Tour Style : Private Tour with English speaking guide.

Duration : 7 Days / 6 Nights
We can custom design your itinerary to create a touring program that most ideally suits your personal, educational, cultural, and budgetary requirements. Please contact us for details and we will design your dream tour…

Itinerary

Day 1 – Istanbul- Cappadocia
Take the morning flight from Istanbul Ataturk airport to Nevsehir departure 07:45am or 17:45pm. Arrival and meeting just outside the arrival’s gate with a sign bearing your name. Transfer to Hotel.
Free afternoon. Some interesting walks can be done in the afternoon, guided (extra) or on own: Walking for about 2- to 5 km in one of the most attractive valleys of Cappadocia : Iceridere valley, Caglak valley near Ayvali, Gomeda Valley or Pigeon valley . Overnight Cappadocia.
PS: There are other flights available out of Kayseri departure at, please ask, it may cost extra.

Day 2 – Fairy Chimneys Tour at 09:30am

In this day you will be able to see:
DEVRENT VALLEY: Devrent is situated on the northern slopes of Aktepe, 1km from Pasabaglari (Monks’ Valley) and 5 km from Avanos. The ruins at Devrent are spread over three valleys, which also house several pointed fairy chimneys with large stems.

LPasabag, the Pasha’s Vineyard, is surrounded by incredible natural rock formations; a spectacular scene.

AVANOS: A center of terra cotta work of art since 3000 BC, it is a town where you will be invited to visit a traditional pottery workshop, which is possibly set deep into the hillsides. The clay, which comes from the Red River passing through the town, gives life both to the land and to the local economy.

UCHISAR: Uchisar is a troglodyte town situated right in the middle of Cappadocia. It is named after the enormous piece of rock in the center of the town, which was once used as a castle. This extraordinary rock is the highest peak of the area with the view of whole Cappadocia and Erciyes (Argeus) Mountain.
After the tour, you will be transferred back to your hotel.

Overnight Cappadocia

Day 3 –Rose Valley &  Underground City Tour at 09:30am

You will be picked up from your hotel for Full day tour of South Cappadocia. In this day you will be able to see:
KIZILCUKUR: is an isolated valley behind Urgup. It has beautiful rock formation with some great hidden rock-carved churches. The most interesting part of this area is the countless tracks connecting the small villages and towns through vineyards and gardens like a spider net. It is always possible to see villagers working in the area and offering grapes, apples or apricots to you.

CAVUSIN: One of the oldest settlements in the area, Cavusin is situated 2km from Goreme, on the Göreme-Avanos road. The Church of St.John the Baptist offers a panoramic view of the village. This church and its paintigs date back to the 5th century, making the oldest church in the region. It had a large courtyard which is unusual for Cappadocia, this has been eroded away 
however.

MAZIKOY: One of largest and deepest of the 40 others in Cappadocia. They both have eight floors, although not all are open to the public.

PIGEON HOUSE: Visit the pigeon houses and rock formations.

Overnight Cappadocia

Day 4 –SOGANLI VALLEY TOUR  AT 09:30AM

The Soganli valley is 55 km far from Goreme. It collapsed and settled during earthquakes and these dips got deeper with natural effects, formed valleys and plateaus as the consequence of such natural phenomena.

Settlements in this area took place during the Roman times. The Romans used the stone conies on the slopes of the valley as graveyards and the Byzantine as churches. Church frescos in styles, dates back to the 9th and 13th centuries.

There are thousands of carved bird aviaries, caves and shelter in addition to some churches and monasteries along the Soganli valley. This captivating scene combined with the mild effects of the colorful trees on both sides of valley coerces the limits of another time.

The major churches in the Soganli valley are Karabas, Yilanli, Kubbeli St. Barbara (Tahtali).

Kubbeli (the domed) church was formed by carving into a chimney rock. It reveals a characteristic architecture with its vaults and apse. Kubbeli (the domed) church is of great importance in that it is one of the fine examples of its kind due to the carving made outside the rocks.

The St. Barbara Church, which was supposed to be built in the 10th century, is located at the end of the valley. This church, which is also called Tahtali (wooden) church, has a single apse and a barrel vault.

Authentic hand-made linen dolls produced in Soganli and its surrounding have attracted the attention of the tourists visiting the area and this has already become an industry.

Handiwork, gloves and socks ornamented with Anatolian motifs, etc also attract attention as well as the linen dolls made and sold under different names in the area.

Overnight Cappadocia

Day 5 – Cappadocia
Meeting at the hotel reception at 09:30am
Drive to Gulsehir and stop at Aciksaray (Open Palace). The village is remarkable for its facades and the odd-looking formations, some resembling huge mushrooms. Visit to St. Jean Church (Karsi Kilise):
The two floor church of St. Jean, found upon entering Gulsehir, houses a church, wine cellar, graves, water channels and living quarters on the lower floor, and a church decorated with Biblical scenes on the upper floor. According to the inscription on the apse, the church dates back to 1212.
Walking for about 5 km in one of the most attractive valleys of Cappadocia : Red Valley , with its fabulous volcanic rock formations, is in the heart of Cappadocia but far from the madding crowds. Rock-hewn hermit churches with frescoes and paintings fit with the valley’s meditative atmosphere, remained intact since the beginning. End the day by the Bayramhaci Hot Spring with Thermal pools. Overnight Cappadocia

Day 6 – Hattusas (Capital of Hittites)
Meeting at the hotel reception at 08:30am
Drive to Hattusas, capital of the Hittite empire in the 2nd millennium BC. The ancient city is on the outskirts of present-day Bogazkale, just over 125 miles east of Ankara. The Hittites were the first true empire in the Anatolian area, and is mentioned in texts from other empires outside the area and in The Bible. Lunch and visit the temples and the castles. The two rows meet on the north wall where the most important images in the shrine of Yazilikaya are to be found: The God of Tempests Teshub and the Goddess of the Sun Hepatu. The largest relief in the main gallery however is the one representing King Tudhaliyas IV, thus giving as a date in the second half of the 13th century B.C . Transfer to your hotel in Cappadocia and overnight.

Day 7 – Cappadocia – Istanbul
Meeting at the hotel reception at 09:30am
Drive to Ihlara, visit to Guzelyurt on the way. The ancient name of the town was Gelveri. It is known to be the town of one of the old church fathers of Cappadocia with the name Gregory of Nazianzus (who is one of the three fathers of Cappadocia next to Greogory of Nysse and St.Basil the Great). Guzelyurt has abandoned cave houses and hidden underground cave monasteries. Walking in Ilhara Canyon, a “mirage” in the Steps of Anatolia up to Belisirma village, the ancient Peristrema: “Valley of the Sky” along the Melendiz River. Rock-cut churches, spread across a wild plantation, surprise you with their successfully painted representations from the Bible. Lunch in Belisirma, a local restaurant by the river. Stop by Selime, a village with cave houses at the end of the canyon and a “Star Wars” like landscape. Transfer to airport and take a flight to Istanbul.

Return to your hotel at around 17:30pm.