Cappadocia, Turkey

Cappadocia is the only place in the world like this. Cappadocia which is unique in the world and is a miraculous nature wonder is the common name of the field covered by the provinces of Aksaray, Nevsehir, Nigde, Kayseri, and Kirsehir in the Central Anatolian region. We had a short direct flight from Istanbul. We had hired a company to show us the area. I am so glad I did because they showed us really why this part of the world is so special.

Cappadocia became famous for its unique landscape of valleys and unusual rock formations, known as “fairy chimneys”. The formation of the strange landscape started during the third geological period when three volcanoes located on the edges of this region began erupting frequently. The deposits of volcanoes ash, lava, and basalt laid the foundations for today’s landscape. Earthquakes and ongoing effects of erosion have contributed to form the valleys and the “fairy chimneys” that can be seen today. As the rock below the top layer of basalt is extremely soft, it can be easily carved. Communities took advantage of this to make their home in the rock pillars and under the ground. Today, these examples of homes, churches, and whole cities abound in Cappadocia.

We had to stay in one of the Cave hotels and we are so glad we did. The Kelebek was a hotel with a view of the valley. The room was And our guide was www.turkeyboutiquetour.com for the three days that we were here. They were so good and I highly recommend them. On our last day, we signed up for the organic garden tractor to have breakfast in their organic garden. It was over the top. Look at the photos you will see what I mean.

When we flew into Cappadocia we were immediately picked up by our guide from Turkey Boutique Tours. We went to our hotel and it was just what I thought a cave hotel would look like. The view was the whole valley. We went to town and within a few minutes, we saw these dune buggies.

We asked where they were going and they said to see the sunset from the high cliffs. They never asked for ID or name we just hopped in a Dune Buggy and went. OH my gosh, it was so much fun.

Our first full day we got up at 3 am and went ballooning. We booked with Royal Balloon. They had a beautiful breakfast before we took off. We had a small balloon so there were not so many people in the balloon and of course at the end we toasted with champagne.