Cappadocia in two days: what's worth seeing

Cappadocia is usually represented by one picture: dawn and dozens of balloons over the valley. But if you come just for her, you can skip half the region. In two days, you can see very different things here: rock churches, an underground city, valleys with stone pillars and villages where houses are carved directly into the tuff.

Goreme

Why does everything look so unusual here

Volcanoes and time created the landscape. Many thousands of years ago, the area was covered with a layer of volcanic tuff, a soft rock that was then destroyed by wind and water. The hard sections stood firm and turned into the famous "fairy pipes", pointed stone pillars. People had to adapt the soft stone for housing: houses, warehouses and churches were cut down in it.

Goreme Open-air Museum

It's better to start with him. The monastery complex in Goreme is included in the UNESCO list along with the national park around it. Frescoes have been preserved in the rock churches, and the rooms are small, so you should go in the morning, while there are no large groups. In some churches, filming is completely prohibited, so look at the signs at the entrance.

Goreme Cave Churches

Derinkuyu: a city underground

The most unusual item of the program. Derinkuyu goes underground for several tens of meters, and only part of the levels are open to visitors. But it's enough to understand the scale: narrow passageways, ventilation shafts, living rooms, kitchens, stables. The passage could be closed from the inside by a round stone door. Sometimes you have to walk hunched over, so if you don't like cramped spaces, think ahead.

Derinkuyu Underground City

Sunset in the valleys

In the evening, it's good to go to the Pink Valley and the Valley of Love: the first was named for the color of the rock at sunset, the second for the shape of the stone pillars. The trails are simple, but you need proper shoes, because the paths are dusty and slippery in places.

Balloon: is it worth it

Flights take place at dawn and depend on the wind: if conditions are bad, the flight is canceled. Therefore, do not put the ball on the last morning, leave a spare day. Even if you don't plan to fly, it's very beautiful to look at the sky full of balloons from the roof of the hotel or from the observation deck.

What to try

Be sure to order a kebab test: meat and vegetables are baked in a clay pot, and served by breaking the pot right at the table. At the same time, you can stop by Avanos, the city of potters, and see how dishes are made from local red clay.

Result

Cappadocia turned out to be not about one beautiful frame, but about diversity: stone, history and the roads between them. Two days is enough to get acquainted, but it's easy to stretch the trip for three if you don't want to run through the list of points.