Walking, Trekking, Ballooning, Rafting, Jeep, Bird Watching, Skiing Tours

Archaeology Tours

 "Experience the harmony and diversity from 10,000 years of civilizations"

If you're interested in archaeology, these places combine the opportunity of seeing the most important Central Anatolian archaeological sites with experiencing the unspoilt Asian atmosphere of Turkey. This is an example of 7 days in central Turkey around Cappadocia which could start in either Kayseri or Ankara, both of which have airports. Alternatively the Hittite sites are often combined with a transfer from Ankara to Cappadocia, Catalhoyuk is often combined with a trip to Konya from Cappadocia, and sites around Nigde and Kayseri are sometimes visited from Cappadocia. For more information on Cappadocia, see  Explore Cappadocia.

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Kayseri

Kayseri, known to the Phrygians as Mazaka, to the Romans as Caeseria (in honor of the Emperor Tiberius) and to the Arabs as Kayseriye, has a strong-looking 6th century Byzantine fortress built from huge blocks of black volcanic rock, now housing a permanent market in the town centre. It is the Seljuk architecture, however, which dominates the town with its numerous mosques and tombs. For example, the medrese (madrasa or theological school) of the first ever Seljuk complex, the Hunat Hatun Complex, now houses an Ethnography Museum, and the first Seljuk school of anatomy is here, too, the surgery being well worth a visit. Kayseri's archaeological museum is small but satisfying, and is particularly famous for its local Hittite finds, items from Kultepe, Hellenistic and Roman jewellery, and Roman mummies.

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Caravanserais

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Kultepe / Kanesh

Kultepe's greatest contribution to history is the 300 or so Assyrian cuneiform clay tablets found at the Karum, which included a divorce document and the freedom paper of a slave as well as numerous trade agreements. Excavations have been carried out for the last 100 years and are still ongoing.

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Hattusha

The 25,000 or so clay cuneiform tablets uncovered during excavations here by archaeologists are on UNESCO's Memory of the World Register because of their contribution to our understanding of the Hittites, a people known before only through the odd reference in the Bible and Egyptian texts. They contain prophecies from oracles, details of cult rituals and folklore, as well as legal decisions and historical accounts, and include the world's first written peace treaty, concluded between the Hittites and Ramses II of Egypt after the Battle of Kadesh (1294 BCE).

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Yazilikaya

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Alaca Hoyuk

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Ankara

Although Ankara castle is known to have existed in the 2nd century BCE, the walls seen today were built during Byzantine times with Seljuk and Ottoman additions. Inside the walls are a number of traditional Turkish-style houses, and the view over the city from this advantage point is spectacular.

Various Roman remains can be seen: the Roman baths, erected by Emperor Caracalla, are amazing because of their size, although only the remains of the heating system and service section can be seen today; the Temple of Augustus and Rome, originally converted from a Galatian temple of Cybele and ending its days as a Christian church, is famous for its Greek and Latin inscriptions of the Deeds of the Deified Augustus; and the Column of Julian, made from circular bricks and topped with a Corinthian capital, is assumed to commemorate the visit of the Byzantine emperor Julian the Apostate in 362 CE.

While in Ankara, if there's time, it is worth visiting the Mausoleum of Ataturk to understand better the love Turks have for this man and his reforms.

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Gordion (Gordium)

In the countryside around, there are almost 100 mound-type tombs of royalty and nobles. The Great Tumulus, 53 meters high and 300 meters in diameter, once thought to be that of King Midas is now known to be that of Midas's father, King Gordius. A great feast was held as part of his funeral and people ate a kind of lentil stew with barbecued lamb accompanied by a wine-barley-mead alcoholic beverage. A small museum holds many of the finds.

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Konya

The Mevlana museum, in the original Tekke or Dervish house, holds the tomb of Celaleddin Rumi as well as a splendid collection of artifacts from the time including the 500-year old finest ever silk carpet from Persia. The archaeology museum houses some finds from Çatal Hoyuk, a few Hittite artifacts and a Roman sarcophagus from Pamphylia depicting the Twelve Labors of Hercules.

