Turkey’s Cappadocia region is a treasure trove of sites and activities. With so much to explore it can be hard to squeeze it all in if your itinerary only allows for a few days in the area. Enter the Green Tour, Red Tour, and Blue Tour, which take groups to key highlights in the area in just a day. These … Read More
Hotel Review: Kelebek Hotel in Goreme, Turkey
One of the things that draws thousands of visitors every year to Cappadocia in central Turkey is the prospect of staying a “cave hotel.” These wind-carved structures have been hollowed out and lived in for centuries, and with the uptick in tourism, many are being converted into hotels. On our second trip to Cappadocia we stayed at Kelebek Hotel in … Read More
12 Amazing Experiences in Cappadocia
We can’t say enough good about the Anatolian region of Cappadocia in Turkey, so we thought we’d share some of our favorite moments and must-dos from our two visits to the town of Göreme: 1. Take an epic hot air balloon ride. There’s no better way to see this volcanic and wind-eroded landscape than from the air! Enjoy the sunrise … Read More
Goreme’s Dark Church and Open Air Museum
Göreme’s Open Air Museum should be your first stop in Cappadocia (after a sunrise hot air balloon ride, of course). This monastic community complex is the best preserved example of the many Byzantine rock-cut churches that cover the region, and is a Unesco World Heritage site. The site encompasses 11 chapels and refectories all from the 10th–12th centuries. Expect to spend … Read More
A Self-Guided Hike to the Hidden Byzantine Churches of Cappadocia
I got a taste of the hidden churches of the Cappadocia region on our first visit to Turkey in 2013 when we visited the Göreme Open Air Museum and the Selime Monastery. We returned the next year on a self-guided mission of Byzantine discovery, hiking the valleys for two days, admiring the surreal landscape and wandering into dozens of seventeen-hundred-year-old churches. Kapadokya … Read More
Soaring Over Cappadocia in an Epic Balloon Ride
A hot air balloon ride was on my 30×30 list, and Goreme was the perfect place to check it off. Hundreds of balloons take off nearly every day here, taking tourists on an unforgettable sunrise trip over the surreal fairy chimney landscape. Our host at Nostalji Cave Suites arranged our ride with Voyager Balloons. And when we returned to Goreme with my … Read More
Hotel Review: Nostalji Cave Suites, Goreme
I’ll never forget seeing photos as a kid of these crazy cave houses in Turkey. I thought there could not be a more distant, exotic place, and I never imagined I could one day visit them, much less stay the night in one! The landscape of Goreme is made of a very soft rock which has been artfully formed by centuries of … Read More
iPhone Photography Awards Honorable Mention!
The iPhone Photography Awards recently announced their 2015 winners and this photo I snapped in Cappadocia received an honorable mention in the Panorama category! This photo was taken about 6am in Goreme, Turkey from the balcony of Nostalji Cave Suit Hotel. I remember welcoming those morning calls to prayer from the nearby mosque, because I wanted to wake up early … Read More