Türkiye: Day 2 in Cappadocia - Hot air balloons and green tour

I feel activities in Cappadocia are very early morning based - getting on a hot air balloon or viewing hot air balloons. I landed in Kayseri Airport at 2ish am, my call time for hot air ballon was at 5:20am and I also woke up on my 3rd day at around 6am to view hot air balloons. 

Call time for hot air balloons varies depending on sunrise. My pick up time was at 5:20am. After being picked up from the hotel, I was brought to the front of their shop to wait for fly/no fly decision. In the meantime, we were given a breakfast pack. Breakfast pack included a tetrapack drink, a water bottle, a bun and a couple of snacks like nuts and pretzels. 

When they got the decision, the driver brought us to the hot air balloon starting point. 

As mentioned previously, I booked this via the hotel. The hot air balloon company I was with was Air Kapadokya. It was a classic sunrise flight of maximum 24 people. In my compartment was a solo male traveller, a couple, 2 friends from Korea and me. There were 4 compartments in total. Our flight went on for a total of 1 hour 5 minutes. We pretty much have to climb into the basket, it wasn't hard and there were many people there who would give you a hand if you need help. I was second closest to the burner. The pilot gave us a briefing on landing position of crouching down facing inside of the basket before the balloon took off. 

It was slow so it wasn't scary to me. Plus I'm short so the probability of me falling off the basket is small. My fear is more of quick moving in the air thing like roller coater rides or any free drop rides for the matter. I guess I dont have fear of heights but more fear of falling. 

Flight started off before sunrise, the pilot brought us low to the valley and passed Devrent Valley (or also known as Imaginary Valley) which I didn't get to the day before. 

We waited for sunrise on the hot air balloon. Thankful for a good weather day for being able to fit in a hot air balloon ride. I wanted to do hot air balloon in Cappadocia even though I well aware that many other places also offer hot air balloon rides. 

Featuring background of Uçhisar Castle that I also didn't go

There were a lot of coordination work to land the hot air balloon. I could see a truck 'chasing' our hot air balloon as the pilot were looking for a place to land. On descending, the balloon basket hit some branches and the pilot very casually said, "No problem" and proceeded to pull out the branch that was stuck at the basket. We landed successfully and the ground staffs coordinated our climbing out of the basket. We had a round of champagne drink and were handed our 'flight certificate' before the driver sent us back to our respective hotels. 

I had breakfast again in the hotel and waited for my green tour pick up at about 9:30 am. I decided to do the Green Tour as the places covered in this tour were further away. 

Yeşil Tur / Green Tour

I paid TL 815 for this tour which included lunch and paid in cash directly to the tour company. I was picked up at about 9:30 am and brought to their office for payment before our first tour stop. The tour ended around 6ish pm and covered Göreme Panorama, Derinkuyu Underground City, Selime Cathedral, Ihlara Canyon, Pigeon Valley and Onyx Art Factory.  

Göreme Panorama

We were brought to a viewpoint to see Göreme while the guide briefed us some information around Cappadocia and Göreme. 

Derinkuyu Underground City

Derinkuyu Underground City is the biggest and deepest underground city in Cappadocia and visitors can descent down seven levels and could look up the ventilation shaft to see how far down one is. Many sections are open for visits including stalls, storages, church, kitchen and other sections. It was underground and a stop for many tour groups making this place fairly crowded. We were behind this Korean speaking tour group and continued to see them along our tour! I could even recognise the Korean speaking tour guide because we bumped into them so often and of course all the tour guides are friends. 

Selime Cathedral

Selime Cathedral is the largest and most elaborate rock-cut complex in Cappadocia. This religious structure was believed to be built in the 900s and covers an enormous kitchen, halls, church and courtyards. 

Ihlara Valley

Ihlara Canyon is about 14 km and contains more than 100 churches and approximately 10,000 caves which were carved by early Christian monks. It is hemmed in by jagged cliffs and follows the Melendiz River. 

The photo above was taken outside Selime Cathedral but we didn't walk the whole length. The tour I went with took a lunch break after visiting Selime Cathedral before walking a short stretch of Ihlara Canyon. We passed a pistachio tree and visited the Ağaçaltı Church. 

Ağaçaltı Church features beautiful, vibrant pictures with an towering central dome. This cave church at the base of Ihlara's main entrance was built around 800AD. 

