There are so many cute and insta-perfect spots in the area of Cappadocia I had to make a post out of it. Check them out :)

On top of the balloon flight which is a must when going to Cappadocia, there is quite a lot else to see. There are several torus organized bringing you around the area. Bare in mind that tou can do the balloon flight and one of the tours in the same day (time wise) 

For this trip we were 8 which made it quite convenient in getting discounts around. We also only had a full day that we could explore the area so what it most made sense was to book a private tour with a guide which offered us full flexibility even though it was a bit more expensive than the regular tours. 

The price for the tour with the guide was 350 Euros & without a guide it would have been 300 Euros. We booked everything via the hotel, so not sure if you contact directly the guide it could be that it's cheaper.
​Our Tour Guide was Cagatay, and you can find more about him under the LINK. We really learned a lot about the places we visited and about Turkey in general from him. 

Worth mentioning: tickets for museums & lunch was included 

If you are claustrophobic do not go, seriously or make sure you get there during the week when probably less crowded. 

"The ancient name was Enegup. Caves may have first been built in the soft volcanic rock by the Phrygians, an Indo-European people, in the 8th-7th centuries B.C., according to the Turkish Department of Culture. When the Phrygian language died out in Roman times, replaced with Greek, to which it was related, the inhabitants, now Christians, expanded their underground caverns adding the chapels and inscriptions. The city was greatly expanded and deepened in the Byzantine era, when it was used for protection from Muslim Arab raids during the four centuries of Arab -Byzantine wars (780-1180). The city was connected with Derinkuyu underground city through miles of tunnels. Some artifacts discovered in these underground settlements belong to the Middle Byzantine Period, between the 5th and the 10th centuries A.D. These cities continued to be used by the Christian inhabitants as protection from the Mongolian incursions of Timur in the 14th century. After the region fell to the Ottomans, the cities were used as refuges from the Turkish Muslim rulers, and as late as the 20th century the inhabitants, called Cappadocian Greeks, were still using the underground cities to escape periodic waves of Ottoman persecution."  (Source)

"The houses in the village are constructed around the nearly one hundred tunnels of the underground city. The tunnels are still used today as storage areas, stables, and cellars. The underground city at Kaymakli differs from Derinkuyu in terms of its structure and layout. The tunnels are lower, narrower, and more steeply inclined. Of the four floors open to tourists, each space is organized around ventilation shafts. This makes the design of each room or open space dependent on the availability of ventilation."  (Source)

We stopped at this store although not on our list as it was right across the Pigeon Valley Panorama point and out of curiosity. 

I can't say it's worth your time. First it's just a store, even if at the beginning they show you for 30 seconds something related to Onyx their only interest is selling. Second the jewelry is quite expensive especially considering that normally prices in Turkey should be significantly small for these type of Jewelry. 

There is a post on TripAdvisor that the place is a scam, possible, I don't know anything regarding gemstones so would be hard to judge. 

This was just a stop to have a look at the landscape. They do have loads of Pigeons there and you can also feed them, I mean you can buy some grains and give them to the birds. 

You could also find several trees filled with evil eye talismans hanging from them. 
"A popular belief existing in many corners of society is the evil eye. A look can cause pain, injury, or bad luck to anyone on the receiving end. People who are envious or simply believe that a person does not deserve the good fortune bestowed on them also give the evil eye subconsciously. Therefore, throughout history, man has made many forms of talismans designed to ward off bad luck. A rabbit's foot is the most common European example and in Turkey, the Nazar Boncugu is widely displayed in homes, shops, and business."  (Source)

"The top of the Uchisar Castle, provides a magnificent panorama of the surrounding area with Mount Erciyes in the distance. Many rooms hollowed out into the rock are connected to each other with stairs, tunnels and passages. At the entrances of the rooms, there are millstone doors, just like the ones in the underground settlements, used to control access to these places. Due to the erosion in places of this multi-leveled castle, it is unfortunately not possible to reach all the rooms. Most of the rooms, located on the north side of the castle are in use as pigeon houses (dovecuts) today."  (Source)

"Cavusin Village, located between Avanos and Goreme towns, is surrounded by a valley, which becomes gradually wider, called as Red Valley. By the beginning of 20th century, the village had a composed population with many Christian Orthodox families. The houses were actively used until 1924 when population exchange had happened between Greeks and Turks. All the Christian citizens from this village and all over Turkey had to leave their country to Greece as well as all the Turkish Muslim citizens in Greece had to move out from Greece to Turkey because of the same population compulsory. According to the officials, about 1.2 million Christians left Turkey while about 600.000 people came from Greece."  (Source)

