Tailor-Made Private Cappadocia Culture and Gastronomy Daily Tour

The Göreme Open Air Museum has been on the UNESCO World Heritage List as a natural and cultural asset since 1985. The Göreme Open Air Museum is a rock settlement that hosted intense monastic life from the 4th century to the 13th century AD. In the area that forms a valley, churches, chapels, dining halls and seating areas are carved into the rock blocks. While geometric decorations used in the early periods of Christianity can be seen in the churches, the frescoes made in later periods depict scenes from the Bible and the life of Jesus. In the Göreme Open Air Museum, we will visit the Girls' and Boys' Monastery, St. Basileus Church, Elmalı Church, St. Barbara Church, Yılanlı Church, Karanlık Church, Çarıklı Church and Tokalı Church.

The village, one of the oldest settlements in the Cappadocia region, is on the Göreme-Avanos road, 5 km from the Avanos town center and 17 km from the Nevşehir city center. It consists of two parts: the Old Village, carved into the rocks and inhabited until the 1960s, and the New Village, which was later formed with new buildings. Here we will see dovecotes, traditional village houses, Aktepe, which was formed as a result of caldera eruptions, and the Church of John the Baptist, one of the oldest and largest rock-carved churches in Cappadocia.

One of the most suitable points where we can see the district, whose old names were Osiana, Hagios Prokopios, Başhisar, Burgut Castle, Urkup and since the Republic Period Ürgüp, from a panoramic point is Ürgüp Temenni Hill. The word Temenni means sacred area, place of prayer and sacrificial area in the ancient Sumerian language. It has been stated that it was named Temenni Hill because wishes were made and rags were tied in the tombs at the summit of the hill, which are thought to have been built for the Seljuk State sultans Sultan IV. Rüknettin Kılıçarslan (1246–1266) and Sultan III. Alaeddin Keykubat (1297–1304). We will see the tombs mentioned on this hill and then see Ürgüp from a panoramic point and talk about the history of the existing settlements.

The rock carving culture dates back to ancient times in Cappadocia. The most important works of rock carving are the underground settlements, primarily Derinkuyu and Kaymaklı Underground Cities. However, these popular underground settlements are only a few of the thousands of rock-carved settlements in Cappadocia. There are many theories about the underground cities that began to be discovered in the 1960s and were cleaned and opened to visitors. The Büyükakten Underground House, which we will visit and which was formed by combining three old rock-carved houses, was actually inhabited until the 1960s and it is known what each cave, room and section in this house was used for. In fact, the Büyükakten Underground House is an underground settlement connected to each other by tunnels. We believe that our guests will be able to travel back in time here and see for themselves how people lived underground and understand the lifestyle of ancient times.

The city is situated 15km to Nevşehir, in the Kaymaklı province. It was built during the 9th - 10th centuries during the period of the spreading of christianity, as a city of defence and hiding sites. The 8 floors of this underground city are built around a ventilation stack. The ceiling height of rooms on each floor, surrounding a ball, is 2m. the chapels are larger than the rooms and the ceilings are higher.

The town of Avanos lies on the banks of the Kizilirmak (Red) River. According to Strabo, the town was known as Vanessa to the Romans and was the third most important city in the Kingdom of Cappadocia, after Kayseri and Kemerhisar. It was deemed an important city primarily due to its fertile volcanic soil at the banks of the Red River. Avanos today is famed for its distinctive pottery and beautifully painted ceramics made from the red clay taken from the local riverbank and produced in the area since the time of the Hittites, around 2000 BC. The town is home to several authentic family-run potteries, where the skill of master pottery has been passed down from father to son through generations. Talented ateliers of the craftsmen use age-old foot-driven spinning wheels and traditional techniques to expertly shape and mould the red clay by hand, creating the vases, plates and earthenware we associate with the famous Avanos pottery style.

Since its existence, human beings need to tell about their feelings, life, values, ideas, daily life, past and dreams. People of every region and every period transfer this to their art by using the resources they have. The canvas of the Anatolian people is the rugs from Çatalhöyük to this time, and what they tell is hidden in the motifs that touch these rugs. Cappadocia carpets, which are one of the most important cultural heritage sites that has survived from the past to the present and are offered for sale in carpet stores in the region, attract the great interest of local and foreign tourists who come to the region. Carpet stores in Cappadocia have beautiful carpets belonging to different regions of Turkey, as well as those belonging to the region specifically.

The town of Ortahisar is one kilometer from the Ürgüp-Nevşehir highway. It is an ancient settlement. Ortahisar Castle, thought to have been carved into the rocks during the Hittite era, is located in the town center. The historic rock-castle is visible from the main road and rises over 50 meters. Due to the time limit we will not be able to climb to the castle castle but we will have the opportunity to take interesting photos from a viewpoint of Ortahisar Castle.