Pistachio tree

Ihlara Valley

Central dome of Ağaçaltı Church

I was walking next to the tour guide when we were at Ihlara Valley and found out that the owner of dondurma place near where I stayed was a tour guide in Türkiye and they are friends. What a small world! The tour guide caught me sleeping in the bus, probably that was why he was chatting with me to keep me awake. We also saw the same Korean speaking tour group here!

We had another break when we got to this resting place, which I think is where it marked as Belisırma. 

Güvercinlik Vadisi / Pigeon Valley

It was drizzling when we got back to Uçhisar area so the tour guide suggested that we visit the Onyx Art Factory first. I walked one round and waited outside, luckily rain has stopped then. The pigeon valley viewpoint we were going were just at the opposite. There was also an evil eye tree there. 

Güvercinlik Vadisi runs between Göreme and Uçhisar. It is named after the many pigeon houses which were carved into the soft rock of the adjacent hills. 

And that was the last stop with Green Tour. 

Side note: Melbourne and it's extreme pollen day :|

Türkiye: Day 1 in Cappadocia - Göreme Open Air Museum, Çavuşin, Paşabağı and Love Valley

Getting to Kayra Cave Suites

I landed in Kayseri Airport at about 2:45am. I chose not to check in my luggage in case it takes too long to be out and of course, I travelled light enough to have this option. I prebooked a pickup shuttle via getyourguide from the airport to hotel. Unfortunately most shuttle companies end their service by midnight but I managed to find one. However, because it was a shuttle service, we would need to wait for everybody in the same shuttle before departure. It took about an hour or so from the airport to Göreme. By the time I got to the hotel, it was around 4:45 am. 

I walked towards the hotel and the door was closed. There were lights but I didn't see anyone initially. I tried to push open the door but it was quite tight. Then I noticed someone sleeping at the couch. I wasn't sure how long I need to wait if I didn't wake him up so I knocked on the door softly because I also didn't want him to wake up in a shock. 

He woke up not long after I knocked and check-in was fast and painless. He told me later that he made it fast, I must've looked very tired. Oops. He also told me that his alarm was set at 5am anyway for hot air balloons pick ups! I felt less guilty in waking him up. 

I know it is comparing apples and oranges and they are not like for like but this was my favourite stay in Türkiye. I enjoyed conversations with the staffs in the hotel, they were friendly and not imposing. It was comfortable and not once I felt that I was making an effort to engage in a conversation. 

My room in Kayra Cave Suites

Things to do 

I'm sure if your mode of transportation is driving or you are not doing any long walks in the valleys or keep on making a wrong turn like me, you would be able to cover more grounds. I didn't book for the hot air balloon on my first day under advice of the hotel owner, Ali, in case of any delay in arrival. A sound advice, I didn't expect it took about 2 hours to arrive at the hotel. 

First breakfast in Türkiye. Not pictured was egg to order - I had fried egg for day 1. 

In the gist, I walked to some attractions included in the Red Tour on day 1, signed up for the Green Tour on day 2 plus hot air balloon and visited another one on day 3. 

Day 1 - a somewhat Red Tour

The famous Red Tour (if you sign up to one) includes Uçhisar Castle, Göreme Open Air Museum, Çavuşin, Avanos, Paşabağ, Devrent Valley. 

I set the alarm for breakfast so I got a couple of shuteye and decided not to sleep the day away. On day 1, I did Göreme Open Air Museum, Çavuşin, Paşabağı and Love Valley. Decision was mostly based on geographically concentration rather than any clever logic. Note that I went to Paşabağı and walked passed Paşabağ but did not hike within it because I thought they were the same when I was there! Such a noob but Paşabağı was beautiful. 

Göreme Open Air Museum

This is a Unesco World Heritage site which houses cluster of monastic Byzantine artistry with cave-cut churches, chapels and monasteries. The open air museum was about 1.5km walk from the village center and entrance ticket was TL150 at the time of my visit. This was the most crowded site I visited in Cappadocia. 

Çavuşin

Leaving Göreme Open Air Museum, I walked to Paşabağı via Çavuşin. View was amazing but it was warm and I did feel like I walked for a long time and met 2 other couples walking, one in front of me and turned into Paşabağ which I didn't realise at that time and another walked in the opposite direction. Midway walking, someone riding on ATV slowed down and offered me a ride to Çavuşin. I declined, said my thank-yous and continued walking. 