"You can climb up to top of the village through a twisty path, which offers breathtaking views of Red Valley and Uchisar Castle. There is also a church called asSt. John the Baptist from 5th century on top of the village. This church is the second oldest church in Cappadocia and has a unique fresco of "The Murder of St. John" even though the other paintings have been destroyed. The other church in Cavusin Village, Nicophoras Phocas, is one of the best protected churches in Cappadocia . This church has almost all the life of Jesus on paintings and in pretty well-protected form. The church has been built after the order of Byzantine Emperor, Nicophoras Phocas, when he visited Cappadocia in 960s. The church is dating back to around 965 and has the painting of Nicophoras and his family as well."  (Source)

Pottery making in Turkey is huge or big enough to have the opportunity to visit some pottery making demonstrations. 

The experience starts with an explanation how they perfectly shape the pots to fit the cap :). You can watch the demonstration while enjoying a Turkish coffee. 

From there you can see how they paint the ceramic which is interesting to see 

while at the end they bring you to their shop, which is super pretty but equally expensive 

They have this cafeteria type of buffet food with all you can eat. For what it is, I think is a nice place to try different foods (especially desserts) 

"Devrent Valley (also spelled as Dervent Valley) reveals many different rock formations and is only a 10 minute drive from Goreme. The small fairy chimneys in the valley form a lunar landscape, or moonscape, by their strange look. The valley also has many animal shaped rocks. It looks like a sculpture zoo made by nature. Some of the most important, or the easiest seen animal shapes are camel, snake, seals, and dolphin. If you let your imagination run free you will find many others. It is like looking at clouds and seeing a dragon." (Source)

Some specially looking fairy chimneys can be found in the Love Valley. Why I say special? Have a look :D

Walk a bit around to explore the landscape or you can go an a longer hike if you have the time. 

and of course you can take advantage to get some funny pictures.

"These three Fairy Chimneys are commented as mother, father and child. The big fairy chimneys which are on the next step are known as grandmother and grandfather. Also, Uc Guzeller is known as Catalkaya. According to the legend, a king s daughter who lives in Cappadocia gets married with a shepherd. The king doesnt forgive them although they have a child. When the princess escapes from the soldiers of the king, she prays to the God: (please, my God, make us either a stone or a bird.) The God accepts their prayer and they immediately turn into a Stone. So, these three fairy chimneys (Uc Guzeller) are known as the princess, her husband and her child."  (Source) 

After the stop at Uc Guzeller we asked to be dropped in the center of Goreme to have a beer until it was time for the sunset.  

I actually have no clue if there is more to it, than enjoying the sunset, but for sure is worth passing by. A lot of people come there to say goodbye from the day.  

This is for sure one of the most amazing experiences out there. I am sure that there are many others but, this one needs to be high on anyone's list. 

Each morning if the weather allows hundreds of balloons color the sky of Cappadocia. It's absolutely stunning. 

We booked our flight with Urgup Balloon via our accommodation. This is a door to door service incl. breakfast and we paid 165 Euro per person in what they consider a small basket. As you are in Turkey you can try to negotiate the price, I did not. 

Before I go into the rest of the details, I'll give it a few lines to safety:
I felt safe at all times, but on top of this some details about what they do to make you feel safe. First of all you can only fly if the weather allows. They need to receive an authorization to fly every morning. Your pilot is normally more trained than any other in the world. From what I heard all pilots in Cappadocia are taking 3 times more flight hours before they receive the certification compared to any other place. They seem to be very well prepared and police and fire brigade are there to assist. So I would say it was safe! 
​Travelling with kids? 
We had with us a 7 year old, as for safety the baskets are quite tall, they height of the child is also relevant so that the child can enjoy the experience. 

They pick you up from the hotel somewhere between 3:30 - 4:00 (in the morning). They bring you to the central office, where you register and get a color (or something) that will identify which basket you will be in. 

They are providing you with some breakfast incl. coffee and tea. We really liked what they gave us, was very tasty. 

Once everyone has arrived, you'll be going with a van to the place from where the balloons fly out, and you can assist at the lighting up of the balloon. 

And then you fly

The pilot (who was btw... A W E S O M E) told us that you can't control where the balloon goes, it is up to the wind. Well, he can control a bit so no worries. According to the iPhone compass we reached 2000 m.  

The view of having all those hundreds of balloons coloring the sky is amazing 

Having an experienced pilot it helps as he can make out of the journey a even better experience by bringing you close to the cliffs or "racing" with another balloon. 

At the end, they celebrate with non alcoholic champagne and give you some souvenirs (we got a medal & a pen) 

So now you have the chance to either nap a bit longer or prepare for a tour. 

