Cappadocia Tours, Cappadocia, Goreme Hotels, Turkey Tours

Cappadocia Tours & Turkey Tours
Professional Licensed Tour Guide
Cappadocia Boutique Cave Hotels
Istanbul, Ephesus, Antalya, Nemrut
The Turkish Culture Tour Specialists
Walking, Trekking, Ballooning, Rafting, Jeep Safari, Bird Watching, Skiing Tours

Goreme National Park and the Rock Sites of Cappadocia are on UNESCO's World Heritage List

Essential CAPPADOCIA Tours

Cappadocia Spirit Tour

Hacibektas Museum

This museum is dedicated to Haci Bektas Veli, a thirteenth century Turkish Muslim-Sufi mystic philosopher who is famous for his teachings based on tolerance, peace, love and equality, and who founded his center for scientific study here during Seljuk times. The main part of the building itself dates from the Ottoman period, when it was a monastery for the large community of Dervishes who practiced his philosophy. The tomb of Haci Bektas Veli lies within the complex and is a site of pilgrimage for his followers today. Perhaps one of the philosopher's most famous sayings is: "A nation which does not educate its women cannot progress."

Gulsehir Mushroom Rock and Open Palace

Gulsehir (pronounced gool-shay-here) is often missed by visitors to Cappadocia, but this only adds to the authenticity of the place. There are many fantastically-shaped rocks around, including this - the symbol of the town itself, and nearby the ruins of a Byzantine monastery called Aciksaray, or "Open Palace".

It is also home to possibly the most beautiful cave church, Saint John's. There are really two churches, one on each floor, and the upper one with the beautifully restored paintings according to an inscription dates to 25th April 1212. One of the beautiful icons shows sinners - including clerics - being tortured in Hell. Another uncommon icon in Cappadocia is the Dormition of the Virgin Mary. After her death, she is laid out. Her bier is surrounded by the apostles, and Jesus has descended to take her soul, in the form of a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes, up to heaven.

Another offering from this town is its beautiful Karavezir Mosque, founded in 1778. The columns at the front of the building give away their Byzantine origins and lend a timeless feel to the edifice itself.

Gokcetoprak

Gokcetoprak (pronounced girk-jay-top-rack), now a simple village, seems to have had more significance in earlier times. After the Phrygians came into Anatolia and destroyed the Hittite Empire, the Hittites moved south. In the Cappadocia region around the 8th century B.C. the Hittites established the Tabal Kingdom, and a rock inscribed with Hittite hieroglyphics lies in a nearby field.

Who built the underground city that has been hollowed out from the inside of a plateau? Some historians say that the Hittites may have done, but digging out shelter and food storages in the rock may have started earlier than this. No one knows. Archaeologists discovered that the mill-stone doors were made outside the underground city, about a 1½ kilometers away. The well on the second floor is 25 meters deep and still contains water. But the best thing about this underground city is that electricity hasn't arrived here yet, so exploring it with torches is a thrilling experience.

The village itself is very traditional. Chickens roam freely everywhere and in the spring, storks nest in the graveyard. Many of the village houses are built around the main rock, and walking over the top you will see the carved-out basins where the village women once did their washing. The biggest surprise, however, is the statue of Zeus which sits facing the morning sun.

Tatlarin

On the way back to central Cappadocia, the village of Tatlarin is home to another recent discovery. The underground city was found in 1975 and opened to the public in 1991. Even at that time the adjoining church was black with soot. The painstaking work of cleaning the colorful icons has only recently been completed and the results are well worth seeing. In fact, it is thought that the whole underground city may have been a monastery complex connected to the church.

This icon shows the Anastasis, the image of the Resurrection in the Orthodox Church. An apocryphal text explains that after the Crucfixion Jesus breaks down the doors of Hell, lets in the light and takes Adam and Eve by the hand, thus bringing salvation to the human race.

Nevsehir Kursunlu Mosque

An 18th century Ottoman mosque with a lead dome built by Damat Ibrahim Pasha, the Grand Vizier and son-in-law of Sultan Ahmet III and the main name connected with Tulip Era (the historical period commonly accepted as the start of the collapse of the Ottoman Empire). This mosque has the most beautiful Ottoman floral and geometric decoration in Central Anatolia. It is the pride of Nevshehir.

For All Your Cappadocia Tours Contact Adnan

This website has been visited Hit Counter times!

Adnan is an active member of KARED (Kapadokya Tourist Guiding Association), TUREB (Federation of Turkish Tourist Guide Associations), and WFTGA (World Federation of Tourist Guide Associations).

Adnan's guiding services are brought to you by Honeycomb Tours, Urgup, a TURSAB member (Association of Turkish Travel Agencies, License Number 5361).

www.HoneycombTours.com