The Ultimate 2 Day Itinerary for Cappadocia, Turkey

Wednesday, April 01, 2020


CAPPADOCIA had been on my travel bucket list for a very long time, long before I even knew what the place was called. I just recall saving picture upon picture of the beautiful hot air balloons over those mountainous structures every time I came across them.

So, when I imagined arriving in Cappadocia, I thought it would feel magical, and like a long-awaited dream come true. I did feel both of those things, but…. not on arrival.

We arrived in Cappadocia after a horror journey from Sydney which included 1 bankrupt travel agent, 1 cancelled flight, 1 almost missed flight, a very illegal and crazy taxi driver and being stranded at the airport at 2am.

All our misfortunes led us to our chosen cave hotel in Goreme, Cappadocia, where I’m happy to report our luck finally turned for the better. We were greeted by Salman, the manager at this family-run hotel. He shared the management of the place with his mum, sister, and their beloved dog who was happy to drop by for cuddles.

Over the next two days, Salman and his family made this little slice of Turkey feel more and more like home, from endless buffet breakfasts on their terrace overlooking the hot air balloons, to helping us with our plans, luggage and anything else we may need.

Seeing Cappadocia is a bit of a template: stay in a cave hotel to get the essence of this city’s very unique terrain, be sure to enjoy a hot air balloon ride and then every tour company has the standard red tour and green tour and with those two done, you would be able to see, eat and do the best of this town.

Before I dive into our itinerary (which was extensive), I preface this by saying that this is without doubt among my most favourite places in the world I’ve been lucky enough to visit. The stress, exhaustion and confusion with which we arrived in Cappadocia washed away almost instantly thanks to the Turkish people’s warm generosity, and softly spoken offers of help with whatever you need. Today, as we stay home in our own little corners of the world, it’s heartening to remember this beautiful one, all those kilometres away and dream of one day going back there when all this is finally over.


DAY 1
Stay in a cave hotel
 The city’s fairy chimneys are captivating and staying in a cave hotel is the best way to enjoy the unusual terrain. Cave hotels are very popular in areas like Urgup, Goreme and Guzelyurt.

 Hot air balloon ride 
We chose to do our hot air balloon ride at sunset on the morning that we landed in Cappadocia which meant we had 1.5 hours to quickly shower and get dressed at the hotel before being picked up. I know, I know… you’re thinking we are crazy to do that after a 40+ hour journey to Turkey, but we had compelling reasons. The balloon rides are entirely dependent on weather and can be cancelled at the eleventh hour if the weather turns dangerous. By putting it on the first morning, we had another morning as a backup should the weather not be on our side. Plus, when we got to the site we were treated to a delicious and refreshing breakfast, a sunset ride of our dreams followed by a champagne celebration with their charming team. If there’s anything I’m willing to survive on 0 sleep for, it’s to see the hot air balloons high over Cappadocia.

P.S. We were initially really disheartened because our hotel had informed us the hot air balloons are booked out as it was peak season in July. But we did some digging and contacted the companies directly (We chose Kappodokya balloons which is the oldest one) and they offered us a really great deal for a good price. Keep in mind there are discounts for paying cash!


Green Tour
The green tours cover several key sights and activities across the city and are pretty much identical across all vendors that offer them. We started out at the Goreme Panorama to take in the view of the rock formations against the bustling little township. The lookout has a little market where you can buy trinkets to take home as well as some cafes for a quick bite to eat. Next, we headed to the Derinkuyu underground city, which is an ancient underground city in Nevsehir which goes upto 12 underground levels deep. It’s fascinating to walk through the complex (no photos allowed) and marvel at their ancient engineering which even today seemed so advanced, but keep your back and feet in mind as they are definitely going to be sore after this visit. To stretch out our backs from all the hunched walking in the underground city, we did the canyon walk through the Ilhara Valley before stopping for lunch at Belisirma restaurant.

By this stage, it’s safe to say we had earned that meal. It was blisteringly hot and though we had enjoyed the fresh fruit along the way (in Turkey you can just pick them off a tree, berries and apples are everywhere!), we’d definitely worked up an appetite for some delicious local cuisine. This is where this riverside restaurant comes in. They have tables set up alongside the stream for groups like ours, or you can eat in the huts on top of the river for smaller parties. On the menu for vegetarians was burbur with vegetables and cheese and Turkish lentil soup along with some fresh bread and slices of oranges and watermelon to finish. For me it was incredible to see the richness of local produce in Turkey, the smallest to the biggest of eateries were abundant in freshly cut fruit, lots of locally grown nuts and grains and spices and all this served by waiters who had a knack for making you laugh with their charm. Ours bonded with us instantly as he had grown up watching Hindi films and was eager to try out his Hindi on us.

