Turkey 13 - Cappadocia

©Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd
Cappadocia
Why Go?
Göreme .........................448
Uçhisar ..........................458
Çavuşin .........................462
Zelve ..............................463
Avanos & Around ..........464
Nevşehir & Around........466
Ortahisar .......................468
Ürgüp ............................469
Mustafapaşa ................. 475
Soğanlı .......................... 479
Niğde .............................480
Ala Dağlar National Park.. 481
Ihlara Valley
(Ihlara Vadisi)................482
Güzelyurt ......................485
Kayseri .......................... 487
As if plucked from a whimsical fairytale and set down upon
the stark Anatolian plains, Cappadocia is a geological oddity of honeycombed hills and towering phallic boulders of
otherworldly beauty. Fashioned through lashings of volcanic
ash, moulded by millennia of rain and river flow, this fantastical topography is equally matched by the human history here. People have long utilised the region’s soft stone,
seeking shelter underground, leaving the countryside scattered with the fresco-adorned rock-cut churches of early
Christians, cavernous subterranean refuges, and villages
half-burrowed into the earth itself.
Cappadocia woos both outdoor enthusiasts who revel in
the lunarscape and the cultured set more likely to enjoy the
panoramas from the balcony of their boutique cave-hotel
with fine local wine in hand. Whatever your tastes, this region’s accordion-ridged valleys, shaded in a palette of dusky
orange and cream, are an epiphany of a landscape – the stuff
of psychedelic daydreams.
When to Go
Best Places to Eat Kayseri
» Köy Evi (p456)
°C/°F Temp
» Ziggy’s (p473)
40/104
5/125
30/86
4/100
» Seten Restaurant (p456)
» Topdeck Cave Restaurant
(p456)
Rainfall Inches/mm
20/68
3/75
10/50
2/50
0/32
1/25
-10/14
Best Places to Stay
0
-20/-4
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
» Esbelli Evi (p471)
» Hezen Cave Hotel (p468)
» Kelebek Hotel & Cave
Pension (p453)
» Koza Cave Hotel (p453)
» Serinn House (p472)
22a-cappadocia-tur13.indd 444
Apr & May Wild
flowers shock
the valley moonscapes into a
photogenic riot of
colour.
Jul–Sep Listen
to classical music
concerts in natural outdoor rock
venues.
Dec–Mar Disperse the snow
bunnies atop
Erciyes Daği (Mt
Ericiyes), a rugged Turk ski spot.
14/11/2012 12:54:00 PM
445
To Ankara
(200km)
0
0
40 km
20 miles
Topraklî
Kî
z
îlîr
Hacîbektaš
ma
k
Himmetdede
er
îlîrm
Özkonak
Yakatarla
Gülšehir
Zelve
Çavušin
Göreme
Nevšehir
Kozluca
Tepesidelik
Hanî
Kayseri
Ürgüp
Ortahisar
Mustafapaša
Ayvalî
Acîgöl
Özlüce
Yešilöz Bašdere
Taškînpaša
Šahinefendi
Kaymaklî
Gölü
Çöl
Dörtyol
Akköy
Baraji
iz
yu
Su
Göllü Daÿî
(2143m)
Erciyes Daÿî
(3916m)
Kara Daÿî
Develi
Gölü
Yešilhisar Eÿri
Soÿanlî
nd
ele
M
Gaziemir
Kizilören
Gölü
Yay
Güzelöz
Derinkuyu
Selime
Güzelyurt
Belisîrma
Sivrihisar
lhlara
Ilîsu
Valley Ihlara
Karkîn
Çiftlik
Helvadere
Încesu
CAPPADOCIA
Aÿzîkara
Hanî
To Sultan Han
(35km)
Sarîhan
Aksalur
Uçhisar
Airport
Alay
Hanî
ak
Avanos
Open
Palace
Kalebalta
Kîz
r
ve
Ri
Riv
Sultan Marshes
Bird Paradise
(Sultan Sazlîÿî
Kuš Cenneti)
Edikli
Gölcük
Sekkin
Boÿazî
Ovaçiftliÿi
Hasan Daÿî
(3268m)
Yahyalî
Ala Daÿlar
National Park
Altînhisar
Niÿde
Eski Gümüšler
Monastery
Kapuzbašî
Waterfalls
Mt Demirkazîk
(3756m)
Gümüšler
Bor
Çamardî
Demirkazîk
Çukurbaÿ
Kemerhisar
To Adana
(190km)
To Mansurlu
(40km)
Cappadocia Highlights
1 Delve downwards into
the Byzantine tunnels of
underground cities, such as
Kaymaklı (p478)
2 Examine the fresco-
covered finery of churches
in the Göreme Open-Air
Museum (p448)
3 Tackle nature in the
waterfalls and trails of Ala
Dağlar National Park (p481)
6 Munch on multiple mezes
in chic Ürgüp (p469)
4 Seek out hidden churches,
fields and soaring cliffs,
seeking rock-cut churches, in
Ihlara Valley (p482)
amid cliffs and fairy chimneys
in Göreme’s labyrinthine
valleys (p449)
5 Clamber atop Uçhisar
Castle (p458) to gaze over a
surreal panorama of rock
22a-cappadocia-tur13.indd 445
7 Stroll between verdant
8 Trek through a secluded
monastic settlement in
Soğanlı (p479)
14/11/2012 12:54:15 PM