ITINERARY

• Our first stop will be Kaymaklı Underground City that has been listed as a part of UNESCO World Heritage List. Once you enter the underground city you will be impressed by the various amenities including ventilation shafts, sleeping quarters, food storage room, living rooms to churches and graveyards. Kaymakli's ventilation system ensured all rooms had equal access to oxygen via air shafts on every level. Kaymakli used to be inhabited by 5000 people. The most interesting and impressive aspect of Kaymakli is its organized, carved, and exceptionally well-thought nature.
• Our next stop Ihlara Valley, one of the most spectacular canyons in Turkey. It was formed by the volcanic actions of Mount Hasan, next to Ihlara Valley. The Valley is fourteen kilometers long. In the past, generally Christians lived in the several parts of the Valley. We will hike through the canyon for about 1 hour along the river, passing by Byzantine rock-cut churches decorated with frescoes. It is also surrounded by various types of trees such as walnuts, poplars, weeping willows, various fruit trees and surprisingly pistachios
• We will have our lunch in Belisirma, in a riverside restaurant.
• we will drive to Selime Monastery located in the end of the Ihlara Valley. Selime Monastery looks like a castle, but shelters, churches, chapels, bedrooms, storages and big cathedral proves us its being a monastery. Experts believe it took more than 200 years to shape the monastery which could house some 5,000 people. You will learn more about it from your tour guide.
• Upon arrival to Pigeon Valley, pigeons will meet you on the top of the valley. Pigeons have always been important for Cappadocian people. Their eggs and droppings were used for different purposes. For this reason, local people carved houses for them to the slopes of valley. You will learn more about Pigeon Valley from your tour guide.