Cappadocia is an ideal destination for a personal day of exploration and enchantment. The Zelve Valley, Goreme Open-Air Museum with its rock-hewn churches, the ceramics hub of Avanos, and the subterranean city of Kaymakli, where early Christians sought sanctuary, are all ready to be unveiled through the storytelling of your native guide.
Cappadocia is an ideal destination for a personal day of exploration and enchantment. The Zelve Valley, Goreme Open-Air Museum with its rock-hewn churches, the ceramics hub of Avanos, and the subterranean city of Kaymakli, where early Christians sought sanctuary, are all ready to be unveiled through the storytelling of your native guide.
- Zelve Open Air Museum - The Zelve Open-Air Museum, once home to one of the largest communities in the area, is a fascinating cave town filled with dwellings, religious, and secular chambers. Located about 10 km from Goreme on the Avanos road, Zelve was a place where Christians and Muslims coexisted harmoniously until 1924. Due to the population…
- Zelve Open Air Museum - The Zelve Open-Air Museum, once home to one of the largest communities in the area, is a fascinating cave town filled with dwellings, religious, and secular chambers. Located about 10 km from Goreme on the Avanos road, Zelve was a place where Christians and Muslims coexisted harmoniously until 1924. Due to the population exchange between Greece and Turkey, Christians had to leave the valley, and in the 1950s, Muslims also evacuated due to erosion risks. They established a modern village nearby, named Yeni Zelve (New Zelve).
- Fairy Chimneys - Pasabag in Cappadocia is situated on the road to Zelve, accessible from Goreme or Avanos. Here, visitors can marvel at the extraordinary earth pillars amidst a vineyard, giving the place its name, “the Pacha’s vineyard.” In Turkish, “Pacha” means “General,” a common nickname. Also known as Monks Valley, the site features cones carved in tuff stones. A vineyard and several tuff cones are located next to the road. Some cones split into smaller cones at their tops, where stylites and hermits once resided. The hermitage of Simeon monks was here, with a chapel dedicated to St. Simeon (Simon) and a hermit’s shelter built into one of the three-headed fairy chimneys. The cell entrance is adorned with antithetical crosses. Saint Simeon lived in seclusion near Aleppo in the 5th century, and rumors of his miracles began to spread.
- Avanos Oren Yeri - The ancient city of Avanos, known as Venessa in antiquity, overlooks Turkey’s longest river, the Kızılırmak (Red River), which separates Avanos from the rest of Cappadocia.
- Kaymakli Underground City - The Kaymakli underground city, constructed beneath the hill known as the Citadel of Kaymakli, opened to visitors in 1964. Residents of the Kaymakli (Enegup in Greek) village built their homes around nearly one hundred tunnels of the underground city. The locals still utilize the most accessible areas in the tunnels as cellars, storage spaces, and stables, accessed through their courtyards. The Kaymakli Underground City features low, narrow, and sloping passages. Although the underground city has 8 floors below ground, only 4 are open to the public today, with spaces organized around ventilation shafts.
- Professional tour guide with live commentary in your preferred language.
- Transportation to and from your base location in Cappadocia.
- Professional tour guide with live commentary in your preferred language.
- Transportation to and from your base location in Cappadocia.
- Meals & Drinks.
- Gratuities
- Museum entrance ticket fees
- Meals & Drinks.
- Gratuities
- Museum entrance ticket fees
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
