How would you like to witness a 60 million-year history?

Exciting, right? 

A mystical region that was founded million years ago, Cappadocia, hosted thousands of civilizations. Whenever I have been there, I feel overwhelmed by the magical atmosphere and the history and the nature and the sincerity of the Anatolian people. 

Due to COVID19, we cannot travel abroad, Cappadocia is the destination for the winter. But before that I will hike the Lycian way. I talked about it in my previous article, click here if you want to take a look.

Two years ago, when I was watching a movie by Nuri Bilge Ceylan, called Winter Sleep, if you haven’t watched it yet, stop whatever you are doing and see it. Spoiler alert: The film is set in Cappadocia. As I was seeing it I realized that I had never been to Cappadocia in winter. I have never seen that amazing geography under snow. Then I planned a trip for 5 days to see Cappadocia in winter. 

I went to Nevşehir by plane, rented a car to get to Cappadocia. You can have a rad trip if you want, but if you don’t have a car, rnt one because having a car is a must for Cappadocia. It is a big area, and you will need a car to travel around. I stayed in a hotel in Uçhisar, a cave hotel. The hotels vary but in general the hotels in Cappadocia look alike.

Luckily, the weather was sunny but cold. The area is made of volcanic stıoen so the homes and hotels are very warm inside. Also, you can stay in a spa hotel and enjoy the wellness. There are many spa and thermal hotel options. After checking in, I left the hotel to look around. 

My first stop was Love Valley. A snowy Cappadocia can really offer a beautiful view for travel enthusiasts. I took a deep breath in Love Valley, then I went to the city because I was hungry. I went to Avanos and ate the most delicious meal. I guarantee you will not regret it if you choose the restaurants of the women’s cooperatives in the region. Because it was winter, restaurants and the bazaar were generally empty. I remember that I was overwhelmed by the crowd when I went there during the summer season. 

After dinner, I decided to drive around and stop in the valleys on the route. I have seen many churches in the valleys. The Christian history of the region is important because the churches were the shelters for Christians escaping from the Roman Empire. At that time Cappadoica was an important religious center. The church frescoes are very impressive. I saw the burial of Christ fresco, which I have never seen before, on the wall of a church in Goreme.

Since the balloon tours were canceled off the season, I wanted to wander around on an ATV, but the weather was too cold to do so. 

In the evening, I returned to Uçhisar and had some delicious kebab in a beautiful restaurant. Uçhisar is the farthest end of the valley that has the best view.

I spent the first three days of my trip traveling around Göreme, Avanos, Ortahisar. I spent a day trekking in Ihlara Valley. I want to save this adventure for another article. I want to tell you about my hiking experience in detail. But keep in mind, trekking in Ihlara is an experience you should definitely have.

Until the next article.. 

Yours,