Goreme

Address: Cappadocia, Turkey

ATTRACTION Keywords:
Cultural Experience, Good Views / Viewpoint, Sunrise / Sunset, Tip - What to See & Do, UNESCO Heritage Site, Town / City

3:56 AM Thursday, May 23
Passing clouds. Cool.
7 day forecast

It’s one of the strangest landscapes you’ll ever see: the cliffs and valleys and fairy chimneys of Göreme National Park in Cappadocia. Wind and water erosion scoured out this land of soft volcanic ash (tufa) leaving this extraordinary place of valleys and pillars, some of which rise to 130 feet (40m).

The earliest settlers were Christian exiles in Roman times and they carved churches into the rock, along with houses and tombs. In the Middle Ages Göreme became an important religious center with monasteries, churches and chapels; many of which have impressive Byzantine religious wall paintings. Some of the most important are Basil Kilise (St Basil’s Church), Elmali Kilise (Apple Church), and the richly decorated Tokali Kilise (Buckle Church), which is the oldest. The best-preserved and recently restored frescoes can be found in the Karanlık Kilise (Dark Church).

The town of Göreme itself is the center of this UNESCO World Heritage site and only a 15 minute walk from the Göreme Open Air Museum (1 mile/1.5 km), which is open every day but it’s wise to go early during summer months, before the heat hits. Some people in Göreme still live in cave houses and many have been turned into hotels.

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All Goreme Reviews

Review by Blanca, United Kingdom, September 2012
Doing what: 2-Day Cappadocia Trip from Kayseri

I really enjoyed this trip, it was absolutely amazing! Our guide was great, he was very knowledgeable and at the same time very nice and entertaining. After Istanbul, we loved being out in the nature and doing an easy hike in the Rose Valley. The natural formations we saw on this trip were absolutely amazing! We loved the fairy chimneys, the underground cities and the Goreme open air museum. Also really enjoyed being in a small group. I would definitely recommend this tour!

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Review by Paul C, USA, September 2012
Doing what: 2-Day Cappadocia Trip from Kayseri

Amazing!!! Mother nature was hard at work in this part of the world!! Tour guide was excellent and everything was seamless. DEFINTELY TAKE A HOT AIR BALLOON RIDE!!!! Phenominal experience!

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Review by Blanca G, Spain, August 2012
Doing what: 2-Day Cappadocia Trip from Kayseri

I have to admit I was not really sure what to expect of this tour. We hired a 2 day tour to see the main highlights of Cappadocia, of which I was mostly looking forward to the fairy chimneys. We landed from Istanbul the morning the tour began, and kicked off the day with a easy hike along the Rose Valley. After spending a few days in all the hustle and bustle of Istanbul I was so grateful to find a bit of quiet, admire the rock formations and listen to our guide explaining how the area originated and enjoy a quick stop for tea. Lunch involved a typical place in Avanos, overlooking the river. After refuelling we were taken to see one of the Christian underground cities in the area. It was amazing how much they had excavated into the rock and being able to explore it. On the second day we visited the Goreme Open Air museum. Our guide was very knowledgeable and explained quite a few of the buildings and the frescos in the churches built by the Christians. This was just as beautiful as the fairy chimneys we went to see in the afternoon before finishing our visit. All in all, I greatly recommend this tour. When we went (early june) there were a few tour buses but felt quite laid back, and the group we were in was small and the guide very friendly. I wish I could have stayed one or two days more to relax a bit and enjoy the area, but I think I got a good overall impression.

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