Hi travellers!
You might have noticed on my Instagram that I went to a place called Cappadocia, located in central Turkey. Yes, it’s an Instaplace indeed but it also has a rich and extremely interesting history. I went there to “test” and shoot some pictures of the new winter collection of my favorite brand Peak Performance, and on this occasion I experienced so many incredible things which I would like to share with you.
I spent three days here in total, but I think one extra day might have been good because I didn’t get to see all the places I wanted. Cappadocia is HUGE! I was surprised how large this place was, so don’t underestimate the size of it when you decide to visit it too! 🙂 Turkish Airlines fly directly from Istanbul, so from Prague you can get here in a few hours.
And why is this place so special? With its natural chimneys and rock formations of all shapes Cappadocia is a part of the UNESCO list. These chimneys are hollow because in the past the Romans used to build their homes right in the rocks. That is why even today, most of the hotels are built directly into the rock too. If you come here, I recommend choosing a hotel that carries “cave” in its name, because it’s a real life experience.
The second thing worth mentioning are hot air balloons. It really isn’t Photoshop. Every morning there is up to 150 balloons taking off. It looks great, both from the balloon and from some hill (or your hotel balcony). But it has one disadvantage – you have to get up for the sunrise because all the balloons take off when it’s still dark because of the wind and the sun.
The weather is also important. I have always considered Turkey as subtropical, where even if you go in the winter, you wouldn’t need a jacket. This doesn’t apply to central Turkey, which lies at a relatively high altitude. By the end of November, we got about 6 degrees Celsius during the day and about -8 degrees at night & some snow.
If you come here and have a bit of time, I would recommend you a horseback riding trip. I did do that and it was absolutely fantastic. As an advanced rider, I was a little bit afraid that it was gonna be an hour of walking in a row of horses but eventually we got to gallop several times between the rock formations and we even stopped for the pictures, which was great.
People are incredibly nice and helpful, so I wouldn’t even be afraid to go alone. The highlight was definitely the Lover’s Valley and the Devrent Valley; on the contrary, I was a little disappointed with the village & nature museum Göreme, where you have to pay the entrance fee and then you walk along paved paths around the chimneys. On the other hand, you get to see these caves from the inside and therefore how people lived before.
Definitely, I don’t recommend Cappadocia for people who love dogs and they don’t have one, because there is about a million homeless dogs and every time this cute little thing comes to you, you don’t want to let it go and you wanna bring it home. But be careful, only one can usually fit in your suitcase, haha:)
Enjoy!
E.
