I need some advice about planning my time in Cappadocia, which will be the last stop before my return home. I have a maximum possible stay of 2 days. I have bad knees and while I am fairly mobile, I need to go slower than most people and rest periodically. I do not want to rent a car. I am choosing to hire a private guide (undecided which one at this time) so as to avoid the hiking and sales portion that seems to be included in every small group tour. I would like to see typical tourist sites including the following: Kaymakli Underground City, Goreme Open Air Museum, Uchisar Castle, fairy chimneys, and possibly Sobesus and Keslik Monastery. I want to attend the Whirling Dervish ritual and take a hot air balloon ride. I am not interested in seeing Avanos, Sinasus, wineries, or doll makers. I do not plan to do any shopping while there.

Please help me decide which of the following options would best suit my objectives. Thanks in advance!

Option 1:

Fly Istanbul-Kayseri, arrive 10:00am
Hire guide for private ½ day tour (is this possible? Have only seen full day prices)
Whirling Dervish ritual in evening
Overnight hotel stay
Hot air balloon ride early morning
Hire guide for private full day tour
Fly back to Istanbul on evening flight
Early morning flight to US

Option 2:

Fly Istanbul-Kayseri, arrive 7:45am
Hire guide for private full day tour
Whirling Dervish ritual
Overnight hotel stay
Hot air balloon ride early morning (6:00am to 8:30am hotel drop off seems to be average)
Fly back to Istanbul at 10:25am (will I have enough time to get to the airport after my hot air balloon ride to catch this flight?)
Evening flight to US

Option 3:

Fly Istanbul-Kayseri, arrive 7:45am
Hire guide for private full day tour
Whirling Dervish ritual
Overnight hotel stay
Hot air balloon ride early morning
Hire guide for private full day tour
Fly back to Istanbul on evening flight
Early morning flight to US

You will have a problem navigating many of the locations you mention. The underground city requires a person to bend down because the the low height of the tunnels, and that can be hard on the knees, not to mention that at the same time one is going down rough steps. The best of the Open Air Museum requires going up steep steps to see the churches. I am not trying to discourage you, but warning you that regardless of how you do it, private guide, group tour, or on your own, access might be a problem.

I do understand the navigation difficulties, hence my attempt to plan a realistic pace. I can crawl and climb stairs and those sorts of things, it just takes me a little longer and I need a little recovery time upon reaching the destination.

Too many questions for an iPhone response from Egypt. We were in Goreme this week. The underground city will be tricky. Go early to avoid the tour buses. I would not want to be in those tunnels when they are crowded.

You can do the balloon ride and take the flight from Nevsehir at 12 to Istanbul.

Would Derinkuyu Underground City be a better option than Kaymakli Underground City? Derinkuyu is reputed to be less steep and less narrow, but it is difficult to tell from pictures if the experience would be comparable.

Colduphere, thanks for the info on the noon flight. Somehow I missed that time and that would work better if I want the hot air balloon as the very last activity of my trip.

Keiracaitlyn - I should have said we only visited Derinkuyu. I think it is doable. One long staircase up that I was stooped over for but I am 6'3. Lots of places to rest. But I would ask the guide about least crowded times.

I am not sticking my nose in. But you have done some terrific planning and you have good advice.

You may find the whirling dervish ritual too touristy and possibly boring. If you can, getting a CD, or even the DVD, "Crossing the Bridge" the documentary by the Turkish/German director Fatih Akin, on the music of Istanbul will be sufficient to curb your curiousity.

I am just a little upset that Cold has used this chance to boast about high tall he is, especially after Adu's confession on another post.

Did I say 6'3? I meant 6,4.

Thank you for all the helpful feedback so far! This brings up a few more questions for me though...

Thanks for the info about places to rest, colduphere. I will try to schedule it first in my day so as to avoid the tourist buses.

Otherchelebi, the main reason I want to see the Whirling Dervish ritual is not for the performance itself, but to see if it provokes a "spiritual presence" if that makes any sense, i.e. the effects of the trance-like state. Of course, that type of experience can't be determined on a video. However, if your experience has been that it is more of a tourist production rather than a true spiritual ritual, I would rather skip it. Thoughts?

Also, there are advantages to being shorter, such as less chances of head knocks and concussions! LOL. I'm a good foot shorter than Cold so I won't have to duck as much as he did.

If I go with Option 2 (which is my preference), is it reasonable to see these 4 places in a full-day private tour at a slightly slower pace than most tourists?

Derinkuyu Underground City
Goreme Open Air Museum
Uchisar Castle
fairy chimneys

I would say you could do that quite easily although we flew in and out from Nevsehir. I am uncertain about your drive from Kayseri.

It is possible that some of the whirlers may be able to put themselves in a trance like state. I have never been to a show but have witnessed the real thing twice. the ones i watched were of the kadiri sect, and you will not see them performing for spectators. There was also no musical instrument but just simple repetitive chants like the "om"s of budhists. I could understand how the rotating believers would have some kind of experience, with the chant and the turning, but i did not feel anything as a spectator.

Sufism is all about believing you are part of God and God being a part of you. What the whirling has to do with it is possibly purely a symbolic representation of the atomic or molecular unity of being a single entity. As far as i know sufis are neither creationists nor intelligent designers. if anything, they would be closest to agnostics, trying to understand what it is all about through philosophy, music and literature.

If you think you can witness them solving the myteries of life under the gazes of a group of tourists at every show, then go ahead and pay to watch them.

regarding your itinerary at Cappadocia, your list is a rather short one and can probably be done with a private guide and/or a rental car in your time frame. However the more recent visitors like colduphere should be able to tell you more, especially having seen it all from his vantage point.

Two days is at least one day less than you should have in cappadocia, to enjoy it. the landscape and the large region cries for a leisurely visit, rather than a rushed one.

Why don't you just do your third alternative leaving most of the daily planning to when you get there. The more you see in a day and a half, the less you will remember. Like the landscape rushing by when you are on the Eurostar from Paris to London.

Just one data point: we went to Derinkuyu about mid-afternoon, after time at the Ihlara Valley in the morning and through lunch. There was hardly anyone there. Our hotel proprietor had suggested that sequence specifically to avoid crowds, both at Ihlara and Derinkuyu. This was in early April, so maybe not high season, but there were plenty of tourists in the area.

Also, for scheduling, keep in mind that Derinkuyu (and Kaymakli) are a little ways from the other things on your list--probably 45-60 minutes each way.

We did all of the things on Keiracaitlyn's list minus the outdoor museum but plus a couple of other things in one day. But we were starting from Goreme at 9am. Actually the best thing we did was sit on top of a hill right above the cave hotels in Goreme. You will know what I am talking about when you get there. An incredible 360 view.

Ms_go, thanks for the info about afternoon visits to Derinkuyu...I will definitely consult my guide about recommended times, whether early morning or later afternoon might be best for the time I am visiting.

If I do option 3 and have 2 whole days for a private tour (will have to see if I can finagle that into my budget for a 2nd day), I'd like to see Sobesus and Keslik Monastery, and perhaps throw another site or two based on the guide's recommendations (or ones here).

It looks like I'll be flying in and out of Nevsehir if I do option 2. If I do option 3, then it doesn't matter if I fly in and out of Nevsehir or Kayseri.

No feedback on Option 1's 1/2 day tour so I'm guessing that's not feasible to hire a guide for that short of a time.