25-05-2025
Magic beneath the surface in Turkiye's Cappadocia
Marketing for central Turkiye's Cappadocia relies heavily on photos of colorful hot-air balloons floating above the region's otherworldly landscape of volcanic rock formations.
The bird's-eye view is ideal for grasping the extent -- and beauty -- of this natural wonder.
But a ride in the balloon's basket lasts only an hour. What captivates the most about this region is what's outside the basket -- on or under the ground.
Merely surveying the towns of, say, Goreme and Uchisar, is eye-popping because of skylines that seamlessly marry man-made construction with nature's pinnacles. In the past, the soft rock provided cave homes, too.
Now, visitors live in caves. We stayed at the upscale Kayakapi Premium Caves in Urgup. The tourism ministry said most of Cappadocia's 450 to 500 hotels are inside caves or represent some variation on the cave hotel theme.
There's more: Cappadocia is known for carpets, pottery and wine, all with ancient roots. Further, visitors can watch whirling dervishes here.
The fairy chimneys were formed by volcanic action and erosion. Photo Credit: Nadine Godwin
Cappadocia's otherwordly landscape
Early Christians carved more than 200 churches from Cappadocia's soft rock. Some sites morphed into monasteries. Frescoes came later, in the 11th to 13th centuries.
The Goreme Open Air Museum is a fine example. The site includes rock-hewn housing for monks and nuns, a kitchen and refectory plus at least seven churches.
We entered churches, first seeing rather lightly colored and simple frescoes, before viewing the piece de resistance, the Dark Church, which gets almost no natural light. It was accidently preserved when a fallen rock blocked its entry and left it unnoticed for centuries. Its walls are drenched in full-color illustrations of Christ's life.
The Turkish tourism ministry, which hosted the press trip I was on, said there are 15 to 20 underground cities, first cut from the rock well before the time of Christ. It lists five available to visit.
We visited Kaymakli. Four of its eight stories are open to tourists. Dating from the Hittite era (peak years 1350 B.C. to 1250 B.C.) and occupied most recently in 1963, Kaymakli was a safe haven in times of danger, particularly during Muslim Arab raids, later Mongolian incursions and even World War I.
The tour required stooped walks through tunnels and a tolerance for confined spaces but was facilitated by smoothed-over pathways, some modern stairs -- and electricity.
Underground spaces include a stable for horses, wineries, a chapel and private family quarters. Artifacts include humongous bolt stones to block entries in case of incursion.
Pasabag, or Monks Valley, is home to a dense collection of soft-rock cones topped with harder rocks that resemble hats. These formations, called fairy chimneys and up to 50 feet tall, illustrate how the Cappadocia landscape was created. Volcanoes dumped soft tuff and lava but later spewed harder basalt. Steady erosion tore away soft rock, leaving the just-plain-weird vision of pinnacles topped with larger rocks that seem about to tumble off.
Early Christian hermits created cells for themselves there, and we could walk into some of those spaces. Also, clients can roam this site on horseback.
Salih Akcan, director of Aldag Ceramic, displays a Hittite-inspired wine decanter created by his company. Photo Credit: Nadine Godwin
Ceramics, carpets and wine
Avanos, known for its red clay, is one of Turkiye's two centers for pottery making (along with Iznik). At Aldag Ceramic, we were introduced to a wine decanter with Hittite origins, then watched a potter demonstrate how he makes this vessel, which has a big hole in the middle.
Aldag products are hand-painted using mineral dyes and include original and historical designs. Decanters, plates and other items are displayed, museum-like, as we could see during a de rigueur shopping session. Larger pieces ship for free.
To book a visit with demonstration, contact Koray on WhatsApp at +90 538 097-4291.
The whirling dervish ceremony near Avanos, Turkiye. Photo Credit: Nadine Godwin
The Avanos facility of award-winning Cinar Carpets houses 8,500 pieces for sale, backed by another 55,000 in warehouses. Yes, this was a shopping experience, but we also spent time watching carpet makers perform magic.
Cinar's carpets are handmade, using wool, cotton or silk, by women ("men don't have the patience," our male host said) using the firm's 5,000 looms in Cappadocia and beyond.
We viewed an astonishing array of fetching designs and color schemes, including designs that originated in antiquity and others unique to Cappadocia or to Cinar. Carpets are shipped for free on request. Contact kapadokya@ to learn more.
We sampled wines at Efendi Wine House in Urgup, which offers walk-in tastings. It is one of numerous options across Cappadocia for sampling wines, which are often distinguished by a high mineral content because of the unique soil.
A whirling dervish ceremony is a somber, prayerful event associated with Sufi Muslims and originating in Konya. The performance we attended was staged at the 13th century Saruhan Caravanserai, now an event site, near Avanos. Photos were permitted during the final three minutes.
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