The second leg of the green tour was heading to the Yaprakhisar viewpoint which gives a stunning panorama of the canyons before heading to the Selime Rock Monastery. This rocky structure is a monastery like no other. The rustic formation – which is no longer in use – still carries the remnants of a large kitchen, soaring chimneys, stables and three large churches. We climbed through all these different sections of the sprawling structure before stopping at the pigeon valley viewpoint to feed, well, pigeons. 

The final stop after all that exploring was a visit to an onyx stone jewellery and a stone cutting demonstration. We saw the stone being cut into various shapes before exploring the jewellery and the adjoining shop over some delicious apple tea. 








Whirling Dervishes
The Mevlevis or Whirling Dervishes as they are commonly called are a part of a sufi religious order which originated in Konya, Turkey in the 13th century. We wanted to end our first night with something a bit more relaxing so we booked to watch a whirling dervishes ceremony through our hotel. We were driven out to a quieter part of town about 30 minutes from Goreme where we saw the robed performers do the exquisite dance which involves spinning in a trance for some 30 minutes. I had seen the performance in movies but to see it like was really something else. Post-show, we relaxed as all Turks seem to, over some more apple tea. 



DAY 2
Breakfast under the balloons
 We woke up early the next day after an early night the day before to enjoy the sunset from the hotel’s terrace. For company we had a delicious traditional Turkish breakfast, several friendly neighbourhood cats prancing through the terrace and dozens of colourful balloons above us.


Pants - H&M
Top - Glassons
Bracelet - Local Sydney Markets
Rings - Lovisa
Inspiration - L'Agence Spring 2019 Ready to Wear

Red Tour
Another day begins with another panorama, we started the red tour by heading to the Uchisar Panorama, which is on the Nevsehir-Goreme road. The lookout is the highest point in Cappadocia and provides stunning views of the fairy chimneys, villages below and the eroded structures around them, we also spotted the Cavusin old village from here which is the perfect subject if you’re into photography like me. Then, to get a closer look at those phallic (lol) but very nice fairy chimneys, you can head to the Goreme Open Air Museum, Ugrup three beauties, Devrent valley and the Pasabag Valley. It wasn't all sight-seeing on Day 2 though, we also headed to a ceramics shop for a pottery lesson and stopped by a Turkish Delight store to pick up goodies for our friends at home. For lunch on day two it was a MAMMOTH Turkish buffet, with pasta, rice, lentils, yogurt soup, an assortment of desserts and more. But the best part? There were about 140 dishes at this buffet and I believe only about 10 were meat, the rest was all vegetarian! Heaven for us!

Drink Turkish Coffee 
At one of our lookouts during the red tour we stopped at a roadside cafe to drink some traditional Turkish coffee. It’s made unfiltered and without milk and is very strong and a little smokey. 


End on a delicious note
For our final few moments in Cappadocia, we opted for a nice fancy dinner at a local restaurant. We ate vegetarian pottery kebab, pide, loads of fresh bread and apple tea before heading home for bead. 

Now, we told you we arrived in Cappadocia in chaos. Let’s say that was nothing compared to how we left. All seemed well as we bid farewell to our lovely hotel hosts and some friends we’d made during at visit with our luggage in tow as the sun rose over the rocky city. But as we go through customs and prepared to board our flight, it dawned on me that I didn’t have my phone. I checked everywhere before alerting authorities, who, actually allowed me to duck back through customs check for my phone in the waiting area of the tiny airport and then with no luck duck back in.

But that’s when the disaster began. It seemed like whoever had let me go back out to check the phone had made the local police very, very angry. And so, queue me standing with about 20 men and women security and police officials around me, yelling, eventually throwing punches while being dragged by their peers to sort out the drama. I had intervened a few times to understand what was happening but was only told “Don’t worry madam you’re all good”, and then they’d begin fighting again.

I had almost given up and decided to head back phone-less to board my plane well our shuttle bus driver turned up in the middle of the brawl and said “Madam please I have your phone.”

I don’t think I’ve known relief like I knew in that minute and to sum up the spirit of the Turkish people, when I tried to thank him profusely, he simply said no need to thank me at all please don’t. 

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