The Magic of Cappadocia

Turkey

Culture | Silk Road | Family

Unique history and fairytale landscapes

4 days Ask us for pricing This is the price per person for a private tour (based on 2 people travelling) excluding international flights. Contact us for pricing for other group sizes including individuals.
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Intro, Dates & Prices

Intro


Cappadocia is a spectacular, some say miraculous, natural wonder. Its unique historical and cultural heritage make Cappadocia one of the most interesting places on the planet. Its `fairy chimneys`, rock-cut churches, natural castles and underground city make for a fascinating journey into the history of this incredible place.

Hot air balloon rides over the stunning terrain of Cappadocia can also be arranged. Ask us for details.

TOUR HIGHLIGHTS

  • Learn about its unique history & cultural heritage
  • Marvel at the world famous “fairy chimneys”
  • Visit rock-cut churches and natural castles
  • Explore the underground cities of Kaymakli

Places Visited

Cappadocia - Uchisar Castle - Cappadocia - Goreme

What's Included

Airport pick-up & drop-off
All internal flights
Ground transport
Accommodation
Entrance fees to sites
Breakfasts & lunches (refer to itinerary for meal plan)
Drivers and guides

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Itinerary
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Overview Itinerary Detailed Itinerary
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Day 1 : Istanbul - Cappadocia

Take a flight from Istanbul to Cappadocia. Upon arrival to Cappadocia, your guide will meet you at the airport to take you to Cappadocia (1 hour drive approx) where you will check into a cave style hotel. Relax for the rest of the day.

Overnight in The MDC Cave Hotel, Cappadocia

Meal plan: n/a

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Day 2 : Cappadocia

Start your full day tour of Cappadocia starting with a visit to Devrent Valley to see the unique fairy-chimneys. Drive to Pasabag (Monk's Valley) to see the most interesting mushroom-shaped pinnacles. Continue to the town of Avanos. In the afternoon visit a beautiful open air museum at Göreme where the remains of rock-cut churches and Christian settlements date back hundreds of years. Lastly, before returning to your hotel visit the natural castles at Uchisar. Return back to the hotel and overnight in Cappadocia.

Overnight in The MDC Cave Hotel, Cappadocia

Meal plan: Breakfast & lunch

The Goreme Open-Air Museum has been a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1984 and is a vast complex of monasteries, each of which has its own church. These churches are the finest of the rock-cut churches, boasting beautiful frescoes (wall paintings).

Devrent Valley is home to the famous Fairy Chimneys near Goreme and is known as the imaginary valley or animal valley due to the animal shapes in rocks. While Fairy chimneys can be found in much of Cappadocia, these are the best formed and most densely clustered. The volcanic rock of this area has allowed erosion to form these chimneys as well as other landforms such as caves, clefts and folds in the rock, making this breathtaking landscape unique. A thick layer of tuff (consolidated volcanic ash) is covered by a thinner layer of basalt which is more resistant to erosion than the underlying rock. Cracks in the basalt enable erosion of the underlying rock. These fairy chimneys were formed where the resistant rock remains protecting the underlying rock directly beneath it from erosion. The mineral-rich volcanic soil is excellent for growing fruit and vegetables, making Cappadocia a rich agricultural region. It has always been one of Anatolia's prime grape-growing areas and still boasts many productive vineyards and wineries. The Bible's New Testament tells of Cappadocia, but in fact this part of central Anatolia has been important since Hittite times, long before the time of Jesus.

Pasabag is so called because of its earth pillars in the middle of a vineyard. Pacha means "General" and bag means vineyard in Turkish. These are also fairy chimneys but are different shapes from those in Devrent Valley. 

Uchisar is situated at the highest point in Cappadocia, and is home to the most spectacular natural castles. The top of the Uchisar Castle provides a magnificent panorama of the surrounding area with Mount Erciyes in the distance. Many hollowed out rooms in the castle rock are connected to each other with stairs, tunnels and passages. Most of the rooms, located on the north side of the castle are in use as dovecots today.