The Karatay Medrese, a Seljuk school of Islamic studies, is another museum displaying Seljuk ceramics and tiles. The building's dome of stars is particularly famous. In addition, the Seljuk period Alaeddin Mosque is architecturally interesting for the way old Greek and Byzantine columns were used to form a series of arches that match the slope of the hill. The tombs of eight Seljuk sultans, including Alaeddin Keykubad, are here.

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Catalhoyuk

Because there were no rocks in the region, their houses were built of mud bricks, thus founding a building tradition still used by villagers today, except nowadays they add satellite dishes and solar heating panels! For protection, the houses were so tightly packed together that conventional doors and windows were impossible, and they used to enter their houses via a hole in the roof.

They whitewashed their walls every year, and many houses had wall paintings, often similar to Paleolithic cave paintings found in the Dordogne region of France. One of the wall paintings, now in the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations in Ankara, shows a town plan with an erupting volcano behind. This fantastic discovery disproved the geologists who claimed the regions volcanoes had been extinct for millions of years!

No longer nomadic, these Neolithic city dwellers could protect and care for the spirits of their dead: many skeletons were found under the floors of their living rooms! The oldest known cloth in the world, a piece of a shroud, was found here in one of these graves. Religion was important, and many figures of the mother goddess (the earth goddess) were found, too.

At the site you can see a reconstruction of a Neolithic house as well as a small museum with artifacts, replica wall paintings and photos explaining the excavations. But the best thing is visiting one of the excavated houses and actually be in the very place where a Neolithic family sat, talked, ate and slept - they were not very different from us!

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Volcanic Lakes

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Acem Hoyuk

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Asikli Hoyuk

Asikli Hoyuk is most famous, though, for being the place where the earliest confirmed example of trepanation was found. Trepanation is not a brain operation but the removal of a small piece of the skull, possibly to cure severe headaches (!) or even to release evil spirits. The young woman concerned died a few days after the operation, although possibly not as a result of the trepanation. Also, traces of the world's first autopsy were seen on the jaw bone of another woman. I wonder who this Neolithic doctor was and what discoveries were made!

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Ihlara Gorge (Cappadocia)

The Melendiz River, originating from a spring and fed by the melting snows from Mount Hasan (3,268m) has carved a 14 kilometer long gorge with depths of up to 110 meters through rock which was deposited during volcanic eruptions. We know Mount Hassan was active during Neolithic times because of the wall painting found at Catalhoyuk, now on display at the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations in Ankara.

This canyon formed a wonderfully hidden and sheltered place because the gorge is invisible from the plateau and the zigzagging valley means you can’t see more than a few hundred meters ahead at any one time. This is undoubtedly one of the main reasons why it became home to many Byzantine monasteries, and 24 of the remaining cave churches are still in reasonable condition today.

The walk along the gorge can be either a sedate 4km or a rather more adventurous 7km one. The three villages on the willow-lined banks are still the home of traditional rural life, and you may spot women drying foodstuffs, spinning wool and milking goats on the roofs of their houses, and even washing their clothes in the river. You should also look out for villagers using horses to plough their small fields and carrying their wood back to their villages on donkeys.

Lunch at Belisirma (the middle village), gives an opportunity to sample local dishes of fish while relaxing to the sound of the water flowing by. After lunch, it’s fun to visit the remains of the old mill, which once produced linseed oil used for lighting. Finally you’ll pass through the village of Selime where the pinnacles down the valley side formed the dramatic landscape for part of the original Star Wars film.

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Guzelyurt (Cappadocia)

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Nigde, Eski Gumus and ancient Tyana

Eski Gumus, 9km away, is a superb example of a Byzantine cave monastery with some excellent frescos dating from the 10th and 11th centuries, and is well known for its smiling pictures of the Virgin Mary and graves containing mummified bodies and skeletons (some graves contain double burials).

Remains of the ancient Roman city of Tyana are 10km further on. There is a huge Roman swimming pool, and an aqueduct and some Hittite ruins are nearby.

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Underground Cities (Cappadocia)

Although all towns and villages in Cappadocia once had safe and secure secret rooms dug out of the soft tufa (tuff) rock, the underground cities of Kaymakli, the Land of Cream, and Derinkuyu, Deep Well, are intrinsically different because of their size, scale, and evidence of underground city planning. Up to 50 meters deep and 3 kilometers wide, as many as 5,000 people were able to hide safely underground out of site of the enemy, with their store of food that could last for months if necessary.

