Day 01
Cappadocia Highlights and Avanos Pottery Experience
- Göreme Open-Air Museum: For good reason, Cappadocia's most famous attraction is the Göreme Open-Air Museum, a complex of medieval painted cave churches carved out by Orthodox monks. The best way to explore the cave churches of Göreme is via the marked path, working counterclockwise. Each church has a modern Turkish name given by local villagers based on a prominent feature.
- Uçhisar Castle: Uçhisar is a troglodyte village 4 km east of Göreme. It is famous for the massive rock formation that was once used as a fortification. Farmers used these pigeon houses to collect pigeon droppings, which are an excellent natural fertilizer for the orchards and vineyards.
- Kaymakli Underground City: Kaymakli Underground City was built under the hill known as the Citadel of Kaymaklı and was opened to visitors in 1964. The people of Kaymaklı, known in Greek as Enegup, built their houses around nearly 100 tunnels in the underground city.
- Pigeon Valley: Thousands of pigeon houses are carved into the rock in Pigeon Valley. It is a surreal vision, with an outrageously phallic landscape reminiscent of a Salvador Dali painting. The conical formations are the result of volcanic eruptions that occurred millions of years ago.
- Fairy Chimneys: Fairy Chimneys, also known as Pasabag, are highly remarkable earth pillars that can be seen in the middle of a vineyard, hence the name of the place, which means "the Pasha's vineyard." Pasha means "General," the military rank, in Turkish, and it is a ubiquitous nickname. This site is also called Monks Valley. The name comes from cones carved in tuff stones that stand apart. A vineyard and several tuff cones stand right next to the road.
- Devrent Valley: Devrent Valley, also known as Imaginary Valley or Pink Valley, does not have cave churches like the other valleys of Cappadocia. So what makes it so famous? Its lunar landscape. Devrent Valley hides many different rock formations within. The small fairy chimneys in the valley create a moonscape through their strange appearance. The valley also has many animal-shaped rocks, with the most commonly seen forms including camels, snakes, seals, and dolphins.
- Avanos Pottery Demonstration and Onyx Crafts: Discover the unique Cappadocian art of pottery-making, a tradition that dates back to the Hittite period, on this tour of Avanos, the heart of the region's craft industry. Step inside a ceramics workshop to watch the experts at work, then try it for yourself as you craft a jug on the spinning pottery wheel - a unique souvenir to take home with you.
