Cappadocia
This Roman-era site is signposted off the main route heading to Soğanlı, right after the entry to Şahinefendi village. A walkway leads past various sections of the semi-excavated Roman baths up to the late-4th-century Byzantine Church ruins, which hold a couple of well-preserved, intricate Roman and Byzantine mosaics.
The main road through Şahinefendi itself is lined by cliffs pockmarked by hundreds of caves, carved out and used to store potatoes.
14.7 MILES
The trails that loop around Güllüdere Vadısı (Rose Valley) are easily accessible to all levels of walkers and provide some of the finest fairy-chimney…
13.65 MILES
The highlight of Göreme Open-Air Museum is the stunning and fully restored Dark Church, famed for the vivid colours and excellent preservation of its…
13.74 MILES
This Unesco World Heritage site is an essential stop on any Cappadocian itinerary. First thought to be a Byzantine monastic settlement that housed some 20…
15.15 MILES
The road between Çavuşin and Avanos passes a turn-off to the Zelve Open-Air Museum, where three valleys of crumbling cave-habitations and churches…
11.59 MILES
Kaymaklı underground city features a maze of tunnels and rooms carved eight levels deep into the earth, though only four are open to the public. The…
14.14 MILES
One of the best views of Kızılçukur (Red) Valley's fang-like rock cones and wavy cliff ridges is from this lookout point, signposted off the highway,…
13.8 MILES
The Buckle Church is 50m back down the hill towards Göreme and across the road from the main Open-Air Museum complex, but is covered by the same entrance…
8.28 MILES
Let's get one thing straight: despite its science-fiction setting, no scene in Star Wars was ever filmed near Soğanlı. But don't despair Chewbacca fans;…
2.36 MILES
The village of Taşkınpaşa, on the road to Soğanlı, some 7km south of Keşlik Monastery, takes its name from its 600-year-old Seljuk mosque. It's usually…
3.71 MILES
About 200 monks once lived at this rock-cut Byzantine monastery complex amid its labyrinth caverns, which include living quarters, refectory and kitchen…
4.37 MILES
The blue-columned Cemil Church with its extremely defaced fresco fragments overlooks a hill slope of derelict Greek mansions. Follow the alleyway winding…
7.81 MILES
The Yılanlı Kilise sits in the furthest corner of the Yukarı Valley, its frescoes deliberately painted over with black paint, probably to protect them…
7.99 MILES
In Soğanlı's Yukarı Valley the first church on your right is the Karabaş Kilisesi, which is covered in paintings showing the life of Christ, with Gabriel…
8.02 MILES
Turn left at the Yılanlı Kilise, cross the Yukarı Valley floor and climb the far hillside to find the Kubbeli Kilise. The Kubbeli is unusual because of…
8.03 MILES
Nestling in the Yukarı Valley hillside, very near the Kubbeli Kilise, is the Saklı Kilise (Hidden Church), which, as its name suggests, is indeed…
8.2 MILES
The Tahtalı Kilise sits at the furthest end of the Aşağı Valley. It has well-preserved Byzantine and Seljuk decorative patterns.