Leaving Ankara and passing by the muddy shores of Tuz Gölü (Salt Lake), the first sight of major interest that you will stumble upon the venerable Cappadoccia (Kapadokya), the mythical "land of the horses." High up on the Anatolian Plateau, the barren hills of Cappadoccia seem like something more out of a fantasy novel than a prime tourist destination, but it is one of Turkey’s more spectacular and visited sights. It is a land full of mysterious rock formations and underground cities used by medieval Byzantines as safe havens during times of attack. A land full of UNESCO Heritage sights, in Cappadoccia, you will undoubtedly delight as you wend your way through underground castles, admire the radiant frescoes of cave churches, and climb the rock citadel of Üçhisar. Sure, the crowds of tour buses can frustrate as a hoard of Japanese, German, or British package-tourists barge their way into a church you were admiring in solitude, but the sights themselves are worth it, and if you plan it right, you can avoid the crowds as much as possible.
The main attractions of Cappadoccia are, without a doubt, the underground cities. There are numerous cities spread throughout the whole area of Cappadoccia, but the two post important and most impressive are Derinkuyu and Kiymali. These two sites are layers upon layers of winding underground tunnel (most of which you may have to kneel through) connecting, large rooms; churches; and storage areas. Each of these cities were, at their height, designed to hold thousands of people underground in safety while invading armies pillaged above. Their construction is an absolute wonder. Each city consists of ventilation shafts that run down the centers of the cities, providing all with fresh air, as well as latrines and underground wells, meaning that people could stay down here for years if they had to. The entranceways are mazes of narrow, short tunnels designed to confuse and clog invading armies, and each entrance could be blocked off in an instant with a gigantic stone door.
Unfortunately, because these are the most impressive cities, they are the most crowded, and there is plenty of chance that you may get stuck in a small underground room with 50 Italian tourists, a claustrophobe’s nightmare. I find it best to show up either at opening, around 8:30 am, while the tour groups are still eating breakfast, or just before close, around 4:30pm, when the tour buses are at the local carpet factories paying too much for sub-par carpets. The good news is that if you are on your own with your own transport and just want to get a taste of the underground cities, there are plenty of other smaller versions that will feature hardly a tourist in sight. They won’t be as impressive, but you can still get an idea.
Beyond the underground cities, Cappadoccia features a host of other sights that are just as worth a visit. One of these is the Göreme Open Air Museum, a large set of cave churches carved into sandstone faces just outside of the town of Göreme. Again, this is a major stop on the tour bus circuit, but it is a worthwhile stop nonetheless because it features some absolutely fantastic rock churches with immaculately conserved frescos. The trick, though, lies in timing your visit just right so that you don’t get stuck with a bunch Japanese tourists inside a church.
Off the major tourist route in Cappadoccia lies the Ilhara Valley, a large green valley and home to some of the most spectacular churches in the region. Many tour buses will stop just to have a look at one or two, but because the valley is long and reaching many of the churches involves a lot of hiking, they miss most of them. If it’s not too hot and you are up to it, you can trek the whole valley in about 3 hours. Then, on your way back to town, you can hit up the Selçuk Caravansaray to get an idea of what it was like when trade caravans would regularly plow through the region and stop here for the night.
The last major sight of Cappadoccia is Üçhisar, a large tower of sandstone that was converted into a fortress by the inhabitants of the region. They literally carved their way into the rock, making stairs and rooms, and turned it into a large fortress with commanding views of the whole region. The views from the top are undoubtedly one of the highlights. Unfortunately, it’s also popular with the tourists, and therefore the entrance is flooded with numerous touts.
Capadoccia, despite the hordes of tourists, is one of the highlights of any trip to Turkey. It is a region and site unique to Turkey, and something that you’ll be hard pressed to find anywhere else. Two days should be enough to give you a good feel for the area, although with an abundance of great accommodation, you may want to stay longer.