Great Journey into the Heart of Cappadocia

What to Expect

• 'Three Beauties', and other fairy chimneys, are rock formations shaped by millennia of erosion
• The town of Urgup. Hear the history of the town: its struggles with the Mongols and its place in other empires
• The town of Mustafapasa (formerly the Greek village of Sinasos) 6 km from Urgup. This area boasts a variety of buildings from mosques to churches, stone houses to madrasahs, monasteries to mansions. See structures from the Byzantine, Ottoman, and early Republic periods
• The Church of Constantine and Helen at the central bazaar of Mustafapasa. Discover the sultans who commissioned and adorned it, and its significance to the Greek inhabitants
• The Keslik Monastery - delve into the monastery's layout and its saints
• The ancient city of Sobessos in the village of Sahinefendi. Learn about the excavation of ruins in this old village, why scholars dismissed the idea of it being the capital of Cappadocia, and its name in the Roman period
• The Soganli Valley. Explore rock formations used as dovecotes, caves, shelters, and monasteries. Study Roman-era churches, including the famous St. Barbara, Karabash, Dome, and Snake churches
• The underground ceramics workshop in Avanos. Pottery, an ancient craft dating back to the Hittites, has thrived in the region due to the artistic talent of the locals and natural conditions. Learn about the fertile soil, the history of the underground workshop, and the various civilizations that utilized it