After breakfast, visit the Goreme Open Air Museum, a UNESCO World Heritage site where Byzantine monks carved elaborate cave churches into the soft volcanic rock. Step inside to admire remarkably preserved frescoes depicting biblical scenes in vivid ochres and deep blues.
Continue to the Old Greek House Restaurant for lunch, where you’ll savour typical Turkish cuisine in an atmospheric stone building. This afternoon, visit the village of Avanos and watch master artisans shape terracotta clay at traditional kick wheels using techniques passed down through generations. Explore the Valley of Love, where wind and water have sculpted the soft volcanic rock into striking formations that glow rose and amber in the afternoon light.
As evening falls, witness the mesmerising Sema ceremony of the whirling dervishes, a 700-year-old spiritual practice recognised by UNESCO. The dancers’ white robes billow as they spin in meditation, one hand raised to heaven, the other pointing to earth.
Later, return to your hotel for dinner.
This morning, be delighted by a traditional Turkish carpet factory to observe skilled weavers at their looms. Witness their fingers moving swiftly across intricate patterns that can take months to complete.
Then, descend into the subterranean city of Mazi or Ozkonak, where narrow stone staircases lead into a vast underground labyrinth. Carved as early as the 8th century BCE, these multi-level cities once sheltered thousands of people from invading armies. Explore living quarters, communal kitchens and stables, all connected by an ingenious system of ventilation shafts that drew fresh air deep underground.
After lunch at a typical restaurant in the region, spend the afternoon exploring Uchisar Valley and Guvercinlik Valley (Pigeon Valley). The towering rock castle of Uchisar rises 60 metres above the landscape, decorated with carved windows and doorways that speak to centuries of habitation. In Guvercinlik Valley, discover thousands of small dovecotes carved into the honeycombed cliff faces. As the afternoon light deepens, the valleys’ rose-hued rocks seem to glow from within.
Later, return to your hotel for dinner.
Bid farewell to Cappadocia’s enchanting landscapes as you transfer to Kayseri Airport in the morning for your flight back to Istanbul, where your whirlwind extended itinerary concludes.
