Goreme travel tips in Cappadocia

If you holiday in Turkey, make sure you travel east from Istanbul to Goreme in the Cappadocia region where past civilizations have carved cities into the caves of the Anatolian plateau.

Your holiday in the Goreme district can include accommodation in a hotel built into a cave system. There are various such hotels and it’s easy to find tariffs below 120 lire per night (2011).

Turkey travel tip: a powerful 7.2 earthquake struck south-east Turkey on 24 October, 2011, with hundreds dead and many more missing. Dozens of buildings were destroyed near the earthquake centre in the city of Van and the town of Ercis, close to the Iranian border. As many as 1,000 are feared dead and emergency teams have flooded the area. Tourists are advised to avoid the affected region.

Goreme travel and accommodation tips

The Cappadocia region, which was once one of the great centres of Christian learning, has a bizarre landscape of strange geological structures.

Goreme is the most popular town for tourists to seek hotels and other holiday accommodation, partly because of its proximity to important museums and historic sights and partly because it’s fairly cheap. This is backpacker territory.

Goreme was once one of the great centres of Christian learning and the birthplace of St George of Cappadocia - the famous patron saint of England.

The Open Air Museum just a 15 minute walk from the centre of Goreme looks like two hills dotted with cave dwellngs but inside these caves is a collection of medieval churches and religious buildings with World Heritage listing.

Just a few thousand people live in Goreme, which has many 16th and 17th century Greek Orthodox churches and what’s claimed to be the world’s first lunatic asylum (a monastery).

Goreme is a very popular town for backpackers because of its strategic location and comparatively cheap prices for holiday accommodation and food.

Sights worth seeing during your travel around Goreme include the phallic fairy chimneys of Love Valley, the Dark Church, the underground city of Derinkuyu, the Ilhara Gorge and Selime Cathedral.

Other prominent towns in the Cappadocia region are Urgup and Avanos, which offer some holiday travel necessities such as banking.

Urgup is the regional home for most of the mass-market hotel accommodation. However, tour operators hover like vultures over disorganised tourists.

Urgup has seen holiday development over the past decade aimed squarely at the tourist dollar.

Importantly, Urgup offers services such as banks which are otherwise scarce if your holiday involves travel through the Cappadocia region.

Uchisar is a small town with little tourist infrastructure but holiday accommodation such as hostels is available. The laid-back character of the settlement is a drawcard for travellers who don’t want to be surrounded by too many other tourists.

One of the most spectacular sights to be enjoyed during your Turkey holiday travel is at Uchisar, where a tall rock outcrop called Kale (better known as Castle Mountain) is riddled with tunnels and windows.

Kale is visible from kilometres around and boasts scenic views of the unique surrounding Cappadocia countryside.

The main regional bus hub for the Cappadocia district is at Nevsehir, south-west of Goreme.