Cappadocia: 2-Day North & South Tour with Pottery & Lunch

4.94

(137 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

“Here, my grandfather used to hide apricots in the cool caves,” our guide Cem said as we ducked into Kaymakli Underground City. I’d never been anywhere that felt so much like a secret — damp stone under my hands, the echo of our footsteps mixing with distant voices. It was cooler down there than I expected (I should’ve brought a light jacket), but honestly, I was too busy trying not to bump my head on those low ceilings. Cem pointed out old storage rooms and even a spot where early Christians hid from invaders. The air smelled faintly earthy, almost like wet bread.

The next day started with sunrise light spilling over Uchisar Castle’s jagged silhouette. We shuffled up to the viewpoint half-awake, coffee in hand (Turkish coffee is no joke — still vibrating). The landscape looked unreal: valleys full of rock spires and soft green patches where pigeons flapped around their carved-out homes in Pigeon Valley. There was this quiet moment when everyone just stood there, not talking — it felt big somehow. Later in Avanos, we tried pottery with a local artist named Galip who grinned as he spun clay faster than I could blink. My attempt at a bowl collapsed into something... abstract? Galip just laughed and told me it had “character.”

Ihlara Valley surprised me most — four kilometers of walking beside a river lined with wildflowers and little churches tucked into the cliffs. The sun came out halfway through and everything smelled fresh and sharp, like mint or maybe sage? We stopped for lunch by the water; simple food but so good after hiking (eggplant stew and warm bread). Selime Monastery was last: climbing up dusty steps into ancient chapels carved right into the mountain. My legs were tired but I didn’t care — looking out over the valley from up there felt like being inside a painting.

I keep thinking about that silence in Love Valley or how Cem knew every wild herb by name. This 2-day Cappadocia tour wasn’t what I pictured — it was better because of all those small things you can’t plan for.