I will be going with 2 family members to, among other areas, Capadocia in Turkey. I have read a variety of materials on the varied options of villages/cities to use as a base for exploring the area. As it seems most have done, i have narrowed it to Goreme and Urgup and like facets of both.
It seems that although Goreme is smaller in population than Urgup, it is built up more and more amenable to a younger crowd with a livelier night scene, and that Urgup though larger is more serene.
in checking hotels, i found the prices of hotels and restaurants it seems to be higher in Urgup, so Goreme it seems would win the financial advantage.
i like the proximity of goreme to the goreme open air museum so we can walk to it.
from your experiences, which would be the better to use as a base for 3 days of exploration (open air museum, 1-2 underground cities, hike in valley, perhaps balloon ride.
which is the lovelier surrounding vista? i've heard great things about both.
does one provide any logistical advantage for getting to the balloon riding area (i know they come get you at the hotel)?
it seems they are equally easy to get to from the two airports.
finally, has anyone witnessed a performance of the whiirling dervishes in this area? i would love to go. what were your thoughts and are you glad you went?
thank you for all of your thoughts.
Jeff
Turkey - Goreme or Urgup - which better as base?
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this question was asked not too long ago. Here's the link.
http://www.fodors.com/community/europe/stay-in-urgup-or-goreme-.cfm
We stayed in Urgup and loved it. We had lovely vistas overlooking nearby caves, sunsets, balloons. Other than walking to the openair museum, you will need to drive to the valleys and underground cities, so I don't think there is much of a logistical advantage of one over the other. You can't go wrong in either place.
Jeff,
I agree with Jackie. We stayed in Urgup also and loved it. We drove through Goreme a few times. It did seem to be a bit more lively than Urgup, but there were good restaurants within walking distance of our hotel in Urgup, too.
We did see the whirling dervishes while we were in Cappadocia. We loved it and were very happy that we went.
This is what I wrote about it in my trip report:
They arranged a taxi to take us to Surahan, a restored caravansaray. The caravansarys were built as a rest and food stop for the merchants and their camels traveling the Silk Road between Asia and Europe around the 13th century. This one is beautifully restored and we enjoyed its beauty under the clear night sky. The Dervishes perform a religious ceremony, not a performance. It consisted of 10 Dervishes, five playing musical instruments (one chanting the Koran from time to time) and five whirling in a trance-like state. It lasted about 50 minutes and we were glad that we experienced it. The cost was 50TL each. The taxi driver waited for us during the ceremony and took us back to the Melekler Evi for 50TL.
Ellen
I meant to include this in my post...
Since you won't go wrong in either Urgup or Goreme, you might want to search hotels and let that be your guide. I was also torn between the two cities until we found the Melekler Evi which is in Urgup. I'm so glad we stayed there; I can't imagine staying anywhere else (although we met other people who loved their hotels in both areas). Anyway, just a thought.
thank you all!
ellen, did your hotel hosts arrange your trip to see the whirling dervishes, or did you do it through the group you used for some of your day trips? i am going to try to arrange things a bit in advance...
jackie - thanks for the link - i will explore right away. i am sorry i did not find that in my searching.
thanks again everyone...
Jeff, I stayed at the same hotel as Ellen. It was a wonderful experience; there were 5 of us and we all loved our stay at the Melekler Evi. The host sat down with us to arrange day trips. But, except for a hike the nearby volcano we made our own arrangements. The hosts hooked us up with a guide for that trip.
Yes, Muammar and Arzu, the owners of the hotel arranged the dervishes, too. They arranged the three day trips we took also through Rock Valley Travel in Urgup. We enjoy traveling on our own, but the small group trips in Cappadoccia were perfect for us and Rock Valley did a great job.
What time of year will you be there? Once you decide on the hotel, if you want to make arrangements in advance, the hotel might be able to do that for you. We were there at the end of October, not the height of the tourist season.
Ellen
Thank you Jackie and Ellen,
Great suggestions.
Ellen, we will be in Capadocia June 15-18 give or take a day either way. Unfortunately, we cannot go before then. I am going to try to work out the arrangements well in advance.
Thanks again everyone.
We stayed in Goreme, at the Ottaman House hotel. The front desk arranged a night of going to see local dancing, meal, including whirling dervishes.
From the breakfast area on the roof we could see all around the valley.
I liked Goreme because it was small enough to walk around. ATM machine, moped rentals, Open Air museum, restaurants,etc..
We were on a whirlwind tour of the country and sadly only spent one night there. We went from there to An underground 'city', hiked Ilhara valley and ended day in Konya.
Having not been to Urgup cannot compare