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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 project stabilised the crumbling edifice, and you can now climb the precarious metal ladders and stairways to the viewing terrace halfway up and admire the glorious view. Head up in the late afternoon for the best photography light.
Wear decent walking shoes; one of the top ladders is exceptionally steep.
2.64 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…
1.62 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…
1.71 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…
3.36 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…
12.6 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…
2.25 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,…
1.76 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…
19.89 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;…
0.06 MILES
On the main square, near Ortahisar's castle, the Culture Folk Museum is a good place to get to grips with the basics of local culture. In the dioramas,…
0.74 MILES
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…
0.91 MILES
The facade of this rock-cut complex has some of the most colourful geometric pigeon-house decorations in Cappadocia while inside there are unusual…
1.21 MILES
From the Open-Air Museum entrance, a 1km walk uphill along Müze Caddesi brings you to the signposted trail leading down to the Aynalı Kilise. The main…
1.62 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…
1.64 MILES
The small Chapel of St Catherine is the next church down the path from the Dark Church. Inside are frescoes depicting St Catherine, the ubiquitous St…
1.66 MILES
This 13th-century church has frescoes depicting the four gospel writers (below the central dome) and the Betrayal of Judas (in the arch over the door)…
1.67 MILES
The Snake Church (or Church of St Onuphrius) got its modern name when locals mistook St George's ubiquitous dragon-foe, depicted in a fresco here, for a…