36 Best Sights in Cappadocia and Central Turkey, Turkey

The formerly Greek village of Sille can be visited as an excursion or detour on your way out Konya. In AD 327, St. Helena, mother of Constantine the Great, built a small church here, the Aya Elena (Hagia Helena), which was extensively restored in the 19th century and again in 2013, when it reopened as a museum (Free Closed Mon.). The recent restoration preserved the beautiful frescoes, which date from the 1880s, and the gilt wooden iconostasis and pulpit. In the hillside above town are some Cappadocia-style rock-cut chapels with badly deteriorated frescoes and graves carved out of the stone floors. Still a working village complete with crowing roosters and the smell of manure, Sille has recently become a popular destination for the cafés housed in old homes along the stream running through the center of town. To get to Sille by car, follow Yeni Sille Caddesi out of the city from where it begins near the Dedeman Hotel, or board city bus 64 in front of Alaaddin Camii. If you're heading out of Konya in the direction of Ankara, look for the fabulous Seljuk portal at the entrance to the Horozlu Han, a former kervansaray (now housing a restaurant) near the four-lane beginning of Route 715.

Excavations of this 4th-century Roman town have been going on for about a decade. So far, the well-preserved remains of a Roman bathhouse and a meeting hall with an extensive mosaic floor have been uncovered, as has as a Byzantine church that was later built on top of the mosaics. A roof protects part of the site. There are catwalks and some limited explanatory panels for visitors.

These two scenic wooded valleys that form a V-shape were home to a monastic community during Byzantine times, and there are hundreds of rock dwellings and churches cut into the cliffs. The northern, or "upper," valley (on the right-hand side), has most of the churches, while the southern, or "lower," valley is noteworthy for its many dovecotes. In the former, a path follows a little stream past enormous, house-size boulders and comes to churches including the Karabaş Kilisesi ("Church of the Black Head") and Yılanlı (Snake) Church, with extensive frescoes that have been badly damaged by graffiti. The two-story Kubbeli (Domed) Church has an unusual rock-cut cylindrical dome, reminiscent of medieval Armenian churches. If you're lucky enough to come on a day when there are no tour groups, you'll practically be on your own. Climb up the cliff face, and you'll be rewarded with incredible views.

One of Turkey’s most important bird sanctuaries, Sultan Sazlığı is a national park and Ramsar-protected wetland that’s a 32-km (20-mile) drive from the turnoff for the Soğanlı Valleys. A total of 301 species have been observed here, including flamingos, spoonbills, buzzards, gray herons, lapwings, and great white egrets. There’s no admission fee for the park, but first-timers are encouraged to hire a field guide to take them out by boat, jeep, or foot (depending on the water level in the marshes). Spring is the best time to visit—though, thanks to good rains in the last couple of years, birds can be seen year-round. Contact the guides who run Sultan Pansiyon in Ovaçiftlik village in advance to make arrangements.

Established in 1943, one of the region's largest wine producers has tastings in the factory store, as well as brief tours of the production facilities and cellars. Turasan, having substantially expanded and improved its range in recent years, makes wines from both local grape varieties (namely the white Emir and red Kalecik Karası) and foreign ones. Prices here are about 30% less than at a retail store.

Although the prizes at Göreme are the fresco-decorated churches, the outdoor museum at Zelve provides a fascinating look at how people lived in fairy-chimney communities. Zelve was a center of Christian monastic life from the 9th through 13th century, and the town was inhabited until the early 1950s, when erosion and cracking caused slabs of rock to fall, forcing villagers to move out. The site is only about 2,145 feet long, but there's plenty to explore. The valley is made up of several uneven, naturally carved rows of fairy chimneys. These—and just about every spare rock face—shelter hundreds of dwellings that vary in size. Some are just simple cavelike openings, and others are multistory houses with rooms on several floors linked by stairs carved deep inside the rocks. There's also a rock-cut mosque and several small churches. Certain structures have collapsed, leaving giant pieces of carved ceiling upside down on the ground. You can probably see the whole place in a little over an hour but could easily linger longer.