Ortahisar (day 10)

Our first full day in Cappadocia, in Ortahisar, started as always with breakfast and preparing sandwiches for lunch. After breakfast, we drove to Sword Valley to enjoy the views, where we came across a flock of turkeys (in Turkey!). From there, we continued to Love Valley, which offered an even more spectacular panorama of the valley filled with countless rock pillars made of tuff stone and basalt.

Next, we drove to Avanos, where we had coffee at a café that was part of a hotel. After coffee, we strolled through the village, which is famous for its pottery, and bought some souvenirs. We then drove on to Çavuşin, where we first had lunch on a bench under a tree in the shade, overlooking the ancient cave houses and a large cave church. After finishing our sandwiches, we walked uphill to visit these cave houses and -church and explored the area for a while before heading back to the car to return to the apartment. Back at the apartment, we relaxed for a bit, and I took a short siesta. After a 45-minute nap, we got back in the car and drove to Mustafapaşa. There, we saw more ancient cave houses and eventually had dinner at a local restaurant. On the way back to the apartment, we made one final stop at a viewpoint over the valley, where we admired the unique pillars and rock formations in the last light of the day. Tomorrow we’ll be getting up early to watch the famous hot-air balloons floating across the sky at sunrise, a spectacular sight to look forward to!

Day 9

Travel overview

Day 11