The fourth leg of our two week adventure in Turkey (aka “Turkey Leg”) was the part that I’d most looked forward to, Cappadocia. Meaning “The Land of Beautiful Horses”, Cappadocia is a mystical and historical region of the country, where the landscape is as other-worldly as it gets and the culture is unique to the rest of the country. Throughout the entire region, a few themes persist, namely fairy chimneys, pigeons, and hot air balloons. I’ll dig deeper into each in the discussion below as I describe the dream that was our time in Cappadocia, Turkey.
Kelebek Special Cave Hotel
After returning our rental car (and assessing the small amount of underbody damage I caused while working my way out of Kusadasi’s old town), we hopped aboard a quick Pegasus Airlines flight to Kayseri. Considered a budget airline compared to the more popular Turkish Airlines, we had a nice experience with Pegasus for this flight. We arrived at Kayseri airport in the late afternoon, but after waiting for an hour for the last party of our group transport and then traveling by van for another hour and a half, we didn’t arrive at our hotel until well into the evening. And now I’ll take a moment for a kind reminder: If you’re traveling as part of a group, be on time, folks!
When traveling to Cappadocia, everyone wants to stay in a cave hotel, and for good reason! The cave hotels are very unique and give a feel for how inhabitants of this region slept for centuries. There are probably hundreds to choose from, so doing your homework is key, as many of them truly are not a cave hotel at all. Instead, they’re just decorated to look like one. We chose Kelebek Special Cave Hotel for several reasons. We wished to stay in a room as close to an authentic cave dwelling as possible, and we hoped we could find a hotel with a pool. At Kelebek, we were able to book a Fairy Chimney Suite that was built directly into one of the region’s famous fairy chimney rock formations. You’ll also see below that the hotel had a beautiful pool where we spent some time lounging and enjoying the view. Other important features of this hotel were the elevated location for great city views, walking proximity to the Göreme city center, and, as we’d become accustom to in Turkey, a fantastic breakfast spread.
Kelebek Special Cave Hotel is a member of a group of several popular hotels in close proximity that includes Sultan Cave Suites and Aza Cave Hotel. It comprises over thirty independent guest quarters that have been restored and combined into one hotel concept. This means that there are MANY staircases and a maze of walkways to get to some of the rooms. But don’t fret; the staff were absolutely amazing at helping with anything we needed during our stay, including carrying our luggage to and from our room (the farthest one from reception). Kelebek also operates its own tour agency, which made arranging certain bookings prior to our stay shockingly easy. Moreover, the concierge at the hotel helped us with dinner reservations and plans for how to spend our time in Cappadocia. You won’t find this hotel listed on many of the “Best Hotels in Cappadocia” lists, but I can assure you that it should certainly be there.
There was not much of the evening left on our first night in Cappadocia, and we were due up early the next morning. We had a nice dinner at the hotel restaurant and enjoyed the beautiful night views from the terrace. This was our first chance to try one of the regional specialities, the pottery kebab. Meat and vegetables are cooked in a clay pot and left to simmer for hours to build flavor. The pot is then brought to the table in flames, the top cut off the pot, and poured into a dish to be enjoyed along with a side of rice. A must-try while in Cappadocia, I thought the meat was exquisitely tender and tasty.
Cappadocia Hot Air Balloon Ride
Cappadocia is a magical place, largely because of the modern spectacle that takes places some 250 days every year. At sunrise, up to 160 hot air balloons rise simultaneously over the unforgettable landscape of the region, essentially creating a balloon festival most days of the year. This is one tourist activity that has been high on my bucket list for years, and given the opportunity to travel to Turkey, I wasn’t going to skip it. Whether you’re someone who likes to travel in groups and do all of the “touristy” things or one who likes to get off the beaten path, this is an absolute must-do experience.
Our alarms chimed at 3:45 AM on what was the beginning of an enchanting morning in Cappadocia. We had pre-booked a flight with Turquaz Balloons, which is absolutely necessary to ensure you have a spot on a balloon. Because some mornings the balloons don’t go up, usually due to weather, it’s imperative that you give yourself as many shots at this experience as possible. Thus, our very first morning in Cappadocia, we arose at the crack of dawn to be picked up by the company at 4:30 AM.
After stopping at the tour agency office for some coffee and morning snacks, we were reassigned along with guests from several other hotels into vans that corresponded with our hot air balloon. We booked a 16-person balloon which gave us plenty of space while in the air but reduced the cost a bit. This is an expensive activity, and smaller flights can become outrageously priced.
