Description

Early in the morning meeting in the Hotel.

Goreme open air museum  resembles a vast monastic complex composed of scores of refectory monasteries placed side-by-side, each with its own fantastic church. It is obviously the first sight to be visited by any traveler in Cappadocia, standing as it does in the very center of the region with easy access from all directions. It is only 15 minutes walk (1.5km, 1 mile) from Goreme village center. It contains the finest of the rock-cut churches, with beautiful frescoes (wall paintings) whose colors still retain all their original freshness.Esentepe Village is located between the Uchisar and Goreme.

Esentepe which offers an amazing collection of natural and cultural marvels. In simply strolling through theEsentepe Village you will be surprised at the peculiar fairy chimneys rocks that were naturally crafted by the elements.The magnificent landscape around Goreme has been formed from its solidified lava streams, its ash and tuff stone, all dating from the Neocene period. A result of thousands of years of continual erosion makes this area look like a lunar landscape. The fairy chimneys also have a great color variety. There are light and dark colors from white to yellow, pink, grey and black.Pasabag Valley ( monks valley) is located on the road to Zelve, coming from Goreme or Avanos. Highly remarkable earth pillars can be seen here, in the middle of a vineyard, hence the name of the place which means: the Pachas vineyard. Pacha means “General”, the military rank, in Turkish and it is a very common nick name. This site is also called Monks Valley. The name was derived from some cones carved in tuff stones which stand apart. Some of these cones split into smaller cones in their upper sections, in which stylites and hermits once hid.

The hermitage of Simeon monks was also here. A chapel dedicated to St. Simeon (Simon), and a hermits shelter is built into one of the fairy chimneys with three heads. Devrent Valley, also known as Imagination Valley, has none of the cave churches, Byzantine frescoes or Roman citadel ruins that are famous throughout the rest of Cappadocia; but what it does have is an extraordinary landscape shaped by nature to make you laugh and wonder and explore.Only a 10 minute drive from Goreme, between Avanos and urgup, the valley is like a rock-formed zoo. Walk the trail and you will see a landscape filled with snakes, camels, seals and dolphins and whatever else your mind chooses to make of the twisting curving rocks. Maybe even a dragon.

There are also small fairy chimneys, the rock pillars so distinctive of Cappadocia. Avanos is set on the banks of the Kizilirmak, the Red River. The town is about 8 kilometers (5 miles) from Goreme. The Kizilirmak (red) river (ancient Halys river) is the longest river in Turkey and it does not only separate the town from other parts of Cappadocia, but also gives the supplies the clay for pottery. It is by this river that the red pottery clay is found from which Avanos derives its main livelihood and its foremost claim to fame. Pottery has been produced in the Avanos area for centuries and some of the techniques still used date back to Hittite times to 2000 BC.