Day 1 Cappadocia:

 

After breakfast, departure from the hotel for a full day area tour with lunch. Our first real encounter with Cappadocia’s almost Martian landscape is in the Dervent valley, where the rock formations are amazing. A walk through the Zelve Open Air Museum is a journey into the past, with its troglodyte houses. This is one of the earliest inhabited and latest abandoned monastic settlements in Cappadocia. After Zelve, we visit Pasabag’s “fairy chimneys”, where the voice of the wind harmonises with the songs of the fairies. From here we pause at Avanos, a centre of terracotta art since 3,000 BC, for a demonstration in a traditional pottery workshop. After lunch in Avanos, we shall visit the famous Goreme Open Air Museum to see the best examples of Byzantine art in Cappadocia. These are found in rock-cut churches with frescoes and paintings dating from as early as the 10th century. We complete the tour with a visit to the Uchisar Rock-Castle, giving you a panoramic view of the valleys of Cappadocia. Dinner and overnight at your hotel in Cappadocia.

 

          Day 2 Cappadocia:

 

After breakfast, depart from your hotel for a full day tour with lunch. Our first stop is the Soganli valley, which was one of the earliest settlements in Cappadocia. After this, we drive to Urgup through the unspoiled villages of Cappadocia, surrounded by the “table-top” mountains. On the way there we will visit the Medrese in Taskinpasa, a Theological School of the Seljuk Turks. After that we continue towards Mustafapaşa (Sinassos), an ancient Greek town with spectacular old Greek houses: a very fine example of late Greek settlement and architecture. Lunch will be in one of these Greek houses. After lunch in Mustafapaşa, we will take a 5km hike through the Red Valley, one of the most breathtaking, mysterious and beautiful valleys in the region. This valley, with its fabulous volcanic rock formations, is in the heart of Cappadocia, but hidden away from the mainstream touristic haunts. The little chapels of the hermits, carved out of the valley walls, lend a spiritual dimension to the beauty. Dinner and overnight at your hotel in Cappadocia.