When we arrived at this morning’s takeoff spot, we found four Turquaz balloons on their sides waiting to be fired up. As our pilot explained, each of the 150+ balloons receives an individual “go-ahead” from the region’s aviation authorities, at which time they can begin the takeoff process. We were quite impressed and surprised by the sophistication of the whole experience, which is one aspect that had us a bit trepidatious prior to our arrival. Once our balloon received its signal, our group of 16 was escorted into the balloon four by four so as to fill each of the separate compartments within the balloon’s basket. We had dressed warm for the morning to combat the chilly temperature, but we quickly learned that the heat radiating from the torch would keep us all warm throughout the ride.
I cannot find a better word to describe the remainder of the ballon ride than simply “magical”. From the time the balloon left the earth until the time that it landed, I was in awe of the beauty that surrounded us with every slow turn of the basket. Our expert pilot, Abdullah, maneuvered the vessel into and out of valleys and crevices and up to a height of 600 meters as though he was showing off his skill with each firing of the torch. And we were impressed! As the balloon climbed and descended over and over with a constant, slow twirl, we snapped photos, enjoyed laughs, and made memories, all the while remembering that we are so fortunate.
Once we landed (a coordinated ground and air effort that placed the basket perfectly onto a long trailer pulled by a truck), we discovered that the team had set up a table with champagne flutes for everyone onboard. It was an exceptional way to end an entirely perfect bucket list adventure.
Exploring Göreme
After our very early start to the day, a nap for several hours was an absolute must. We did so and then went up to enjoy the hotel’s nice Turkish breakfast. Not sure about how tired we would be after the exciting morning, we did not book any other plans for the remainder of the first full day in Cappadocia. In some ways we wish we would have, though, as there are several different tours of the region that are offered each day. The tours are standardized and named after colors to make it easier for tourists to compare tours between different companies. Most of them pick up around 9:00 AM and last about 8 hours which makes for a long day but maximizes your ability to see and experience the region. But instead we spent our day exploring the Cappadocian town in which we were staying, Göreme.
An easy 5 minute walk from our hotel, Göreme has quite a few little shops along its main drag. Most sell the standard tourist trinkets and knickknacks, but we did stumble upon a few that sold very nice artisan goods. We searched long and hard for a piece of wall art to add to our gallery wall at home but had to settle with a hand-drawn postcard instead. It was neat to see all of the houses and restaurants built into the various fairy chimney rocks scattered throughout the town. We ate a late lunch at Cappadocia Kebab Center on the main drag of Göreme which was mediocre at best. Not every meal can be great!
Pumpkin Göreme Restaurant
We were luckily able to move our missed dinner reservation from the first night ahead by one night so that we could eat to Pumpkin Göreme Restaurant and Art Gallery. This was the only restaurant in Cappadocia where we pre-booked a spot because we read about it over and over on other internet blogs. They serve a fixed menu that, at first, appears to lack authenticity because of the “point to a picture” style of ordering. But this is not the case at all. Pumpkin has a cozy, intimate atmosphere with the chef and owner preparing food in an open kitchen in the back. He and the rest of the staff were incredibly friendly and invested in making the evening a great dining experience. And the food: delicious!
Unfortunately, because we had to change our original reservation, we were not able to try their specialty, the lamb and beef pottery kebab. It needs to be ordered when the reservation is made because it sits overnight building flavor, and only a small number of extras are made each night. Instead, I ordered the chicken pottery kebab which was so delicious that I cannot imagine how great their specialty lamb and beef version must be! We also tried the lentil soup, cucumber salad, and lamb chops. The real memorable piece of the meal was the dessert, though. Between the goat milk ice cream and the homemade baklava, we didn’t find any better desserts in all of Turkey.
Cappadocia Green Tour: Kaymakli Underground City, the Ihlara Valley, and the Selime Monastery
Our second full day in Cappadocia was also our seven year wedding anniversary. Though we had originally planned to take our hot air balloon ride on this special day, we sure were thankful that we changed our plans because weather prevented the balloons from taking flight on this morning. Instead, this gave up the opportunity to sleep a little later into the morning before enjoying breakfast.
We booked the Cappadocia Green Tour for the remainder of the day. Our group was picked up by van at about 9:00 AM and driven about an hour to our first destination. This tour sold us over several of the other day tours because it included a visit to one of the many underground cities in Cappadocia. There are believed to be over 200 subterranean cities in the region that served to allow primarily Christians that resided in the area to flee and live undetected during the invasions of conquering foes. We visited the Kaymakli Underground City. Once home to some 3,500 people, Kaymakli dives a total of eight levels into the ground, but only four are uncovered for the public. A guide was very valuable for this experience because he was able to point out many details and facts about this subterranean life that we otherwise would have overlooked. Some of these included wine storage systems, ventilation shafts, rolling stone doors, and church confessionals.
