The best thing (most likely only good thing!) about an 11-hour bus ride would have to be waking to the sight of hot air balloons silhouetted against the rising sun.
As the eyes adjust to the early light, this view is a warm welcome to Turkey’s Cappadocia region.
A far cry from the madness of Istanbul, travellers make the long journey to Cappadocia for its otherworldly rock formations and the iconic sight of the hundreds of balloons that take to the skies every morning. Here’s how to spend 48 hours in Cappadocia:
Famous for its fairy chimneys and 11th century underground villages, the village of Goreme acts as a tourism hub for the Cappadocia region and between the hours of 7-9am the main street comes alive as the numerous overnight buses pull in from destinations all over Turkey.
When it comes to exploring Cappadocia, there are three tour lines that take you all around the area. Run by various local operators, the Red, Blue and Green tours are a great way to cover a lot of ground, especially if you’re travelling on a tight timeframe. The tours run every day so you have the flexibility to pick and choose and make sure you don’t miss out on any the famous sites.
We spent the first day exploring the village of Goreme and its famous Open Air Museum, a 20-minute walk from the main shops. Here it was easy to use an audio guide and map to navigate around the chapels and homes all carved into the rock, thousands of years ago.
When it comes to eating, the local pottery kebab (testi kebap) simply had to be sampled! Slow cooked in a fire, the pottery kebab gets its name from the sealed clay pot it is cooked in. The pot has to be gently hit around the outside to break a seal before revealing the food – the locals turn the whole process into quite the performance!
For our second day in Cappadocia, we climbed aboard the Red Tour which involves a bit more walking around and exploring than the others. First up was the Derinkuyu Underground City, one of the largest underground cities in the Cappadocia region.
Walking eight storeys below ground, this is not for those afraid of confined spaces! Built as a living space for Christians to hide from the Romans, it is a fascinating history lesson about survival and trickery.
Next stop is a walk through the stunning Ihlara Valley, followed by a late lunch next to the river before we are off to see more rock chapels.
At the end of the day we are taken to a tea and fruit bazaar with dried gooseberries, pomegranate tea and local chocolate – a good chance to stock up on bus snacks before the next journey!
As we arrive back, once again Goreme becomes alive as the night buses roll in collecting passengers for another night on the road.
Do:
- Hire bikes in the village and head off on a 10-minute ride the Goreme Open Air Museum. Here you can hire an audio guide to explore the ancient rock chapels, kitchen and residence of the ancient village.
- Wake up early to catch the hot air balloons – it’s a sight not to miss! Throughout the summer they have two sessions, one at 6am the other at 7am, go somewhere high and watch the balloons make their way through the village and rocks. Also use the same area to watch the sun down go down at the end of the day.
- Red Tour, Blue Tour and Green tour.
Eat/Drink:
- Pottery Kebab – A local Cappadocia dish. Essentially a casserole cooked in a pottery vase.
- Aryan – Yoghurt milk drink
- Chai tea (Turkish black tea)
- Nazar Borek and Café – situated along the canal in Goreme, try some of their flatbread, great spot for dinner or lunch.
Featured image by LWYang.
