Day 1
We take the morning flight to Cappadocia. On our arrival to Cappadocia Airport, our guide and driver meet us.
Our tour starts with an introduction to Cappadocia’s geology at Devrent Valley where we take a short walk down the hill and then a short drive will take us Zelve Open Air Museum. Zelve is one of the earliest inhabited valleys of Cappadocia and served as shelter to early civilizations, a monastery to early Christians, finally a village to Turkish communities until it was announced as a national park in mid-20th century. Zelve walks us through a time capsule to understand more about Cappadocia’s geology, history and culture. Next, we visit Pasabag, a.k.a. the Valley of the Monks where we will see the largest and most dense area of rock formations used by Christian monks during the medieval ages.
After enjoying lunch at a local restaurant in Avanos, the center of artisanal terra cotta work, we will be visiting an artisan’s workshop to see this Anatolian art that goes back thousands of years.
In the afternoon, we will drive to the nearby Sarihan Caravanserai to see an 800-year-old caravanserai where the merchants of the old trade routes used to lodge.
Goreme Open Air Museum is located in the middle of a medieval Christian monastery and the rock cut churches with colorful frescoes here are some of the finest examples of Byzantine Christian Art. Our visit includes the Dark Church which has been restored exquisitely.
After this, we drive to our hotel.
Overnight in Cappadocia.
