Cappadocia
 

Hi - I will be in Cappadocia in early September and am trying to plan my itinerary. We are going to get a driver and want to have a clear idea of what we want to do beforehand. So far, I know we want to see the open air museum and go on a hike - any recommendations for a hike? Ilhara Valley? Somewhere else? Any recommendations for activities would be appreciated!
Also, we are going to book a balloon ride with Kapadokya balloons - they have a deluxe ride for 250E/person or a sponsored ride for 100/person - so far the only difference I can tell is that there are more people in the balloon during the sponsored ride. But I figured I'd check here to see if anyone knew anything about these two options and what they thought.
Thanks!

Been to the Open Air and Ilhara. Open air wasvery intereting and you could spend a fair amount of time there.

We hiked the Ilhara to see two cave churches. Not very strenous hike, along creek bank with a few detours aorund large rocks. The climb up to caves. There is also a nice place to have lunch, with a platform that had pillows and asian carpets over the creek. We entrered vally from the North, through the old village, and drove down into the parking area. Form the otehr side you go down the stairs which misses some of the above.

We also went to an underground city on way to Ilhara.
Don't have name with me, but it was off the beaten track. No busesm we were the only ones there. There are a few in the guidebooks, our we found in Lonely Planet.

I just returned from several weeks in Turkey, including Cappadocia. The absolutely best person to have as a hiking guide is the guy who runs this company (and leads the hikes): www.walkingmehmet.com/. He knows just about every trail in the area as well as botany, geology, archeology and early Christian history. I spent the day hiking with him through a handful of valleys and it was amazing. I would stay in Goreme, which, though touristy and hardly off the beaten track, has a very nice vibe to the town, unlike Urgup where the streets are empty at night, especially few women walking about late at night. (Goreme is completely different; very alive and vibrant.) If you have other Cappadocia questions, let me know.
jeanine
www.jthetravelauthority.com

I also stayed in Goreme and liked it. It had kind of a "hippy" fell to it.

Thanks everyone. We actually already booked a room at Esbelli Evi in Urgup but we'll definitely check out Goreme! Anyone have recommendations on the balloon ride?

I skipped the balloon ride, but walked to the open air museum from Goreme. It is a good start to get familiar with the region, but there is another similar valley you can do with a guide. Ask you hotel or visit a tourist office--the tourist facilities in the area are superb.
We hired a driver for Ilhara (he dropped us at south end and picked us up at north end). He also made a couple other stops and was booked through our hotel. It was a highlight--the cave paintings are amazing and the valley is lovely.
The hiking all around Goreme is superb--just pick a path. They have names like "rose valley", "love valley", etc. Love valley was great (from Uchisar to Goreme), and I ran out of time for rose valley, but did part of it.

awright...you're in for a great trip...happy you found the Esbelli Evi...you might take a glance at my scanned Turkey pix (before I went digital)..some shots of Suha, the Esbelli's owner)and us. The Ihlara Valley photo is a clear idea of what the lovely valley is all about. Enjoy your Turkish trip.

http://picasaweb.google.com/stuarttower/ScenesOfTurkey#

Stu T.

Great pictures! Thanks so much for your help!

awright (love that name):

There are two major underground cities en route to Ihlara...Kaymakli and Derinkuyu (separated by about 7 kms. We found that K was a bit more claustrophobic than the latter. Both are fascinating in their display of artifacts from when the cities were inhabited. Warning..if indeed, you are subject to even slight claustrophobia you might consider skipping them. One family of four found it to be very uncomfortable and they turned around to walk back...the passageways are narrow, and this turn-around is no mean feat.

stu t.

Bookmarking.... Thanks

Goreme and Urgup are two different cup of tea and depending which time of year one visits atmosphere can be totaly different !

Ballooning is great experience but I think it is a typing mistake Kapadokya Balloon sponsored balloon ride isn't 100 euro but 165 if paid cash, otherwise 175.

Happy travelling,

Murat

Click on my name and you will find my trip report on Turkey which includes Cappadoccia. It might give you some ideas.