Although prior to leaving the States I couldn’t pronounce the place properly, finding things to do in Cappadocia occupied a lot of my daydreams. I was incredibly excited to see this area of the world. I had a hunch nothing else out there was like this region – and I was right.
Before connecting with our Intrepid Travel tour through Türkiye, my travel companion and I spent a couple of days in Cappadocia. We packed a lot in, with very little downtime, but I still would love to go back and do one more hike, see one more cave church, and crack open a Testi Kebab.
Watching the sun set over fairy chimneys drizzled from white rock, windows carved in them from Christians escaping persecution, while the evening prayers were called gave me goosebumps.
Cappadocia is magical.
The best way to get a sense for the age of Cappadocia, and how long its been a part of human civilization, is to understand that it is talked about in the Bible. The Bible! In Acts, the humans in Cappadocia were one of the audiences of the Pentecostal speech given after the resurrection of Jesus.
Once controlled by Alexander the Great, this area became crucial to the spread of Christianity. Monks built cave dwellings in the soft rock where they studied and taught, and eventually the societies there built underground cities and rooms to hide as Christianity became persecuted during the Arab raids. In 1071, Cappadocia became part of what would become modern-day Turkey.
Today, it’s a hotbed of tourism – a place I was just as eager as the other millions of annual tourists to see. There are so many things I love to experience in one area: natural wonder, ancient history, unique adventures, and a culture that is different from my own yet feels warm and powerful.
Cappadocia wasn’t easy to get to, and it wasn’t the cheapest place we could have visited in the world. But I am so glad I saw it.
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How to get to Cappadocia
We took a flight from Istanbul to Nevşehir Kapadokya airport, which is still over 30 km from Cappadocia. Actually, to be precise: to Göreme. Cappadocia is a region with a few towns nestled in it. Göreme is the most centrally located and is where most of the tourist activity takes place.
Given that I travel a lot, I was pretty blasé about getting to the airport in Cappadocia to our hotel in Göreme, figuring that it was a popular place to travel and I’d figure it out when I landed.
That was the wrong approach, it turns out. The airport is small and farther from Göreme and the town than I anticipated. While on our layover in Istanbul, I popped onto Get Your Guide and secured a cheap shuttle in advance at the suggestion of my travel companion.
This area of Turkiye is not served by a train. In fact, once we were on our Intrepid tour, this was the one leg of the trip where we had a private bus given the lack of transportation options (everywhere else we traveled by train, subway system or walking).
Where to Stay in Cappadocia
We stayed at Doors of Cappadocia hotel and thought it was charming.
There are true “cave” hotels, but location and amenities matter. It is also possible to spend a LOT of money on a hotel in Cappadocia, which we were “disinclined” to do. We were in Cappadocia when it was chilly, so weren’t going to use a pool. But we very much appreciated the rooftop patios for watching the hot air balloons and the stunning breakfast that was included.
Our room was large, comfortable, and cool with all of the white stone walls.
Tips on Visiting Cappadocia
Once in Göreme, we didn’t rent a car. We walked almost everywhere and hailed a cab to take us out to the underground cities and back (see below for more on those). We found the people in Turkey to be incredibly friendly and helpful, it didn’t feel like a headache to find a cabbie and negotiate a price.
I was, however, overwhelmed by how hard Göreme was to navigate, even on foot. Usually, towns with this much of a tourist industry make it easy for visitors to find the popular sites with signage, walking trails, or even dedicated sidewalks. Not so here. And Google Maps was pretty inaccurate. I don’t have a great innate sense of direction, but thankfully, my travel companion ignored my completely wrong suggestions to suddenly turn up side streets and we eventually made it where we were going.
Cash here was pretty important. There was a long row of ATMs in the center of town that we had some challenges with, but we eventually got one with a decent exchange rate to work and were grateful we had cash many times. (This became less important as we got closer to Istanbul, where just about every vendor accepted credit cards.)
My final tip for travelers is to pack layers. Cappadocia is an arid climate, which means it can fluctuate temperatures greatly during the days and nights. While daytime temperatures had us comfortable in pants and t-shirts, mornings and evenings were quite chilly.
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Things to do in Cappadocia, Türkiye
Table of Contents
Hot Air Balloon
This adventure isn’t cheap, but it is one of the most magical experiences you can have. I wrote about the morning balloon flight in a separate post, but seeing Cappadocia from the air, with dozens of other colorful balloons aloft, was exquisite.
The balloons won’t fly if the weather doesn’t cooperate, so if this is a “bucket list” item for you, I recommend giving yourself a couple of days in Cappadocia in the event that your balloon ride is canceled or postponed one of the days.
