Cappadocia Tour (3 Days)

Discovering Cappadocia’s eroded landscape is a top experience in Turkey. Included boutique accommodations are in a cave hotel, for a uniquely Cappadocian experience that ensures a memorable stay. Explore the unique places in Cappadocia that interest you with your private, English-speaking licensed guide.

3 DAYS CAPPADOCIA TOUR

Day 1: Our guide and driver will pick you up at Nevsehir or Kayseri airport . The first stop is the Goreme Open Air Museum, a UNESCO World Heritage site. Your guide will explain the meanings of the frescoes in the cave churches, decorated with scenes of the Old and New Testaments dating back to the 10th century. The site has been used as a monastery since the first years of Christianity. For lunch we will visit a lovely restaurant in Cavusin. After lunch we make several photo stops along the way – including Urgup’s family fairy chimneys, Devrent’s animal-shaped rock formations and Monk’s Valley with the famous mushroom-shaped fairy chimneys as well as St. Simeon’s monk cell carved into the rock. Day one concludes in Avanos, a picturesque town on a river that supplies clay for the 4000 year-old Avanos tradition of pottery. A kick-wheel demonstration by a local potter and your chance at trying this ancient custom brings our day to an end. You will arrive at your hotel around 5pm

Day 2: The 2nd day of your Private Cappadocia tour also begins at 9:30. Our first stop is is Esentepe, the impressive panoramic viewpoint overlooking Goreme. Here your guide will give you information on the history of Cappadocia and the unique rock formations. From here we visit the beginning the amazing Kaymakli Underground City. Carved by the Hittites about 3500 years ago, this multi-level underground city was used by early Christians as a main shelter from marauding enemies during the 6th and 7th centuries. Kaymakli is one of the biggest underground cities in Cappadocia with 8 levels including stables, temples and wineries. After departing Kaymakli, we will drive further south to the magnificent verdant Ihlara Valley. We walk alongside the Melendiz River for about 1 hour which winds its way through the Ihlara gorge, stopping for lunch in a restaurant on the river in the village of Belisirma. After lunch, we continue to the Selime Monastery, the largest rock-cut monastery in Cappadocia with a large cave cathedral and breathtaking views over the area. On our way back to hotel we stop at the spectacular vista point overlooking Pigeon Valley.we stop at the spectacular vista point overlooking Pigeon Valley. You will arrive at your hotel around 5pm.

Day 3: Starting from your hotel at 10:30, we drive to Mustafapasa, famous for its beautiful architecture. Mustafapasa was one of the largest Greek towns in Cappadocia until the 1924 population exchange between Turkey and Greece. Your guide will give information on one of the biggest population exchanges in the world which caused approximately 2 million people to leave their homes. In Mustafapasa, we will see Greek mansions and churches as well as the Medrese seminary, an Islamic high school. The next stop is the Keslik Monastery, with one of the rare iconoclastic examples of Cappadocian frescoes. We will view these exceptional wall paintings and discuss the iconoclastic period (726-843 AD), in which such wall paintings were forbidden by the Byzantine Emperors. After which we will drive to Sahinefendi, to the Sobesos Excavation site. Archeologists have recently (in last 10 years) begun excavations of this area and continue to find many important artifacts. At this archeological site we can see Roman baths, tombs, basilica and mosaics. From Sahinefendi, we continue to Soganli Valley. Soganli was once the third largest monastic center in the area and boasts many cave churches and a beautiful hiking valley. Before beginning our hike, we will enjoy lunch at one of the local restaurants and see the famous Soganli dolls made by the women of this village. After our afternoon hike through the Soganli Valley we will drive back to your hotel. Along the way if you are interested in Turkish carpets we can also visit one of the local carpet workshops and view the traditional carpet-making process. Cappadocia remains the biggest carpet weaving area of Turkey. Then from here our driver will drop you off at the airport.

Including: Licensed English speaking guide, Transportation with A/C vehicles, Lunch, Entrance fees
Excluding: Hotel accommodation and Flight tickets, Dinner, drink, Beverages at lunch, Tips, Personal expenses

THIS TOUR WILL
Depart from Istanbul on the date of 07 September 2024

Minimum 15 pax guaranteed registration requested.

