchisar Castle - drove up close to the object, visible from Goreme itself. It was possible to climb up (only 330 steps) but we just took pictures))). Not bad.
Actually, this tour is considered the main one in Cappadocia and is done on the first day.
Day 3 KAYMAKLI TOUR
Red Valley - pinkish landscapes and a lot of tunnels. Great. 2-2.5 h
Cavusin Village is a mountain monastery (or a fortress? ), in general, a mountain gnawed by people. We had the strength to climb up and enjoy the views. Good.
Pigeon Valley - all in white. Great. 2-2.5 hours We came to Goreme along this valley.
Day 4 SOGANLU TOUR
Soganlu valley - harsh majestic landscapes and, again, mountain-cave churches. Not bad. 1.5-2.5 h
On the way back we stopped at the excavations of an ancient Roman settlement (15min), some former Greek village (45min - mostly drinking coffee) - nothing special; and in Keslik Monastery Complex - another mountain monastery in a picturesque place - ok (45min).
In general, by right this tour is considered the tour of the fourth day (by importance).
Cappadocia is also famous for its hot air balloon flights. This spectacle can be observed from Goreme at dawn (in our case, 05:50 - 06:50). Fantastic beauty spectacle. It might be better to just watch it from a balloon basket!
Which is what we did. Impressions cannot be expressed in words! Especially maneuvering between rocks in the valleys! In the red, only a very early rise and cost)))).
In general, Cappadocia is an area with picturesque mountain valleys (in which one by one or in clusters one comes across the magical beauty of the creations of nature - “stone pillars” (fairy chimneys)) and an abundance of mountain churches, chapels, monasteries of fortresses. Paradise for lovers of walks in nature.
In each of the valleys on tourist routes every 2 km there is a cafe. The local people in the trading places are very adequate - friendly, but not annoying (as in Antalya or Istanbul). Nobody knows Russian practically. But English is very popular (again, unlike Antalya).
I specially chose spring for the trip - when there is a lot of greenery. To be honest, if it was a lot of greenery, then in August this case, apparently, is quite sad.
Besides those. What we visited, there are a few more or less well-known (Rose valley, Love valley) and a lot of others - there is where to wander if there is a lot of time. There would be forces)))).
