Cappadocia: Private Ihlara and Underground City Day Tour [331325P127]
According to Lonely Planet, the Ihlara tour, also known as the Green Tour, is an excellent itinerary that covers the highlights of South Cappadocia. It is a great option to combine with North Cappadocia to see the best of the region.
ADDITIONAL INFO
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
INCLUDED
- All entrance fees
- Transfers to/from any cave accommodation
- Professional tour guide
CANCELLATION POLICY
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
ITINERARY
- Derinkuyu is the largest underground city in Cappadocia, with seven floors and a depth of 85 meters. The city has all the usual rooms found in an underground city such as stables, cellars, storage rooms, refectories, churches, wineries, and even a missionary school. The missionary school features a large room with a vaulted ceiling and study rooms set apart on the left. The descent to the cruciform plan church on the lowest floor is taken care of by vertical staircases from the third and fourth floors. The ventilation shaft, which is 55 meters deep, was also used as a well. To protect inhabitants from poisoning during raids, some floors were intentionally left without surface access. Although the city was opened to visitors in 1965, only 10% of the city is currently available for visitation.
- Early Christians carved their rock houses and temples out of tuffs in the valley of Ihlara, where the Melendiz River flows. The locals are known as "Peristrema," which means "the people of circulating waters," due to the water flowing through Ilhara. Trying to find the source of this water in Ihlara is like searching for the meaning of life. It takes approximately 2.5 hours to walk from Ihlara Vadisi to Belisirma, and around 3 hours to walk from Belisirma to Selime.
- Visitors to the Ihlara Valley can enjoy a Turkish and Western-style lunch in Belisirma, which includes a variety of delicious dishes and desserts.
- A stop on the outskirts of Goreme reveals Pigeon Valley, with centuries-old pigeon houses carved from the cliffs. In those times, many farmers used pigeon manure as fertilizer for their crops.
- Selime Monastery stands out with its vast kitchen and soaring chimney. This rock-cut structure consists of a church surrounded by a gallery. The monastery also features stables with feeding troughs and other relics of the troglodyte lifestyle.
- Solidified lava flows from the Neocene period have carved the stunning ash and tuff landscape of Goreme. Thousands of years of erosion have resulted in a beautiful lunar landscape, filled with fairy chimneys of various colors.