Price of this tour 490 .-€ per person excluding VAT 20 %

HOTEL PRICINGS:

Turquaz Cave Hotel - Goreme sng/dbl BB 80 .-€ per room, per day , excluding VAT 10 %
Garden Suites Hotel - Goreme sng/dbl BB 165 .-€ per room, per day , excluding VAT 10 %
Wings Cappadocia - Uchisar sng/dbl BB 195 .-€ per room, per day , excluding VAT 10 %

FLIGHTS DETAILS:

07 September 2024:
TK2002 – 08:40 – 10:05 / Nevsehir Landing

09 September 2024 :
TK2009 – 21:05 – 22:35 / Istanbul Landing

Roundtrip Flight ticket fee : € 150.- per person including VAT
Flight timings and prices are subject to change

Cappadocia is one of Turkey’s most spectacular places to visit. Indeed, the region is known for its fairy-tale like sceneries and its unparalleled natural beauty.

Cappadocia Tour offers you the opportunity to fly there and enjoy an incredible guided tour in some of the most known spots in the region. Visit the infamous valleys of Cappadocia, admire the fairy chimneys, explore villages and learn the history of Cappadocia .

Cappadocia region was formed 60 million years ago by erosion of soft layers of lava and ash from Mount Erciyes (Argeus), Mount Hasan and Mount Güllü composing with wind and rain over millions of years.

Human settlement at the Cappadocia region dates back to the Paleolithic era. The lands where the Hittites once lived have been one of the most important centers of Christianity in the later periods. Houses and churches carved into the caves and rocks turned the region into a huge heaven for Christians escaping from the dominance of the Roman Empire.

Cappadocia is a region spreading an area covering the provinces particularly to Nevsehir, Kirsehir, Nigde, Aksaray and Kayseri.

The region of Cappadocia is a place where nature and history integrates. While geographical events created fairy chimneys – the people carved houses and churches inside these chimneys. Later on decorated them with frescoes in this historical process, bringing the traces of civilizations for thousands of years to present. Written history of Cappadocia, where human settlement dates back to the Paleolithic era, begins with the Hittites. Hosting trade colonies throughout history and founding commercial and social bridges between countries, Cappadocia was one of the important junctions of the Silk Road.

In the 12th century BC, a dark period began in the region with the collapse of the Hittite Empire. During this period, the late Hittite Kings with effects of Assyria and Phrygia ruled the region. These Kingdoms lasted until the Persian invasion in the 6th century BC. The word used today, Cappadocia, means "Land of Beautiful Horses" in Persian. In 332 BC, Alexander the Great defeated the Persians and encountered great resistance in Cappadocia. During this period, the Kingdom of Cappadocia was established. The Roman power began to be felt in the region towards the end of the 3rd century BC. In the middle of 1st century, Kings of Cappadocia were appointed and toppled from the throne by the Roman Generals. When the last king of Cappadocia died in 17 AD, the region became a province of Rome.

In the 3rd century, Christians came to the Cappadocia which became a centre for education. Pressure on the Christians increased between 303-308. But Cappadocia was an ideal place to be safeguarded from pressures and to spread the Christian doctrine. Deep valleys and shelters dug into the soft volcanic rocks created a safe heaven against the Roman soldiers.

The 4th century is the period of the people known as "Fathers of Cappadocia." But the importance of the region reached its climax when Leon III, Emperor of Rome banned icons. Under these circumstances, some people who were pro-icon started to take shelter in the region. Iconoclasm movement lasted more than a hundred years (726-843). Although some Cappadocian churches were under the influence of Iconoclasm in this period, pro-icon people easily continued worshipping here. The monasteries of Cappadocia developed considerably during this period.

Again, in these periods, Arab raids started to affect the Christian regions in Anatolia, from Armenia to Cappadocia. People escaping the invasion and coming to the region changed the styles of churches in the area. In 11th and 12th centuries Cappadocia passed into the hands of the Seljuk Turks. The region spent a period without trouble subsequent times under the Ottoman Empire. The last Christians in the region migrated from Cappadocia due to the exchange of Treaty of Lausanne in 1924-26, leaving beautiful architectural examples behind.