Visit Göreme Open Air Museum
Skip hiking if you are strapped for time, but this is a must-do. This is the best place to really understand what Cappadocia is – from the religious history to the rock formations.
The churches here started to be dug into the rock as early as the 4th century. Colorful frescoes and murals also decorate the ceilings and some walls.
I was surprised that our audio tour (see below for tips on that) didn’t include much about the way of life or history. I was fascinated with what it meant to live such a life of isolation and privacy, yet still in community. The audio tour did, however, provide a lot of insight into the art, architecture, and symbolism of what was in front of us.
Pro Tips for Visiting Göreme:
- This spot is POPULAR, so go first thing in the morning or last thing in the evening. We went as soon as it opened (after our hot air balloon ride since we were up early anyway). By the time we left, motorcoaches were rolling in by the droves.
- Take cash. While the gates say they take credit cards, the machines frequently go down, it turns out.
- Get the self-guided audio tour. I loved having an explainer as to what we were seeing.
Visit the Underground Cities
These underground cities are not in Göreme – they require a taxi and a bit of driving to visit. However, they are definitely worth it.
We thought we were going to Derinkuyu, but our cab driver ended up taking us to Kaymakli instead. Sometimes when traveling, you have to shrug and roll with things as they unfold.
These are phenomenal to behold. Started as early as 7th century BC, the underground cities in this region were carved into the volcanic rock as a means to protect citizens from attacks and were primarily used during the Arab-Byzantine wars. The two cities connect underground through a labyrinth of tunnels.
The underground cities include churches, kitchens, stables, and storehouses. They snake and weave through the earth, connected by tunnels that a person can’t even stand upright in.
We learned it was unlikely that people actually lived in the cities for any length of time – they were used for fortress purposes. These were still amazing to see.
This is not an adventure for those prone to claustrophobia. I am generally fine in caves and caverns, but even I started to get a little anxiety during our visit. There are a lot of visitors, and if you get stuck behind a slow line inside a tunnel, you are quite literally stuck. Additionally, it felt easy to get turned around and lose my bearings.
Obviously, it was safe and I made it out just fine. But it was an adventure, to be sure.
Hike
There are quite a few trails and places to hike to get a sense of the unique landscape of Cappadocia. Check out this blog post for more ideas. We hiked through Rose Valley, which I wrote about in a separate post, but there are plenty of ways to get your feet dusty in the area.
As I shared, we hired a guide for our Rose Valley hike, but there are ways to access trails directly from town.
See a Sunset
There is a sunset point that is an easy walk out of Cappadocia and up the hill. The Internet is confused about what this is called, and as I have mentioned before, Google Maps is pretty useless in this area.
Some call this Lover’s Hill and some call it Sunset Point.
As best as I can tell, though, this is the pin on Google Maps where we went and enjoyed a 360-degree view of the area.
It cost money to visit when we were there (albeit not much at all). We were completely unaware of this and walked right by the entry station to be cordially shouted down by the gatekeeper.
At the top, there is a vendor selling beverages such as fresh-squeezed juices, wine, and beer.
It does get crowded here (it is possible to drive to this lookout as well) but it didn’t feel uncomfortably so during our visit. It was enchanting to watch the sun go down and the lights of Göreme slowly come on, completely changing the town below in less than an hour.
Eat!
It turns out that I love Turkish food. (See my post on Istanbul to learn more about what I ate and loved so much.) Cappadocia was the beginning of my journey.
There are a lot of tourist-trap restaurants in Cappadocia, but we also found some very warm, delicious, and local favorites.
We did treat ourselves to a nice dinner our first night in town at Dibek. We were some of the first people in the restaurant when it opened (jetlag!) so did not need reservations, but I thoroughly enjoyed everything about this dining experience
Shop
If you’ve been here for any length of time, you know that shopping is not something I love or would recommend – until now. Cappadocia was home to many artisans and some beautiful crafts. Of course, hauling gifts around Turkiye as you make your way back home is surely inconvenient. But Cappadocia is awash in textures and colors and it was fun to trip into tiny stalls that have been in operation for decades to see what they create.
Wander the Streets
The most enchanting moments of seeing Göreme and Cappadocia were simply meandering along the streets, getting turned around, sensing a pair of cat eyes lazily tracking you, seeing twinkling glass lights appear in the sky…
It all felt romantic and luxurious, even while it was a bit dusty and confusing. That is part of the charm.
Cappadocia has the unique ability to be heavily touristed and trafficked yet still make you feel as though you are the first person discovering everything. Tiny alleys, blind hills, stretching countryside…people have hidden in the fairy chimneys for centuries. I understand the allure. Cappadocia pulls you in and invites you to stay.
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