Day 1

Depart the USA. Overnight flight to Istanbul.

Day 2 ~ Cappadocia

Upon arrival in Istanbul, you will proceed to the domestic airport to take a domestic flight to Kayseri.  You will be met at the airport and transferred to your hotel for the night. 

Day 3 ~ Cappadocia

Today we'll start exploring this fascinating area, created by volcanic activity eons ago and artistically formed by wind and water erosions. The special composition of the rock, called tufa, allowed the carvings of entire underground and aboveground cities. In the morning we will drive to the village of Soganli (the onion village), a lovely and unspoiled area with open-air Byzantine churches and monasteries carved from outcrops of rocks, once we are there, we will take an easy 3-mile walk through the valley, ending in a lively village which is famous throughout the country for its dolls. We will visit one of the underground cities where from 20,000 to 30,000 people used to live. In the afternoon, we will walk through the beautiful and diverse Ilhara Valley, meandering along the Melendiz River that runs through these pleasant gorges. While walking, we will see Byzantine churches carved into the tufa, many wild flowers, and trees. Our walk will be 4 miles, starting in the village of Ihlara and ending in the village of Selime.