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Day 3 : Cappadocia

Depart from your hotel to visit Red valley, and explore the famous rock-cut churches. Hike 5 km through the Gulludere valley. Then visit Cavusin village. This village is famous for the houses and churches of the Christian clergymen. After lunch drive to the beautiful Pigeon valley. In the afternoon visit Kaymakli underground city, where early Christians lived in fear of their faith being discovered. On the way back visit the natural castles at Ortahisar. Return back to the hotel and overnight in Cappadocia.

Overnight in The MDC Cave Hotel, Cappadocia

Meal plan: Breakfast & lunch

There are 36 underground cities in Cappadocia and the widest one is Kaymakli Underground City. These troglodyte cave-cities were excavated as early as Hittite times, and expanded over the centuries as various pillaging armies crossed Central Anatolia in search of captives and plunder. The Kaymakli Underground City has low, narrow and sloping passages and consists of 8 floors below ground, although only four of them are open to the public today. The number of the storage rooms in such a small area supports the idea that a great number of people resided here, archaeologists estimate figures of up to three thousand five hundred people. As well as chapels, stables and storage, an efficient man-made system of air shafts provided ventilation even at the deepest levels of the underground cities, meaning people could survive there for lengths of time when necessary. The people of Kaymakli village have constructed their houses above nearly one hundred tunnels of the underground city. The inhabitants of the region still use the most convenient places in the tunnels as cellars, storage areas and stables, which they access through their courtyards.

The Red Valley and Güllüdere Vadisi (Rose Valley) are two spectacular valleys in the Cappadocia region, each with varying types of rock formations and colour. The red valley shelters a series of intriguing rock-cut cave churches, with beautiful frescoes and paintings. Nearby is the Pigeon valley, named after the pigeon-cotes carved on its walls. The village of Old Cavusin was abandoned several decades ago due to avalanches. The current village of Cavusin is located on the road and is the typical authentic village. Old Cavusin, with its rock-cut dwellings and stone houses is home to the oldest church in Cappadocia. Ortahisar is another Cappadocian village dominated by a fortress-like rock rising above winding roads.

Ortahisar is another Cappadocian village dominated by a fortress-like rock rising above winding roads. The 90m high natural fortress in Ortahisar has partly crumbled away revealing some of its interior. Today it has been restored and the peak is accessible by a staircase. The Ortahisar Castle offers a magnificent panorama over the fairy chimneys of Hallacdere and the snowy peak of Mt. Erciyes.

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Day 4 : Istanbul

After breakfast transfer back to Kayseri airport for flight back to Istanbul. 

Meal plan: Breakfast

Accommodation

Accommodation

All accommodation subject to availability. Final accommodation choices will be confirmed after booking.

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The MDC Cave Hotel

Cappadocia (3 nights)

MDC HOTEL is located in Ürgüp, Cappadocia, a UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITE. The name Cappadocia comes from Katpatuka, an ancient Persian word meaning “land of horses.” The region is now largely agricultural and the spectacular landscape is dotted with distinct rock structures. The MDC HOTEL grounds cover 15,000 m2, ideally located between an old river valley and ancient Ürgüp.  Room Facilities: Jacuzzi/Whirlpool, telephone, radio, LCD TV, tea/coffee maker, minibar and a safety deposit box. 