Life (and death) could continue relatively normally in these well-ventilated cities lit by linseed-oil lamps, which had their own water supply, stockpiled food, kitchens, toilets, churches and even graveyards safe behind their gigantic circular mill-stone doors which could only be opened from the inside. The people could even cook food safely, as multiple chimneys dispersed the smoke imperceptibly so their presence would not be discovered by the enemy.

When were they "built"? Nobody knows, but the first mention of them is in Xenophon's Anabasis or account of his military expedition carried out between 401 BCE and 399 BCE. He reported that "the houses were underground structures with an aperture like the mouth of a well by which to enter, but they were broad and spacious below. The entrance for the beasts of burden was dug out, but the human occupants descended by a ladder. In these dwellings were to be found goats and sheep and cattle, and cocks and hens, with their various progeny. The flocks and herds were all reared under cover upon green food. There were stores within of wheat and barley and vegetables, and wine made from barley in great big bowls. The grains of barley malt lay floating in the beverage up to the lip of the vessel, and reeds lay in them, some longer, some shorter, without joints; when you were thirsty you must take one of these into your mouth, and suck. The beverage without a mixture of water was very strong, and of a delicious flavour to certain palates, but the taste must be acquired." Xenophon also describes the wonderful hospitality offered to foreigners, a tradition that still exists in the region today and an aspect of my culture that I'm very proud of.

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Goreme Open Air Museum (Cappadocia)

The world’s most important Byzantine cave churches are found in these once remote valleys where monks and nuns pursued monastic life from the 3rd century on. Saint Basil, one of the three Cappadocian Fathers of the Church and Bishop of Caesarea (Kayseri) who first formulated the rules for monastic life later adapted in the west by Saint Benedict, if not familiar with the place himself, directly influenced the lifestyle of the monastic orders in these valleys.

Here you can see the best preserved in-situ Byzantine cave wall paintings and frescos from the Iconoclastic period through to the end of Seljuk rule. Icons with scenes from the Old Testament and the New Testament above portraits of Church Fathers and saints depict the structure of the Byzantine universe. The best examples, the Dark Church and the Buckle Church, should not be missed.

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Zelve Open Air Museum (Cappadocia)

Zelve is the perfect example of a traditional rock village that was inhabited until the 1960’s. It is situated at the foot of a table mountain and consists of 3 converging valleys formed by rain and snow water rushing down from the heights above. Cave homes were carved into the sides of the valleys at ground level, and much higher up were other carved shelters used as dovecotes in normal times and as safe hiding places in times of danger. High-level tunnels (we will go through one of them) still connect one valley to the next.

The village was only built on this spot because it formed such a safe and sheltered place, with the steep valley sides and the mountain forming an impenetrable backdrop. The inhabitants were certainly prepared to put up with some hardship in return for this security as the only constant water source is half a mile outside the village.

Despite the violent world outside, the Muslims and Christians in this village lived together in peace for centuries, and their mosque and church stand side-by-side even today as a perfect illustration to the modern world that people of different religions can live in harmony.

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Soganli (Cappadocia)

Soganli, which directly translated means Land of Onions, is really a corruption of Son-a-Kaldi, meaning The Last One. It truly is the last of the line of villages in the valleys south of Urgup, and the most traditional one. Once again, people have built homes in the rock cones created as erosion swept down the hillsides, and until a few decades ago it was home to the highest number of dovecotes in the region, providing guano for the fields around. Its isolation meant it was the ideal place for Byzantines to build monasteries, which they inhabited until at least the 1750’s. Today, the visitor can enter 10 different churches with reasonably well preserved wall paintings dating from the 10^th to the 13^th centuries.

The locally made doll is the emblem of the village, but this symbol originated from a tragic event. A local woman lost her baby and, unable to cope emotionally, made a rag doll to take its place. Later on, the women of the village developed the art of making these dolls while their men were out on the mountains grazing their animals. A Soganli doll is a must for every doll collection.

The trip to Soganli takes in other sites of interest, and traditional Turkish culture is evident everywhere.

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