After a long while, I reached Çavuşin which sits in between Göreme and Avanos. In the main valley area, unmissable is a cliff where a cluster of abandoned houses were carved into. 

Paşabağı (Monks Valley)

Paşabağı was in between Çavuşin and Avanos, and situated halfway along the road to Zelve. According to myth, Paşabağı was named so due to a monk who retired to this valley to retire and live a spiritual lifestyle. He lived at the top of a high column. 

It was another 30 minutes walk to Paşabağı from Çavuşin according to Google maps but probably took me longer due to hot weather and short legs. It is said to be part of tour group route and would be busy. I did not meet anyone in the valley when I was there, but I started late so I was there past noon and I could be also entering from a different entrance. 

I initially plan to continue to walk to Devrent Valley but it was still a trek there and I could only fit in another place. So I picked a place closer to Göreme and made my walk towards Love Valley. 

Love Valley

By this time I was running low of sustenance, particularly water. I popped in one of the shops by the road side to pick up water. The person who attended to me offered to bring me on a ATV ride to see sunset at Love Valley which I politely declined. Then he gave me a bottle of water for free. I tried to pay for the water but he didn't want it. It was my first day in Türkiye, my thoughts were - Cappadocia is a touristy town and Turkish are friendly and generous but skeptical part of me think that there is no free lunch. 

The walk to Love Valley were scenic, as like the rest of the valleys really. I was walking towards Love Valley viewpoint. As all viewpoints are, the walk was going uphill and there were a remarkable number of ATV tour groups passed by me. One of the guide stopped and offered me a ride to the Love Valley. I was sorely tempted this time. It was getting to evening time and I was making my way to the Love Valley viewpoint and the road were steep uphill. By this time I already clocked 30,000 steps at least. According to my fitbit, I hit 40,991 steps and walked 25.77 km on that day.  

However, cautious brain took over and I didn't think the offer extend to bringing me back to Göreme so I also declined this kind offer. The number of times I had to stop walking and step aside were growing. There really were a lot of ATV tour groups heading to Love Valley viewpoint for sunset. I changed my mind and walked towards the opposite direction from the viewpoint to head back to Göreme. 

Then I saw a sign that indicate Love Valley. It was going in to the valley itself and not the viewpoint. I saw someone on a horseback with his guide. Since it was along the way, so I walked into the valley. This was how I ended up walking so much. 

I thought I could walk back to Göreme if I was walking towards a similar direction instead of backtracking my steps but I was so wrong. Connection wasn't available in the middle of the valley. The sun has somewhat set and I wanted to leave the valley before it gets dark. 

What I see when walking within Love Valley

After walking for awhile and I was still in the valley, I saw a few women picking grapes within the Love Valley. I stopped to ask for direction which pretty much just me uttering the word, "Göreme?" and point. They pointed to the opposite direction and said, "Göreme" and the direction I pointed as "Uchisar". Then they offered me the grapes they plucked. 

On speaking with the hotel staff after, she told me Turkish are brought up to always share food. So they saved me from walking to a different town and also offered me food. Shame on me for being skeptical. 

See how wrong I was...

Powered by some grapes, I retraced my steps, little legs worked hard and I was out of the valley before it gets dark. The valley was beautiful at dusk.

I was going to lump all 3 days of Cappadocia in the same post but this was getting too long this was day 1. 

Side note: :( 

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/11/14/turkish-police-arrest-suspect-in-istiklal-bombing

Türkiye: Random things to consider when planning a trip to Türkiye

1915 Çanakkale Bridge from a bus

ATM fees

I had a 6 hours layover between landing in Istanbul Aiport to my domestic flight to Kayseri. I initially booked a flight at 21:40 (on 30th September) giving me a 3+ hours gap but the flight was cancelled. I was rebooked on the next flight, which unfortunately scheduled at 01:25 (on 1st October) so I spent a lot of time in Istanbul Airport, specifically the domestic departure. There was a row of 6 ATM machines and I tried all to check which bank I should use to withdraw cash. 

From tripadvisor, last update 28/09/2022 and this website, last update 04/2022 - the banks that doesn't charge a fee are PTT, Halkbank, ING Bank, Şekerbank, Fibabanka, Ziraat Bankası. 

Of the ones in the list, I've only used ING bank. PTT are mostly outside of Turkish Post but I've not used. 

