Cappadocia

Cappadocia is on the high central Anatolian plateau, a long day's drive from any sea, and nobody comes here to swim. Bathing means a hotel pool, and in the cave-hotel villages of Göreme, Uçhisar and Ürgüp many places have none, since they are cut into the rock. The Kızılırmak river runs through Avanos but it is for looking at, not swimming in. If you want sea time as well, pair the region with a separate stay on the Mediterranean or Aegean coast.

Food here is Anatolian village cooking: clay-pot testi kebab cracked open at the table, lentil soups, stuffed vine leaves, gözleme made by women at roadside stalls, and dried apricots and grape molasses from the valleys. The volcanic soil has grown vines since antiquity, and the wineries around Ürgüp and Mustafapaşa make whites from local grapes such as emir that are worth tasting at source.

The richest eating is in Kayseri, about an hour away, the home of spiced pastırma and tiny mantı dumplings. In Göreme itself the choice is limited and aimed at tour groups, so Ürgüp, with its terrace restaurants and wine bars, is the better base for anyone who cares about dinner.

This is a landscape that people lived inside for two thousand years. Byzantine monks carved hundreds of churches and monasteries into the soft tuff, and the Göreme Open Air Museum gathers the finest, with frescoed chapels such as the Dark Church whose colours survived because light barely reaches them. Beyond it lie the Ihlara Valley with its painted churches along a gorge, the cathedral-like rock monastery at Selime, and the quieter chapels of Soğanlı.

Underground, Derinkuyu and Kaymaklı descend eight levels with rolling stone doors, ventilation shafts and stables. Above ground there are the rock castles of Uçhisar and Ortahisar, the Greek mansions of Mustafapaşa, and the Seljuk mosques and tombs of Kayseri. What is missing is a museum of real stature.

Evenings in Cappadocia are short. Days start before sunrise for the balloons, so most visitors have dinner, watch the valleys darken from a terrace and go to bed. Göreme has a few restaurant bars and Ürgüp a handful of wine bars and hotel terraces, but there are no clubs and almost nothing open late. Kayseri is a large but conservative city that adds little.

The landscape is the reason to come: valleys of pink, cream and ochre tuff eroded into cones, pinnacles and wave-shaped ridges, with pigeon houses and orchards tucked into the folds. The Rose, Red, Love, Pigeon and Zemi valleys around Göreme and Uçhisar make easy, unmarked half-day walks, and the Ihlara gorge offers a longer, greener hike beside a river. At dawn hundreds of hot-air balloons rise over the valleys, the region's signature experience when the wind allows.

Horse riding and quad tours follow the ridges at sunset. Spring and autumn are the best seasons to walk, as summer is hot and dusty. In winter the valleys often lie under snow, and the extinct volcano of Erciyes above Kayseri has skiing.

Once the valleys and underground cities are done, the outings are mostly to other towns. Ürgüp, Avanos and Mustafapaşa each make a different half day, and Kayseri, about an hour away, has a Seljuk old core, a covered bazaar and its own food. Westwards, the great Seljuk caravanserai at Sultanhanı lies on the old road to Konya, and the white crust of Tuz Gölü, the vast salt lake, can be added to the same drive. Hacıbektaş, a pilgrimage town of the Bektashi order, and the Gümüşler monastery near Niğde complete the realistic list. Konya itself is just too far for a comfortable day.

Older children tend to love Cappadocia: crawling through the tunnels of an underground city, sleeping in a cave room, trying a pottery wheel in Avanos or riding a horse through the valleys. Little is made for them, though. Balloon operators set minimum ages, the valley paths have unguarded drops and loose ground, and summer afternoons are hot with little shade. The towns are small, safe and welcoming to children, but toddlers and anyone needing pushchair-friendly ground will find it hard work.

The villages themselves are small and easy on foot, and Göreme, Uçhisar and Çavuşin are linked by valley footpaths. Beyond them the main sights are spread out. Minibuses run between Nevşehir, Göreme, Avanos and Ürgüp, but reaching Ihlara, Soğanlı or the underground cities realistically means a guided day tour or a hire car. The roads are quiet and in good condition, so driving is straightforward. Flights land at Kayseri and Nevşehir, each about an hour from Göreme by transfer.

Shopping here means crafts. Avanos has made red-clay pottery from Kızılırmak mud for centuries, and its workshops sell everything from plain jugs to painted plates. Carpet and kilim dealers fill the villages, with real pieces among the tourist stock, plus onyx carvings and dried fruit. Beyond that it is souvenir stalls of fairy-chimney trinkets and evil-eye beads, and Kayseri's covered bazaar for everyday Anatolian goods.

Day-to-day costs are moderate. Simple pensions, village meals, minibuses and the museum sites are reasonable, especially in Avanos and the quieter villages. Costs climb with what most visitors come for: the boutique cave hotels of Göreme and Uçhisar charge international rates, and a balloon flight is one of the most expensive single outings in Türkiye. Guided day tours and hire cars add up too. Rooms are cheapest in winter, while spring and autumn are the most expensive seasons.

Live performance is limited to what is staged for visitors. Whirling dervish Sema ceremonies are held in a restored Seljuk caravanserai near Avanos, and they are serious and moving rather than a show. There are also Turkish folk-dance dinner evenings. Kayseri has a state theatre, but nobody plans a trip around it.

Cappadocia's restorative side is its pace. The villages are silent at night, the cave rooms stay cool in summer, and much of a stay is spent on terraces above the valleys. Many of the better cave hotels have small hammams and spas carved into the rock. There is no public bathing culture to speak of, though: the thermal town of Kozaklı, about an hour and a half north, is mainly used by Turkish families. Expect calm rather than a spa vacation, with the caveat that balloon mornings mean early starts.