After visiting the underground city, we hopped back into the group van and drove about an hour into the Ihlara Valley. We knew very little about this portion of the Green Tour beforehand and were only hopeful that the rain would hold off long enough for us to complete the hike in dry weather. We were dropped off at an easy access entry point into the valley where we descended, surrounded by pistachio trees and other local fauna growing through the rock walls, about 400 steps and over 100 meters into the canyon.
Our first stop of the Ihlara Valley was the Daniel Pantanassa Church. This cruciform-shaped place of worship has frescoes painted on the walls that date back to the 9th to 11th century. They depict several events in the life of Jesus as well as Daniel with the lions and are quite stunning to see in person.
We continued on along the path by the stream though the valley with our guide pointing out various botanical facts and geographical findings until we arrived at a midway stop. A little river camp was set up with stalls selling quick bites to eat and drink while also offering restroom facilities. Not surprisingly, we enjoyed some fresh orange and pomegranate juice before continuing on.
The remainder of the hike was lovely. The terrain was mainly flat and an easy hike for everyone in our group. We saw various cave dwellings and churches that were carved out of the soft, volcanic stone walls of the valley by Byzantine monks as early as the 7th century. As is common in many places in Cappadocia, scattered throughout the walls of the Ihlara Valley are countless “pigeon houses”, small holes where the pigeons dwell and leave their droppings which were an important fertilizer in ancient times.
At the end of the hike we arrived at our lunch destination, Çinar Restaurant, a simple spot clearly designed to take advantage of the tours coming through the valley. The menu was simple and offered only four choices but was just fine for an “included in the tour” type of meal. Not so enjoyable was the feline that refused to leave the seat at my side during the meal.
After lunch we made our way to the Selime Monastery. Dating back to the 8th or 9th century, this is the largest religious structure in Cappadocia and has been home to many different civilizations throughout history as they have wandered through and conquered the area. The structure includes everything from a large church to kitchen, stables, and living quarters. There are also frescoes painted at various sites within that date back to the 10th century. The path up to the monastery from the road is a winding one that was designed for riders on camelback, so be sure to wear your walking shoes! The views from the top of the structure are beautiful as well. Once you look out upon the landscape, it’s not surprising to hear that it was this area of Cappadocia that inspired George Lucas to create the fictional world of Tatooine for his Star Wars franchise in the 1970s.
The final stop on the Green Tour is to an overlook at Pigeon Valley. Unfortunately, our tour was running a bit late, and we had another planned excursion for our anniversary evening to make. We parted ways with our tour group and returned to the hotel by cab in order to make our sunset camel ride on time. In a strike of irony, though, the rain that we had avoided all day finally caught up with us and resulted in a cancellation of our camel ride. Throughout our entire two-week Turkey trip, this was the only excursion that was cancelled for any reason, so we accepted the bad luck. Plus, who wants to ride on an angry camel, anyway? Not me!
Anniversary Dinner at Seten Restaurant
With our plans for a sunset camel ride cancelled and light rain continuing on and off, we chose to walk around the corner from our hotel to enjoy and earlier-than-planned anniversary dinner. Seten Restaurant is said to have one of the best views in Göreme and great food as well. We sat inside and enjoyed the view through large glass windows as the light rain gave way and left behind a portion of a rainbow. Dinner was good, but we preferred the meal we had the evening prior at Pumpkin Restaurant. Following dinner, we walked down to a town shop where we could get some ice cream and a bottle of wine to carry back to the room.
Rooftop Sunrise with Hot Air Balloons
On our final morning in Cappadocia, we once again dragged ourselves from the comfort of our bed early enough to catch the sunrise. The weather looked promising, so this time, we viewed the magnificent hot air balloons from the rooftop of the hotel. While not nearly as spectacular as seeing them from the air and being a part of the experience itself, it is still worth it to catch the balloons in flight each and every morning that you can while in Cappadocia. This is one view that, to me, could never get old.
Always looking for a good reason to snuggle (not that we need one), we had to bundle up with a festive blanket due to the frigid air still present prior to sunrise. As the hot air balloons started to gently rise into the sky, more and more guests of the hotel made their way out to witness the spectacle. I’m so thankful for the chance to witness them from the air and again from below. Plus, we snapped some (in my opinion) amazing photos of us on our seven year anniversary trip.
We enjoyed one last breakfast at Kelebek Hotel, this time with kitten acquaintances, prior to catching a group transport back to the airport. Simply put, Cappadocia was amazing and unforgettable in so many ways. People come here for the hot air balloons, and for good reason! But there is so much more to this region of Turkey present in its other-worldly landscapes and adventures in antiquity. Up next for us was Istanbul, the historic city that had inspired our entire trip to Turkey.
