ITINERARY

• Goreme open-air museum is a monastic complex composed of churches, refectories and dwellings all carved out of soft tufa stone and one of the earliest centres for religious education. There are at least 100 churches and chapels in the museum area dating between A.D. 900 and 1200, many with frescoes on their walls still visible. One of the highlights is Karanlik (Dark) Church, which, because it gets very little light from the outside, has some of the best preserved wall paintings with the brightest colours.
• The local inhabitants have proudly named one of the many valleys in the region ‘Love Valley’, due to the many unique phallic-shaped rock formations which cover the valley floor at an altitude above 1,000m high. This has become a popular place for taking memorable photos.
• Avanos sits on the banks of the Kizilirmak (or Red) River and is famous its’ Turkish crafts such as rug-weaving and pottery-making. The red soil in the area is used to make the distinctive ceramics. In avanos you may see how the pottery are made and you can try to make your own pottery.
• Cappadocia has as many as 36 underground cities, troglodyte dwellings which date back centuries and used by early Christian tribes hiding from invading armies. Ozkonak is one of the smaller ones discovered in 1972 by a local farmer who discovered an underground room, later excavated, revealing a city which could house up to 60,000 people and containing 10 levels. It differs from other underground cities in the region in that there were holes carved out of the roof of the tunnels used for pouring hot oil on the enemy.
• These 3 fairy chimneys, which are the most important figures of Cappadocia, are one of the most photographed places in the region. The bodies that turn to stone get a very artistic and lively appearance, especially with the night lighting. Including the view of the imposing Mount Erciyes, Three Beauties presents a fascinating palette of colors that breathtaking at sunset.