Price references online versus in Türkiye

I find the price gap between the reference I found online versus the actual price when I was in Türkiye are very different. I don't know if it was covid-19, inflation, time when website was updated versus time of my visit (early October 2022) or because I have very poor haggling skills but it was across many things, or all the above - entrance fees, hot air balloons, sim cards, food.

According to this website, in 2022, it is expected to be €140-190 per person in March, €170-200 per person between 01 April - 31 August, and €190-240 per person between September and October. I am still perplexed as to why it is most expensive in September and October as October is said to be shoulder season. Haha. I have must lost the plot. 

I paid €230 for a 60 minutes flight time hot air balloon with maximum 24 people. Breakfast, pick up, landing party with drinks are the norm across all. Post my travel, I think the price should be closer to €200. I booked via the hotel and was with Air Kapadokya Balloons. On hindsight, it is easy to make a booking online by ownself, especially after flight that I learned the more famous companies are Butterfly Balloons and Royal Balloons. 

Sim card

I found from here that Turkcell provides a Tourist Welcome Pack for 149 TL (~AUD 12), which includes 20 GB and 200 calling minutes, and valid for 30 days. This website was last updated in 2020. Turkcell's webpage mentioned that,

As of 08.09.2022, the recommended price of the Tourist Welcome Pack introduction kit has been revised as 349.00 TL. In addition to the opening taxes, 20 TL Radio Usage Fee will be charged to our customers who buy a line with the Tourist Welcome Pack. In addition, the one-time Service Fee at the time of opening will be 151.25 TL.

However, when I walked into a Turkcell outlet in Istanbul Airport on 1st October 2022, I was told the Tourist Welcome Pack cost 600 TL (if my memory doesn't fail me). I remember reading somewhere that sometimes Turkcell outlet in the airport could be more expensive compared to outlets outside of airport. One of a traveller I met told me that she was quoted an even higher price when she walked into a shop in Göreme.

I feel 600 TL (~AUD 48) is a little steep and asked if there is any cheaper plans. The staff whom I spoke to quoted me a 10 GB plan for 480 TL (~AUD 38.50) with validity of 30 days. Still not cheap and a less attractive package definitely. I didn't need the calling minutes and I could manage with 10 GB for 17 days, so I took this. 

Buses

Long distance buses are probably the only one where the fare is consistent with what I found before visiting Türkiye. Obilet.com is the website to look up buses schedule. I found this when I was researching for buses in Türkiye, and this same website was given to me by the hotel staff when I was in Göreme. 

One of the traveller I met during my trip said his attempt to get a ticket from the website was unsuccessful due to card issue but I've not tried. My usage was contained to looking up the schedule and decide which bus I want. I then bought a ticket from the bus station whenever I arrived at the city/town. 

Passport was needed when purchasing a ticket and I was also asked for mobile number. I was told in case of any changes to the bus timing, etc but they usually forgo it when I said I dont have calling minutes on my card. Knowing the word 'otogar' (bus station) goes a long way too :)

Long distance buses were comfortable and some served drinks and snack. I played Candy Crush on one of my rides. Most commuters didn't wear a mask but I usually donned one on public transports. ID checks were very common on buses, we were stopped 3 times on the bus from Denizli to Bodrum (about 4.5 hours).

All the toilets in bus stations charge a fee for entry, ranging from 2-5 TL except one that I don't know where because it was a stop in between Cappadocia to Pamukkale. The 5 TL (~AUD 0.40) one was in Bodrum bus station. 

Public buses that connects Bodrum bus station to central takes credit card. So you tap on using a credit card, and it costs 5 TL (~AUD 0.40).

Water

I used tap water for brushing teeth, etc but only drank bottled water or boiled water. What I didn't expect is that kettle isn't a norm in most accommodations that I stayed in. Only 2 of the accommodations provided a kettle and the ones that provided a kettle also gave complimentary bottled water. Cheapest 1.5L I got was from a supermarket, expectedly, at TL 3 (~AUD 0.25)

Taxis

I don't know how it turned out that I was mostly on public buses or I walked. I only got on a taxi in 4 occasions. Twice the hotel called a cab on my behalf, and twice I approached a taxi driver in a bus station. All 4 times they used the meter voluntarily. I did round up when I paid but the differences were negligable. 

Weather

I opted to travel in October as it was said to be the shoulder season. I was hoping it would be less warm by then but not yet hitting the rainy months. There was only 1 day of rain but it went on/off for the whole day. 

Side note: The only association the photo has with this post is that it was taken from a bus :D