Cappadocia, The "Fairy Chimneys"

It was Friday night on 22 April, 2016. I took a bus from Eskisehir to Goreme, Cappadocia at 9 pm local time. There is only one bus, therefore, I had no choice. I was excited and avidly waited for long time to visit Cappadocia and see the morning sun from the sky. Even before coming to Turkey, I read blogs about Turkey and almost all articles mentioned about Cappadocia. So, this time my dream came true.

It was 5 am in the morning and took off from the bus at Goreme station. In the dawn, I started walking towards the ‘Aydin Kiragi’, from where I can see the morning sun is rising up parallely with hundreds of balloons. It took 15 minutes to walk from Goreme station to Aydin Kiragi and then I waited 15 minutes more to sunrise. In the meantime, balloons started to flying on the sky. And then, the best moment I saw in my life! I saw the sun from the high hill and those balloons looked so beautiful in the morning sun. All the valleys in Cappadocia were gradually getting light and slowly illuminating. That was best view in Cappadocia. I took as much photos as I can include panorama photos.

Sunrise in Goreme, Cappadocia. Clicked by me. 

Enjoying Sunrise Moment in Goreme with Friends. 

Sunrise in Goreme. Clicked by me. 

I was there for two days plus three nights and I have visited the following places in Cappadocia.

1. Goreme Panorama

2. Kaymakli Underground city

3. Ihlara valley

4. Yaprakhisar

5. Selime Rock Monastery

6. Pigeon Valley

7. Belishiram Traditional Anatolia villege

8. Rock-hewn Churches

9. Uchisar Castle

10. Goreme Opel Air meusum

11. Cavusin Castle

12. Pasabag

13. Dervent Valley

14. Urgup fairy chimneys

15. Esentepe panorama

16. Love valley panorama

Pashabag. Clicked by me. 

Mountain rocks. Clciked by me. 

Mountain rocks. Clciked by me. 

Mountain rocks. Clciked by me. 

Wish Tree. Clicked by me. 

I booked a room for two persons with only $10 per night through Airbnb before 15 days. Being there for 2 days, I realized why people call it “Fairy Chimneys” or Moon Land on earth. After visiting to Goreme Panorama, Ihlara valley, Pigeon Valley, Selime Rock Monastery, Pasabag, Dervent Valley, Urgup fairy chimneys, Esentepe panorama and Love valley panorama, I felt I wasn’t on earth. Perhaps, I was in another planet. Every place has unique shapes of rocks. Some of them look like animals, some of them look like birds and some of them look like human faces.

Goreme Open Air Museum. Clicked by me. 

Goreme Open Air Museum. Clicked by me. 

I was really surprised to visit Goreme Open Air Museum. Actually, the place has a number of human caves inside the Museum and people used to live there long ago. I witnessed and observed how people used to live in the pre-historical era and how they cut down the mountain to make home for themselves. The place also has Jesus art on the wall of some caves and the valley has a central Church.

I have captured the moment from top of the Uchisar Castle. 

Uchisar Castle is the best place to view the Goreme, perhaps whole Cappadocia. I had to walk through the stairs and caves to go up of the castle. When you are up the castle, you can see all the valleys from there. Beware of winds!

The Derinkuyu Underground City is one hour away from Goreme by car. The city was built in 8th–7th centuries B.C., according to the Turkish Department of Culture. As tourist guide mentioned, there were 20000 people used to live in the city. It is four storeyed cities and the more deep you will go, the more you will discover about the city. You may have breath problem when you are at the 4th level, I mean the deepest level. However, you may get lost inside the city. So, follow the arrow sign to go up.

How to go to Cappadocia?

You can travel by bus from any city in Turkey to Cappadocia. From Eskisehir there is only one bus Kamil Koc which goes every day at 9.00 pm. Goreme is the heart of all tourist attractions. If you go by plane then you can land at Kayseri airport which is nearest to Cappadocia and takes one hour from there to Goreme.

Food

Food is very expensive in Cappadocia. I used to cook dinner in the flat I rented from Airbnb. Most of the hosts offer breakfast which is included in accommodation cost. Try to buy anything from super-shop for economical price.

What you buy as Memory

Ceramics. Clicked by me. 

Ceramics in Cappadocia is very popular in all over the Turkey. They are very artistic and have classical/historical feelings. They are some shops which sell high qaulity stones. Stones and Ceramics may be very expensive. So, bargain to win over the price.

How to roam in Cappadocia?

There is no local transportation in the Goreme. The best way to roam around the city is to rent a car or micro-bus. Transportation can be expensive there. So, book a seat in micro-bus or rent a car before going there.

Happy Journey to Cappadocia! 

Photo gallery