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Reviews

I had a lovely time in Turkey. Both of the tours that were part of the package were fabulous, both tour guides were very knowledgeable and made the trips very interesting providing plenty of information, and the places where we went for lunches as part of the trip were superb. David McGuinness is a credit to Travel the Unknown, he goes that `extra mile` to keep customer happy. I`d like to say a huge `thank you` for all the help you gave me organising and planning my trip. I certainly will recommend anyone to use you for planning their `unknown` destination holiday. The emails, telephone calls were all spot on, well done :-) :-)

Jane Kimberley , The Magic of Cappadocia, Turkey

I went on this trip rather than all the other interesting possibilities in the world because I wanted to go to Gobekli Tepe. Being there was all I could have hoped for. It was a stunning experience and I was moved to tears. Thank you so much for the opportunity. Regarding the food, the olives were the best I`ve ever tasted. And the yoghurt is fabulous. Also the cheese and pistachios and apricots. Oh yes, and the watermelon : ) Thanks to David too for being so patient with my endless questions

Cynthia Bishop , Eastern Turkey Explorer, Turkey

We were fortunate to book a private trip to Turkey with Travel the Unknown. All aspects exceeded our expectations: booking the trip, the guides and personalized tours, transport, accommodation and the food! Our tour operator on the ground was the best! She went out of her way to ensure a wonderful and special experience of Turkey and the private gulet cruise.

Johanna, Shiree, & Madelein , Tailormade Turkey

Travel the Unknown is an excellent company to chose for a real travel experience. It was a fabulous holiday where we felt we saw a different side to Turkey and saw sights and had experiences that were once in a lifetime events. I would certainly recommend them to anyone wanting to have new experiences and see the true side of a country.

Neil , Ancient Anatolia & Eastern Turkey

This was my third trip with Travel the Unknown and I was just as fully satisfied as on our previous trips. Rahul and his staff are extremely responsive and knowledgeable. Our original itinerary involved areas that were affected by the recent earthquake in Turkey, so the itinerary had to be modified. Rahul accomplished this in a seamless fashion and created a trip that was as interesting, and more varied, than the original one. Kudos for that.

Stephen Kamin , Eastern Turkey Explorer

As a worldwide traveller, explorer & author travelling through COVID times, my trip with Travel The Unknown was a perfect choice for my adventure in Turkey. As a solo booking , I didn’t need the usual tourist bling. I knew what I wanted to see and the company chose the best guide I could have wished for. No fuss. Dealing with my preferences. This company know exactly what they are doing with complete knowledge of their guests, countries and Travel passage. I highly recommend Travel the Unknown.

Tessa Skola , Tailormade Eastern Turkey

Travel the Unknown were very responsive to my personal wishes, and flexible enough to make this a fantastic tour- we covered a lot in a limited time. Guides were pleasant and informative, and the transport was excellent.

John Colligan , Eastern Turkey Snapshot & archaeology extension

This trip was an amazing and very exhilarating experience. We had high hopes of Gobekli Tepe, which were totally fulfilled- it is utterly amazing, but we had not anticipated some of the other gems to be so exceptional as well. We were a small group, which made the trip very personal. Altogether it was a marvellous week, helped by having a caring guide and an excellent driver.

Joy Lawley , Eastern Turkey Snapshot, Turkey

Charming people organising the trip and acting as guides. An inspirational visit taking us to out of the way places we would never have had the chance to visit. The personal touch Travel the Unknown brings sets them apart.

Caroline & Peter , Eastern Turkey Snapshot, Turkey

A great way to travel to some of the more remote and interesting places in the world. It was a very interesting area and we saw a lot that we would never have managed on our own. I would recommend the holiday to others.

Marion McCallum , Eastern Turkey Snapshot, Turkey

This was a very exciting itinerary including fantastic historic and prehistoric site visits, as well as visits to wonderful towns, restaurants and markets. The attentiveness of the guide ensured that everything went smoothly, even in very out-of-the way places. It was possible to fall in love with the drama of the landscape, the character of the architecture, the colour, sights and sounds of the towns, the friendliness and honesty of the people - and I did!

Jane Neild , Eastern Turkey Explorer, Turkey

We greatly enjoyed visiting the ancient sites of Western Turkey with an experienced guide and seeing the remains of so many different periods and cultures. The scenery was spectacular and we felt that the tour gave us a wonderful introduction to the country.

Michael Wilson , Archaeology of Western Turkey, Turkey
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