It was December and Dana and I were brainstorming what to get as a B-day present to Alexandra who was turning 30. With the change of prefix it had to be something awesome, memorable so that it will stay in her memory forever. We realized in the last years, that more and more we tend to appreciate experiences with family and friends rather than gifts as presents and so it came to me one day scrolling through the Instagram feed: CAPPADOCIA. The rest is history ;-)

This turned out to be a perfect trip, where everything went as planned and everyone was extremely happy at the end. 

For most of the countries you will require a Visa for entering Turkey. I recommend you to check the website of the Ministry of Foreign affairs of the Republic of Turkey to see if you need or not a Visa. The best way to apply for your visa is online. As highlighted in the Ministry of Foreign affairs website you can use the https://www.evisa.gov.tr/en/ website to purchase your visa.
Please remember to print it. 

In Turkey they use Lira as their currency, but the Euro brings you a long way. It is advisable to have some Lira with you (you can exchange it in the city where you will be based) so that you can buy local things cheaper, but most of the places do accept Euro.
We could also pay by card in several locations like restaurants - we are using Revolut but VISA is also ok (have no experience on MasterCard) 

You have 2 airports around the region:

• Nevsehir Airport is 40 km far from Goreme and 30 km far from Urgup
• Kayseri Airport is 70 km far from Goreme and 60 km far from Urgup

Most of the flights are connecting flights via Istanbul. There are a lot of direct flights from Germany, so if you leave around it like us (Belgium) you might be able to catch a direct flight. There are also charter planes going to Cappadocia so you might also be able to catch a direct flight like this. In BE there were direct flights out of Liege Airport. 

Once at the airport, the best way to get to your accommodation is by a pre-arranged mini bus. We had this arranged with our hotel and I think that most of the people are doing the same.  

How to pick your accommodation is always a challenge especially when we are talking about a region not just a city. You have several towns to choose from, with the best historic mansions and cave houses for tourist staying in Urgup, Goreme, Guzelyurt and Uchisar. 

We decided to make our base & so the location of the accommodation in Goreme. We booked our accomodation at Cappadocia Cave Land Hotel. You can find them on booking.com and I have to say that everything was PERFECT. 

On top of the rooms & the breakfast we could also arrange everything else via Ibrahim who is extremely friendly and helpful (as is the rest of the people working there). 

To be fair, in the end, the most important thing you need to think of is the balloon flight itself, as this is why you are here. 
Before you book your flight (plane) to come to Cappadocia, bare in mind that the balloons only fly out if they receive approval (so if the weather is ok for flying), so might be good o have some buffer time. 
After again some checking on the internet, I wanted to book the balloon flight with Turkiye Balloon company, but as I was requesting the advice of the hotel, they recommended to let them handle this and book with Urgup Balloon. So i don't know how the other company would have been, but I can only highly recommend  Urgup Balloon. I leave you here the link to their TripAdvisor . 
We paid 165 Euro per person in a what they call a small basket.

There are 3 main tours you can pick from, which will bring you to discover the region are: 

The Red Tour (approx. 30 Euro/pers)

• Goreme Open Air Museum
• Uchisar Panaromic View
• Avanos Pottery workshop (then lunch) 
• Pasabag - Monks Valley
• Devrent Valley
• Local Winery Visit in Urgup (incl. Wine tasting) 
• Urgup Fairy Chimneys 

The Green Tour (approx. 35 Euro/pers) 

• Goreme Panorama
• Derinkuyu Underground City
• Hiking Ihlara Valley (3km)
• Belisirma Village (lunch) 
• Selime Monastery 
• Pigeon Valley​
  
• Onyx Factory 

The Blue Tour

• Urgup Three Beauties 
• Mustafapasa (old Greek town)
• Sobessons
• Mazo Underould City Museum

I was completely lost in all the tours, but Ibrahim explained the difference and as we were 8 we decided to go for a private tour and make a mix of all of this. I'll guide you through it in a separate post. 

For 30 Euro you get a lot of food, drinks (incl. alcoholic) and several traditional dances. Watch out, there is no dessert. To be honest, I was not really that impressed of this. It's not bad, maybe even interesting to discover but did not convince me. 

Day 1: we landed at 2AM in Kayseri and went directly for the balloon flight. After the flight we went to sleep till about 9:30 and went for breakfast. After breakfast we planned the rest of the days (we had a mini storm so had the time for it). Later on we went through Goreme to visit around and buy some souvenirs. In the evening we did the Turkish Traditional Night.
Day 2: we booked private tour with a guide to which we added the sunset tour in the Rose Valley. We had dinner and at midnight we had a van waiting for us to bring us to the airport.