Göreme
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…
Must-see attractions in Cappadocia
Göreme
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…
Göreme
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…
Cappadocia
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…
Cappadocia
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…
Cappadocia
Some of Cappadocia's best-preserved and most captivating frescoes are hidden within this rarely visited rock-hewn monastery that was only rediscovered in…
Cappadocia
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,…
Göreme
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…
Cappadocia
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;…
Kayseri
This excellent museum is set in the restored Çifte Medrese, a 13th-century twin hospital and seminary built at the bequest of Seljuk sultan Keyhüsrev I…
Cappadocia
On the main highway into Gülşehir, just before the turn-off to the centre (another 500m further) is a signposted trail leading to the incredible 13th…
Ürgüp
The back alleys of Ürgüp are home to many examples of the traditional stone architecture of this region. In particular, in the northern section of the old…
Göreme
The 12th-century Apple Church (Elmalı Kilise) overlooks a valley of poplars below. Relatively well preserved, it contains both simple, red-ochre daubs and…
Cappadocia
Look: it's a camel rock! Nicknamed 'Imagination Valley' locally, Devrent Valley's rock formations are some of the best formed and most thickly clustered…
Cappadocia
The 4.5km Monastery Valley is full of rock-cut churches and dwellings cut into the cliff walls. Exploring it makes for a scenic stroll. From Güzelyurt's…
Cappadocia
Slap in the middle of Ortahisar's town centre, this 18m-high rock outcrop was used as a fortress in Byzantine times. It was reopened after a restoration…
Cappadocia
This small valley, halfway along the turn-off road to Zelve, has a three-headed rock formation and some of Cappadocia's most famous examples of basalt…
Cappadocia
Right in Hacıbektaş' centre is this tranquil dervish dergah (lodge), now a museum as well as a place of pilgrimage for those of the Bektaşı faith. Several…
Cappadocia
Derinkuyu underground city, 10km south of Kaymaklı, has cavernous rooms arrayed on seven levels reached by skinny long tunnels. When you get all the way…
Cappadocia
Hasan Dağı (Mt Hasan), Cappadocia's second-highest mountain, provides a challenging summit-bagging hike. The closest village to the 3268m inactive volcano…
Cappadocia
Rimmed by high cliffs that hide rock-cut churches, the lush Ihlara Valley is one of Cappadocia's most popular hiking destinations. Most visitors arrive on…
Cappadocia
Carved into Çavuşin's craggy cliff face is a labyrinthine complex of abandoned houses that you can wander through by climbing up the short cliff path that…
Cappadocia
About 15km north of Avanos, the village of Özkonak hosts a smaller version of the underground cities of Kaymaklı and Derinkuyu, with the same wine…
Göreme
You get one of the best panoramas across Göreme by walking up the steep hill through alleyways to this wooden platform suspended on the edge of the cliff…
Cappadocia
Mehmet Ali has thrown open the door of his old family home (which they moved out of in the 1970s) so that visitors can get a taste of what Cappadocian…
Kayseri
The monumental black-basalt walls of Kayseri castle were first constructed under Roman emperor Gordian III and rebuilt by the Byzantine emperor Justinian…
Cappadocia
About 200 monks once lived at this rock-cut Byzantine monastery complex amid its labyrinth caverns, which include living quarters, refectory and kitchen…
Ürgüp
These three black-capped fairy-chimney formations (also known as 'the three beauties'), overlooking the rolling countryside just outside of town, are…
Cappadocia
By far the most interesting religious building in Monastery Valley, this small monastery, centred around a small courtyard and semi-built into rock cones,…
Cappadocia
The facade of this rock-cut complex has some of the most colourful geometric pigeon-house decorations in Cappadocia while inside there are unusual…
Cappadocia
This Ramsar-listed wetland area encompasses over 24,000 hectares of marshland and is one of Turkey's most important birdwatching sites. A major resting…
Kayseri
Ignore the scruffy mannequin-inhabited dioramas and instead feast your eyes on the glorious interior of painted wooden wall-panels and ceilings. The…
Kayseri
Kayseri's small archaeological museum is a minor magpie's nest, featuring finds from nearby Kültepe (ancient Kanesh, chief city of the Hatti people and…
Kayseri
The 19th-century Surup Krikor Lusavoriç Kilise is one of Anatolia's few remaining Armenian churches. Its domed interior, complete with dilapidated…
Cappadocia
Niğde Museum houses a well-presented selection of finds from the Assyrian city of Acemhöyük near Aksaray, through the Hittite and Phrygian Ages to…
Cappadocia
This fine rock-cut monastery complex has a cluster of churches, refectories, dormitories and a kitchen, all carved out of fairy chimneys and dating from…
Cappadocia
This rarely visited 11th-century church is snuggled amid a particularly photogenic vista of orange-hued rock. The small nave has a dazzling interior of…
Cappadocia
Just after the Monastery Valley ticket office, you come to the large Büyük Kilise Cami (Mosque of the Great Church), which began life as the Church of St…
Cappadocia
This tall volcanic-rock outcrop is one of Cappadocia's most prominent landmarks and visible for miles around. Riddled with tunnels, it was used for…
Cappadocia
This pottery gallery, in the alley opposite the post office, is home to Cappadocia's infamous hair museum. Yes, that's right: it's a museum dedicated to…
